Hunting

The big game public information meeting planned by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Bassett, has been postponed because of poor travel conditions in the area. The meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 12 at 5 p.m. at the City Hall Conference Center, 106 E. Legnard St. Hunters and landowners are encouraged to offer their feedback on big game issues during this three-hour meeting. The first hour will be an open house with time …

Several changes await Nebraska wild turkey hunters in 2023. Hunters can begin purchasing their spring season permits from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission beginning at 1 p.m. Jan. 9 and should become familiar with the changes before the season opens. The changes for this spring season: Hunters now may purchase up to two spring permits instead of three. A hunter may harvest no more than one turkey per calendar day during the spring season. This year, 10,000 spring permits …

Three big game public information meetings planned by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission have been postponed. These meetings, originally scheduled in December, now are set for January. The schedule for those three: Jan. 9 – Gordon, Gordon City Auditorium, 311 N. Oak St. Jan. 11 – Norfolk, Northeast Community College Lifelong Learning Center, 801 E. Benjamin Ave. Jan. 11 – Oshkosh, Oshkosh Auditorium, 602 W. 2nd St. Hunters and landowners are encouraged to offer their feedback on big game …

Applications for multispecies Super Tag and Combo lottery permits will be accepted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission beginning Jan. 2, 2023. The Super Tag lottery permit will be valid for one elk of either sex, one antelope of either sex, one deer of either sex and two turkeys (only toms and bearded hens may be taken in the spring). One permit will be authorized for residents only, and one permit will be authorized for residents/nonresidents. People may apply …

Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area in Garden and Keith counties is closed until further notice to all vehicle access due to high winds and heavy, drifting snow. The closure includes the Special Hunting Area, where controlled waterfowl hunting takes place from blinds. There will be no drawings for goose pits and no staff present until conditions improve.

Nebraska’s bighorn sheep hunting season ended Dec. 6 when a hunter from the eastern end of the state punched his tag, one of the two permits issued for the season. Todd Nordeen, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission big game and disease research manager who supervises the hunting program, said each of the two rams harvested this year was a mature adult with full-curl horns. Both were harvested in the Wildcat Hills of the Panhandle. Jerry Fischer of Denton bagged …

Hunters and landowners are encouraged to offer their feedback on big game issues during the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s public information meetings this winter. Three-hour meetings are scheduled in each Game and Parks district. All in-person meetings, which will have a different format than years past, begin at 5 p.m. local time. The first hour will be an open house with time to talk with wildlife biologists, conservation officers and staff. Biologists will make a presentation at 6 p.m. and …

As muzzleloader deer season gets underway, hunters are being reminded that the Pine Ridge was added to Nebraska’s list of Mule Deer Conservation Area units this year. That means hunters must carry a Pine Ridge MDCA Permit to harvest mule deer in the unit; the Statewide Muzzleloader and Restricted Statewide Buck permits are no longer valid for that species there. It also means the Pine Ridge MDCA permit — which is valid for any deer, except antlerless mule deer — …

Will give a quick report today on some of my adventures over the Thanksgiving holiday.  My wife and I ventured west to spend the long weekend with my son, aunt, cousins and their families.  We had a great time, ate a lot of good food, played games, told stories, hunted and fished. Yes, I said fished. . . . On ice. Now, I hesitate to even mention that because there is hardly any ice in the state that is safe …

Preliminary Nebraska deer check-in numbers indicate 2022 statewide harvest is down 9% compared to 2021 for the November firearm season. During the nine-day season, which was Nov. 12-20, 33,866 deer were harvested, compared to 37,053 in 2021. While the overall statewide trend was down compared to previous years, regions of the state varied. Deer harvest in southeast Nebraska was up 2% from 2021, while southwest Nebraska was down 15%. The northwest district was down 9% and the northeast district was …