Tag Archives: Aquatic Habitat Program

To maintain, restore or enhance the capacity of a waterbody to produce and sustain fish. In the mid-1990s, Nebraska’s reservoirs constructed during the middle part of the 20th century were showing their age: Basins had filled with silt, shorelines had eroded, water quality had degraded, and less-than-desirable fish communities made for poor angling. Anglers wanted change. More than 650 anglers attended 19 meetings across the state beginning in 1993 to discuss problems and possible solutions related to aging reservoirs and …

There is a new reservoir in southeast Nebraska set for a grand-opening this weekend! Duck Creek Recreation Area is newest fishing opportunity in southeastern Nebraska LINCOLN, Neb. – A new fishing opportunity is available in southeastern Nebraska with the June 2 grand opening of Duck Creek Recreation Area. The Nemaha Natural Resources District owns and manages Duck Creek, which is located 5 miles northwest of Peru in Nemaha County. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission manages the fishery, is a …

Another angler access/aquatic habitat project to tell you about in this blog post: Pine Glen WMA project will improve Long Pine Creek for fish, anglers LINCOLN, Neb. – A project scheduled to start in June on Pine Glen Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Brown County will improve stream habitat on Long Pine Creek for fish and anglers alike. As a continuation of the cool-water stream program, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will build several in-stream habitat features that create …

Many of you in southeast Nebraska have been looking forward to the opening of a new reservoir, Duck Creek, located near Peru.  Specifically the reservoir was labeled as Duck Creek #12, but it looks like the Nemaha Natural Resource District is going to call it Duck Creek Recreation Area. Now a formal “grand opening” is planned for June 2, but a person might just want to take a drive by and see if the gates are open (wink, wink): Duck …

I have been doing a poor job of giving updates on aquatic habitat and angler access improvement projects.  There are a bunch of them to tell you about, let me try to get ’em all into this one blog post: South Boat Ramp Replacement at Pawnee Reservoir Rock Creek Boat Ramp NORTH PLATTE, Neb. –  A new ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) approved boat ramp, parking area and vault restroom is soon to be constructed at Rock Creek Lake State …

As I often do on my blog, let me start with the news release: Aquatic Habitat Project at Valentine NWR begins second phase LINCOLN, Neb. – In preparation for a rotenone treatment in 2018, length limits on largemouth bass and northern pike at Pelican Lake will be rescinded Dec. 1 through Aug. 1, 2018. This action begins the second phase of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Aquatic Habitat Project. Pelican Lake anglers may harvest these bass and pike by rod …

The lakes on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge have been some of the most unique and best fisheries in Nebraska for a long, long time.  Several generations of Nebraskans have stories of pulling big beautiful panfish, pike, and largemouth bass through ice holes drilled on those Valentine Refuge lakes.  The open-water fishing has provided just as many memories. In conjunction with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service which owns and operates the refuge, the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission through …

A couple of news items I want to call attention to today.  These will affect anglers in a couple areas of Nebraska, so even though the news releases have been published already, I want to mention them in my blog too. Merritt Reservoir Merritt Reservoir’s Main Landing temporarily closed September 8, 2017 LINCOLN, Neb. – The construction of a new boat-launch facility at Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area’s Main Landing has begun. The Main Landing area will be closed temporarily. …

Today I want to blog about a little project some of our fisheries staffed did at Victoria Springs State Recreation Area (SRA), recently.  To give you a little background, I have to tell you about duckweed, a small aquatic plant. Duckweed is a common aquatic plant on some Nebraska waters, it is a small plant that floats on the surface.  It is NOT an algae, it actually has leaves and small roots.  Typically, duckweed grows on small waters that are …

As a fisheries biologist I have had a bit of learning about science, enough to know that I will never know very much.  Given some time I can reference reams of information on a variety of topics, some more than others, depending on how much interest a particular subject has received from pointy-headed fisheries biologists.  The subject of aquatic habitat rehabilitation is relatively new, and to brag a little bit, Nebraska has been on the cutting edge with our Aquatic …