One of Nebraska’s great assets is the variety of animals that can be found when traveling from one end of the state to the other. Just as the landscape changes as one heads westward, so do the set of creatures one is likely to see. Within a short drive from Chadron I have a fair chance of seeing pronghorn, mule deer, elk and the occasional swift fox or golden eagle. And, of course, one of the state’s most prominent media …

One thing I like is the sight of a fish coming over the side of a boat. That’s just one of the reasons I thoroughly enjoyed a boat ride Thursday with Al Hanson and Joe Rydell, fisheries biologists for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s northwestern district. Hanson, district supervisor, and Rydell were collecting data from the frame nets they had set in Whitney Lake the previous day, a process they use to keep tabs on fish populations at bodies …

If you’re like me, you probably saw numerous bald eagles in Nebraska this winter and early spring — if not on the wing then in photographs circulating the Internet. The bald eagle’s resurgence is a true conservation success story. Today, though, I find it appropriate to give a little publicity to the bald eagles’ lesser mentioned cousin, the golden eagle. When I told NEBRASKAland associate editor Jeff Kurrus that I planned to photograph golden eagles at a nest in a …

It’s been a day or two, so I certainly don’t remember everything about elementary school. However, one thing I remember, much to my teachers’ chagrin, is that it involved a lot of daydreaming. What about? This time of year, the thoughts surely focused on getting out of the classroom to do some fishing and camping. Of course, those activities usually took a back seat until school dismissed for summer, so forgive me if I harbored some feelings of jealousy as …

After reading numerous wild turkey hunting success stories on the Internet, I figure some might find comfort in hearing from someone who hasn’t been able to bag a tom this season. Two weekends in a row my 10-year-old son and I have failed to be within range to fire a shot at a tom. The two of us are far from being the most accomplished turkey hunters in the woods, but it seems the gobblers just aren’t as responsive in …

If there’s one thing I can do that will improve the chances of snowfall, it seems to be any notion of betting against it. As soon as I published the headline “Old Man Winter’s Parting Shot?” for my last blog post, the weatherman answered my question and was calling for another shot from him. As I write this post with snow falling outside my window over a blanket of white, Old Man Winter has proven, indeed, that he had a …

Old Man Winter has been a little slow in delivering this region measurable snowfall this year, but he didn’t mess around when he finally got around to it. I’ve seen varying reports of snowfall in the region this week that range up to 20 inches in Chadron. With the driving winds, the drifts became measured in feet instead of inches. Such a blizzard certainly doesn’t come without hardship by many, but I’d wager it a challenge to find someone who …

When it comes to giving a tour of the Bighorn Wildlife Management Area south of Whitney, I doubt many people are as suited for the job as Greg Schenbeck. Schenbeck, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist with headquarters at the Ponderosa WMA field office near Crawford, has a leading role in managing the northwest district’s WMAs. Not only that, he was raised in northwest Nebraska and began hunting the area that is now the Bighorn WMA as a child. …

I’d usually rather be outside than inside, but occasionally I’ve found redeeming qualities in spending time under a roof. It helps improve the chances if the time indoors is spent discussing the outdoors. Last week, for example, I attended the Nebraska chapter of the Wildlife Society’s conference in Chadron. Next week, I’ll be in Fort Collins, Colo., with two of my partners in public information for a week-long wildlife short course. Those of us in attendance at the Wildlife Society …

As one who loves the outdoors and also embraces technology, I may be a bit of an anomaly. I certainly do love to get “off the grid” to places the phone doesn’t ring, but, generally speaking, I enjoy the ways technology can enhance outdoor experiences. Whether it’s the digital camera that allows me to share the neat things I see, the GPS unit that usually keeps me from getting lost or the smartphone fishing app that allows me to record …