Hunting public lands. It can be a real challenge. Why? In a state like Nebraska the overwhelming majority of our total land acreage is privately owned (97%) with only a small percentage of it open to the public (3%). However, Nebraska’s array of public lands offer a wide variety of opportunities for hunting different game species. And there is some good news. John Laux, Upland Habitat and Access Program Manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Wildlife Division, points …

It’s a magical time of year, really. As daylight wanes, the temperature begins to drop, frost appears on the pumpkin, leaves turn color and start toppling to the ground, and experienced bowhunters know the deer rut or breeding period is beginning. Buck rubs on trees and scrapes on the ground are apparent. A buck rub on an eastern cedar tree in rural Sarpy County, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Deer movement is picking up and the …

It’s the month for pumpkin-spiced everything. It’s the month for Halloween decorations and candy galore. It’s the month when campfires are prevalent in the rings of state parks and recreation areas. It’s the month for the crop harvest in Nebraska. And, it’s the month when leaves turn color here in the Cornhusker State. Eastern cottonwood tree leaves beginning to turn their pretty yellow color along the Platte River in southern Sarpy County, NE. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks …

If you are a white-tailed deer hunter, you are going to see them. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually. I am referring to wild turkeys. Even mule deer hunters will see flocks of wild turkeys in farm or ranch yards, patches of woods, creek bottoms and shelterbelts. The question for you, the Nebraska deer hunter, remains: Have you purchased a fall wild turkey hunting permit? If the answer is no then why have you not bought that permit yet? …

The days are getting shorter. The morning air is becoming crisper. Nature’s color show is just starting. The forest floor is beginning to be saturated with early autumn leaf matter as well as something else — nuts! Freshly fallen black walnuts on the forest floor along a creek bottom in southeastern Nebraska woodlands. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. One of the reasons to take a long walk in the woods during autumn is to gather some delicious, …

Double, double toil and trouble … It’s the Halloween season and a witch’s brew is not complete without a moist, edible fall mushroom or two, right? Just kidding. But, guess what? We have an array of fall fungi in Nebraska perfect for your dinner plate. The recent rainy, cool weather and subsequent sunshine and warmer temperatures should help to start bringing forth a flush of different wild mushrooms in various parts of Nebraska. The greatest variety of mushrooms is usually …

I am one of you. I am among the thousands of you who hunt deer and turkey with archery equipment. I want you to join me in voluntarily participating Nebraska’s new Bowhunter Survey. New bowhunter survey? Hmmm … Another survey … So why should you, an archery deer hunter, consider maintaining a diary and counting free-ranging, wild deer and turkeys for us at Game and Parks? The answer: Because, like me, I know you care deeply about wildlife. We spend …

I love to eat, but do not cook much. I am the chef’s sampler indeed, but not a chef. There is one thing connected to the great outdoors regarding cooking though that I want to learn how to do – Dutch oven cooking. I have been around Dutch oven cooking for some time, but have been the beneficiary of the culinary talents of many. Over the years, we have had fabulous Dutch oven chefs associated with the Nebraska Game and …

Fall sports have been cancelled, postponed or will be highly regulated. Yes, there is no Husker football this season. Bars, restaurants and gatherings are being limited or restricted. Mask wearing mandates are in effect for various businesses and in the cities of Omaha and Lincoln. These are certainly very strange times. One of the oldest pastimes in our American history, however, remains valid and is not damaged or impaired in any way – hunting. The hunting seasons in Nebraska for …

One of the most amazing experiences in the hunting lifestyle is taking a new hunter to the field repetitively. I have mentored new hunters for some time and encourage any of you who hunt to join our cadre. Coaching apprentice hunters should start with our own family or friend networks, however, be on the lookout for aspiring hunters in all sorts of unexpected places. It is now vital to reach out to new and different audiences who are eager to …