LINCOLN, Neb. – Experience Platte River State Park in the spring with a daylong Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop April 27. The workshop will include horseback riding for beginners, Dutch oven cooking and shooting skills (archery, shotgun and rifle). Participants must be at least 18 years of age. The $50 registration fee includes meals, but not camping or lodging. A park entry permit is required. Registration and fees are required by April 19. Download a registration form at: http://www.outdoornebraska.ne.gov/Education/Programs/bow/BeyondBOW/pdf/Horses.pdf. Contact …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will begin collecting walleye the night of April 1 at Sherman and Merritt reservoirs and the following week at Lake McConaughy, weather permitting. Closures and warnings for boaters and anglers again will be in place. Those are needed to keep fishing lures and boat props from becoming entangled in nets. Anglers and boaters must avoid Game and Parks boats and nets at all three reservoirs. At Sherman, waters within 150 feet …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Devin Sobotka of Lincoln Southeast High School set a state record with 290 points at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament March 23 in Lincoln. Kora Shedenhelm of Omaha Mater Dei Academy repeated as the top girl scorer in the meet with 284 points. The tournament at the Lancaster Event Center drew 460 elementary, middle school and high school archers from 23 schools. The tournament was the culminating event in the state for …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Target shooting at Box Elder Wildlife Management Area (WMA), 5 miles southwest of Maxwell in Lincoln County, has been indefinitely prohibited by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, because of a recent unsafe target shooting incident there. No target shooting has been posted at Box Elder WMA and will be enforced by law enforcement authorities. Game and Parks will look at options for future target shooting on this area, as well as others near North Platte.

LINCOLN, Neb. – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in April: April 1 – Light Goose Conservation Order ends in Zone 2 April 1-14 – Application period for archery paddlefish permits April 2 – Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young Children, York Elementary School, 1501 Washington Ave., York, lindsay.rogers@nebraska.gov April 4 – Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young Children, Nebraska Wesleyan University, 5000 St. Paul Ave., Lincoln, lindsay.rogers@nebraska.gov April …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners Mick Jensen, Lynn Berggren and Kent Forney have been reappointed for second terms by Gov. Heineman and confirmed by the Nebraska Legislature. Jensen, of Blair, represents District 3 (northeast Nebraska). Berggren, of Broken Bow, represents District 6 (Sandhills) and Forney, of Lincoln, represents District 8 (Lancaster County). The new terms for all three began Jan. 15 and last four years. Jensen was originally appointed to the board in January 2008. “I’ve enjoyed …

LINCOLN, Neb. – While boating season still is months away, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission suggests that now is the time to take a boater safety course. A list of boating safety classes is available at boatsafenebraska.org. The list includes six-hour classroom courses and three-hour home study review and test courses. More classes will be added to the list during the year. Persons born after Dec. 31, 1985, who operate a motorboat or personal watercraft in Nebraska, must have …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will train apprentice firearm hunter education instructors April 15 in Hastings. The workshop will be from 6-9 p.m. at the Lincoln Park Fire Station, 1145 S. Hastings Ave. Register by April 12. Contact Mike Streeter at 402-471-6134 or mike.streeter@nebraska.gov or visit huntsafenebraska.org.

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will conduct prescribed burns of grasslands at several state-owned areas as weather conditions allow. These burns will stimulate the growth of grasses and forbs and remove invasive tree and brush species. Burning will take place pending approval from local fire chiefs. Burns are scheduled for the following areas, listed by county. All areas are wildlife management areas, unless otherwise noted: Buffalo – Bassway Strip; Butler – Redtail; Burt – Pelican Point …

LINCOLN, Neb. – See a re-enactment of life at a 1870s infantry outpost on the Great Plains at Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park April 13-14. Uniformed soldiers will occupy the barracks, guardhouse, blacksmith and other buildings on the Indian Wars era post. Activities portrayed will include drill and guard duty, cooking and cleaning details, cannon firing, sick call, mail call, parade inspection and a grand review. Officers will walk the fort grounds doing their daily duties as the women of …