By Greg Wagner
National Hunting and Fishing Day is this Saturday, Sept. 27.
This is a significant day.
No, this is not just another one of those celebratory days, not by a long shot.
I grew up hunting and fishing in rural Nebraska. My hunting heritage began 56 years ago this fall as a “quail dog” for my dad and his friend Jim on our family farm in southeast Nebraska. I am eternally grateful to my dad for taking me hunting! It probably kept me out of trouble.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, the fourth Saturday in September each year, was launched in 1971 by Congress to acknowledge the tremendous contributions made financially and otherwise by us natural resource users toward wildlife research projects, wildlife habitat improvements, wildlife management practices and to local, state and national economies. Interestingly, many of these contributions have greatly assisted rural landowners, community safety, non-game wildlife species, individual ecosystems, the environment as a whole and the protection of species from unregulated exploitation.
Collectively, hunting and fishing is a big deal here in the Husker State. In fact, stats show we had 249,139 anglers and 188,791 hunters purchase permits in 2024. Some 126,000 participants enjoyed shooting sports in 2024. Overall, outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, contributes greatly to our quality of life. In Nebraska, hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife viewing, shooting sports and state park visitation support more than 24,000 jobs and have an impact of over $4 billion annually.
Hunters and anglers are major contributors to wildlife and habitat conservation on the national level through a system known as the American System of Conservation Funding, which relies on self-imposed fees and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. These contributions, which include license fees and taxes such as those from the Pittman-Robertson Act, have generated over $57 billion for conservation efforts and are estimated to be more than $100,000 every 30 minutes!
In 1972, Richard Nixon signed the first Presidential proclamation of National Hunting and Fishing Day. Now on its 53rd year, National Hunting and Fishing Day is the largest, most effective grassroots movement ever undertaken to promote outdoor sports and wildlife conservation.
National Hunting and Fishing Day also serves an avenue for us to promote hunting and fishing as legal, wholesome, memorable outdoor activities to new audiences.
It’s funny when I think back to my early hunting days, because it’s not about the game animals I took that made such wonderful memories. It’s the crazy scenarios I remember that were part of the hunting experience.
I recall my dad and me borrowing my brother Steve’s pick up truck and then sinking it in a shallow ravine on our farm on the way to our blind at o’ dark thirty. I recall my dad asking me, “Did you save the coffee?”
I recall the first time I left the confines and comfort of the blind and went to the bathroom (No. 2) in the complete darkness of the woods, where there seemed to be a thousand different sounds. Needless to say, that was the fastest bathroom trip ever!
I recall listening to Husker football games on a scratchy transistor radio while my dad vocalized his displeasure with the play calling, never mind being quiet so as not to scare the deer.
On a serious note, I recall the long discussions with my dad in our deer hunting blind. We talked about everything from relationships to politics. I fondly recall watching the sunrises and sunsets with dad without one word exchanged.
Those things are the stuff of memories.
Now, we need to help others experience great memories in the outdoors, as well as a personal, hands-on connection to nature and the cycle of life. We, as licensed outdoor enthusiasts, must engage and pass along what we know to the folks around us, and especially to those who don’t look and act like us, on a continual basis. It is vital to the future of fish and wildlife.
Participation in activities like hunting and fishing is intensely rewarding and provides rich opportunities to grow human relationships, reconnect with the environment, help landowners, support the economy, supply revenue for conservation and obtain fresh, free-ranging food.
National Hunting and Fishing Day also presents an opportunity to thank the rural landowner who allows you to hunt and fish on their property. This is particularly important in a state such as Nebraska where the land is 97 percent privately owned.
To me, our hunting and fishing heritage remains a key component to who we are as Nebraskans and as Americans.
This year, make sure to bring that family member or friend along for a new adventure. Nebraska has an abundance of opportunities.
So hunt, fish, share your passion!
Get more information about National Hunting and Fishing Day at https://nhfday.org/.