LINCOLN – Bring the family to Eugene T. Mahoney State Park on Dec. 14-15 and celebrate a Classic Christmas. Meet Santa Claus and get a free photo taken with him by a NEBRASKAland Magazine photographer. Santa will be at Peter Kiewit Lodge on Dec. 14 from 1-5 p.m. and at the Mahoney Grille Restaurant on Dec. 15 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. On Dec. 14 from 1-5 p.m., visitors can decorate cookies and ornaments, or make greeting cards for overseas troops. …

LINCOLN – Eight hunters and a dog were rescued by helicopter from two boats stranded in the rapidly freezing Missouri River just east of Santee on Thursday. There were no injuries. A Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) helicopter from its Aviation Support Division in Lincoln pulled the hunters from the boats two at a time by mid-afternoon. There were four hunters in each boat. The boats had been blocked by ice in the river, and attempts by Nebraska Game and Parks …

LINCOLN – A free day of archery shooting is scheduled for Dec. 7 at Platte River State Park’s Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex. Prizes and free food will be available. This event, part of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Archery on Fire promotion, is open to all ages and experience levels. Equipment will be provided for this event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle entering …

LINCOLN – Total firearm deer harvest for the nine-day 2013 November firearm season was 36,882, a 21 percent decline from 2012. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission eliminated approximately 87,000 permits and bonus tags in 2013 in response to the epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) outbreak of 2012. A significant reduction in harvest was expected. Harvest totals by Game and Parks district are: Northeast, 9,290; Northwest, 5,705; Southeast, 7,457; and Southwest, 14,430. Details of harvest by sex, species and unit are …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has awarded nine grants totaling $100,000 in the 2013-2014 Outdoor Recreation Marketing Grant Program. The program is for communities, groups, organizations, public-private partnerships, nongovernment agencies or political subdivisions in need of help in promoting outdoor recreation. The grant awards are: — Dawes County Travel Board, Northwest Identity and Map, $3,787; — Fort Atkinson Foundation, Fort Atkinson Sign Enhancement Project, $14,910; — Kearney Visitors Bureau, 2013 Crane Watch Marketing Campaign, $17,400; — Kearney …

LINCOLN – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in December: Dec. 1 – Cornucopia of Crafts, Eugene T. Mahoney State Park (SP), Ashland, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 402-944-2523 Dec. 1 – Bobcat hunting and trapping season opens Dec. 1, 21-22, 26-30 – Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex open to public, Platte River SP, Louisville, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 402-471-5547 Dec. 1-31 – Antlerless elk hunting season Dec. 1-31 – Muzzleloader deer …

LINCOLN – Rekindle winter family traditions or create new ones during the Winterfest at Ponca State Park. Scheduled for Saturdays Nov. 30 through Feb. 28, activities are free and open to the public. Each Saturday from Nov. 30 through Dec. 28 at the Resource and Education Center there will be crafts and activities from 10 a.m.-noon, cookie decorating from 1-2 p.m., classic holiday movies shown from 2-4 p.m., and hayrack rides from 5-6 p.m. Special events scheduled in December include …

LINCOLN – Waterfowling Nebraska is a new series of six instructional videos produced by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for its YouTube channel. The series targets intermediate waterfowlers who want to take their hunting to a higher level. The series has videos on duck decoy spread, pond blind concealment, calling Canada geese, ghillie suits, layout boat blinds, and field layout blinds. View the videos at http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/hunting/guides/waterfowl/waterfowl-hunting-tips-video.asp. Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/NGPCvideo to view all videos on Game and Parks’ YouTube channel.

LINCOLN – Shooting sports enthusiasts can bring their families and friends to Platte River State Park (SP) over Thanksgiving weekend to learn new skills or sharpen old ones. The Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex will be open to the public Nov. 30-Dec. 1 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The shooting sports range includes facilities for rimfire firearm, shotgun, archery, pellet gun and slingshot. Equipment is provided, although customers may bring their own. Those who bring their own equipment must …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission invites hunters and landowners to attend a public informational meeting to discuss deer issues. Meetings are scheduled in each Game and Parks district. Each meeting begins at 7 p.m. Game and Parks biologists will explain and take questions on various topics, including deer management, deer damage and depredation permits, antlerless harvest, trophy management and diseases. Antelope and elk issues also may be discussed. The meeting schedule is: Dec. 3 – Burwell, Calamus …