By Dr. James A. Hanson, Historian, Museum of the Fur Trade The following excerpt originally appeared in the Winter 2021 edition of Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly, a publication based in Chadron, Nebraska. Because of our reverence for Nebraska history, this quarterly publication has been a mainstay for the editors of Nebraskaland Magazine for many years. There is no doubt that early Native Americans were ingenious in developing earths and other natural products as pigments for face painting and …

By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska You drive your shiny new car home from the dealership and park it out front where your jealous neighbors can see it. Now, it’s time to make the license plate. That’s what Nebraska motorists did for 10 years in the early 20th century. The state began registering automobiles in 1905, but didn’t manufacture license plates until 1915. In the meantime, the Secretary of State’s office registered cars and issued numbers. Owners made their own …

By Todd Mills Thumbing through one of my favorite waterfowl magazines, I stumbled into the new gear section. It was impossible to turn the page without seeing something I could use. It made me wonder how we did it before all this new gear was available. Long before all the technology and gadgets were invented and used by kids today, we entertained ourselves with things that cost less money. My family lived in a house the size of my current …

By: Delanie Bruce, Education Manager, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies & Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area and Chadron State Park saw a lot of birds this fall migration season. Over the seven-week period, Aug. 24-Oct. 15, 2022, staff banded nearly 700 song birds between the two stations: 165 birds at Chadron and 527 birds at Wildcat Hills. Bird banding is the process of capturing wild birds and placing a uniquely numbered band around one leg …

A History of a Unique Fishery By Kirk Steffensen, Missouri River Program Manager Paddlefish are a group of ancient fish species with fossilized records dating back approximately 125 million years. They are one of the largest and longest-living freshwater fish species in the world, with a lifespan of 30-plus years, and are easily recognizable by their elongated rostrums — beaklike snout — and lack of scales. Filter feeders, paddlefish swim with their large mouths open and filter the microscopic plankton, …

Explore Fall Bird Migration By Olivia DaRugna, Watchable Wildlife Biologist As summer vacations come to an end and a new season of Husker football begins, many birds have already begun their journeys from northern breeding territories to their southern wintering grounds. Songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl typically migrate at night, arriving to new locations to rest and refuel during the day. This is an exciting time for birders as our favorite locations can transform literally overnight from having almost no avian …

By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist Humans eat them. We have about a million puns associated with them. They’re pretty to look at, and they are literally found everywhere. I’m talking about fungi, a group of spore-producing organisms, which includes molds, yeasts, mushrooms and toadstools. Fungi evolved around 1.5 million years ago, and today, they make up around 25 percent of all the biomass on earth. There are an estimated 3.8 million species in the world, and scientists have studied …

By Alie Mayes, Community Science Education Specialist Are you a bird nerd? Maybe you like to casually watch birds visit your backyard feeder. Or perhaps you visit local green spaces in hopes of spotting some of your favorite feathered friends. Or maybe you have only recently started noticing the birds that you see every day. Whether you are new to bird watching or have been enjoying it for years, community science is a great way to level up your hobby …

By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist Phenology is a word that you may not be familiar with, but I am pretty sure that you’ve experienced it. Think about what season it is. Spring? Summer? Fall? How do you know it is that season? Phenology, that’s how, which can be defined as the timing of events in the life cycles of plants and animals. For example, you know that winter is waning when you see robins begin building nests or when …

By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska In 1905, George Poell was a railroad fireman, soon to be a hero. One day the Grand Island resident was shoveling coal into a locomotive’s red-hot furnace as the train rounded a curve. Suddenly, the train lurched as the engineer put on the emergency brake. Poell looked out the window to see what was wrong. He saw a child walking on the track, a toddler with blond curls bobbing. “The little fellow seemed to …