Conservation

Without a doubt Burchard Reservoir is one of our best fisheries in southeast Nebraska.  The reservoir has a watershed comprised almost entirely of grass and because of that, even though it is a relatively old reservoir, it maintains excellent water quality, great habitat including an abundance of aquatic vegetation, and quality fishing for largemouth bass, panfish and channel catfish.  Over the years, the outlet structure on the Burchard dam had deteriorated to the point that it needed replaced.  That project was …

Just received this note from Lindsay Shearer, Nebraska 4-H Camp Operations Coordinator, about a special offer on the 4-H Outdoor Skills summer camps listed here.  I recently wrote about these camps, and others, on the blog The Power of Summer Camp.      hershy “We still have several spots available in the Outdoor Skills Sessions that are hosted in partnership with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, at all 3 of our locations (State 4-H Camp, Destination Camps and Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center). …

As you may have heard, Wisconsin lawmakers are currently looking into expanding their blaze orange requirements for deer hunters to allow hot-pink to be worn as well.  The Wisconsin’s Sportsmen’s Caucus – a bipartisan group of lawmakers – hopes the introduced legislation could encourage an even greater breakdown of the gender-divide often seen in hunting, while maintaining the safety aspect of the blaze orange rules.  Females make up about 10% of the deer hunters in Wisconsin, but represent the fastest …

School is out for many young Nebraskans which means parents are busy trying to figure out what to do with them this summer.  If you want your youngster to have an adventure, then summer camp is your answer.  If you want your child to build leadership skills and self-esteem, then summer camp is your answer.  If you want your kids unplugged from the digital world for a bit, then summer camp is your answer. According to the American Camp Association …

With just two weekends left in the 2015 Nebraska Spring Turkey Hunting Season, we may be in the ninth inning, but there is still time to score on a gobbler.  In fact, some hunters will find the best hunts of the season in the final days this year. During the peak of breeding, gobblers often have all the hen-attention they want. We are now past this point and the boys are working harder to find willing hens.   Some are more …

Some of you may remember that fisheries managers for the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission tried an experimental fisheries management technique at Pawnee Reservoir a year ago last fall, Pawnee Renovation.  Unlike typical rotenone renovations where all fish are removed from a body of water, the effort at Pawnee was one where we hoped that a relatively low dose of rotenone would selectively eliminate gizzard shad and white perch. Let me share some more of what we know about that fisheries …

Report on this year’s pallid broodstock collections: If you wish to see a cleaner, larger version, 2015 Broodstock Newsletter .  As mentioned in the news letter, check out the FaceBook page, NGPC Pallid Sturgeon Broodstock, and there are a lot more photos here, Flickr–Missouri River Program. A big thank you to all that were involved again this year.  We could not pull off this effort without a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers.  We thank you, the pallid sturgeon thank you (well, they would …

On my Weekly Outdoor Report airing on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News, I’ll be highlighting this month of May which is bird month here in Nebraska. Birds are all around us! Birds are enjoyable to watch! I’ll be showing you some cool video of birds, plus emphasizing the importance of our feathered friends as well as mentioning a couple fun birding events in the area for you to attend to view an array of bird life. The outdoor report airs LIVE …

Gotta blog about this, coming this Saturday: There is something mentioned about a 6,000 gallon aquarium in that promo.  You can see it featured here too: Stop by that “fish tank”, you might find me hanging around! More information here if you need it, Ft. Kearny Outdoor Expo.

I have a couple of calendars in my office that have something about “Earth Day” scribbled on the square dated April 22, 2015.  I have taken a cynical view of “Earth Day” in the past, have reflected that in my blog, and do not feel any differently today.  Let me tell you why. . . . Earlier this week I stopped at a stop-light and watched the pig in the car in front of me squash out his cigarette and …