In The Wild

Along with finding and picking morel mushrooms, there is another edible wild fungus growing in your moist woodlands that you should know and consider harvesting and making for dinner — the dryad’s saddle. Dryad’s saddle? Say, what? The dryad’s saddle (Polyporus squamosus) , a.k.a., pheasant back’s mushroom, or hawks wing, is a widespread edible wild fungi that is easy to spot beginning in late April and continuing into May. Found east of the Rockies and potentially throughout Nebraska, it is a common basidiomycete bracket fungus …

From all indicators, he absolutely loved it! That would describe my young grandson’s first fishing expedition. I loved it, too! So, have you, the avid angler, taken a youth or a newcomer out fishing? Hmmm … You should! Well, let me tell you that there continue to be incentives for you to introduce someone new or someone who hasn’t been out on the water in a while to the lifestyle of fishing. In fact, the incentives offered are part of …

There is no doubt that your morel mushroom hunting grounds along river bottoms and their tributaries in eastern and central Nebraska were greatly impacted by recent catastrophic flooding. This is the most widespread damage the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has experienced due to a natural disaster. In my 40 years with the agency and growing up near the Platte River, I have never witnessed any natural catastrophe to this magnitude. So, as an outdoor enthusiast, maybe you’ve been thinking: …

So, your spring wild turkey hunting grounds along river bottoms have been flooded, huh? I am sorry to hear that. The turkeys may or may not return to those river bottom grounds on a consistent basis. More than likely, severely flooded areas probably will be void of birds this season. It might be a good idea to do your homework and plan your route for heading for the hills. But maybe you have never hunted the rolling hills, steep grades and …

Here is the second part of my interview with Nebraska Cornhusker head football coach Scott Frost about hunting and a little fishing that aired recently on my Weekly TV Outdoor Report on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News: https://www.wowt.com/content/sports/Hunting-with-Nebraska-Head-Coach-Scott-Frost-Part-Two-507553831.html 

Flooding has truly affected us all in one way or another. Flooding has impacted my own family. Below is video from Friday, March 15, 2019 of flood waters going over the access road from Nebraska Highway 30 to  Timberwood Lake just west of the Fremont Lakes State Recreation Area where my daughter and son-in-law reside. Video courtesy of Wayne Preister of Ames, NE. https://www.facebook.com/greg.wagner.73/videos/10213219160584889/?t=4 My heartfelt thoughts go out to those who must deal with the aftermath of this historic …

I was fortunate recently to get to interview popular Nebraska Cornhusker head football coach Scott Frost at an event about his passion for hunting as part of my my Weekly TV Outdoor Report on Omaha’s WOWT 6 News. Coach Frost rarely grants interviews about himself personally so this was a treat! Click the link below to see Part 1 of the interview: https://www.wowt.com/content/sports/Part-1-Outdoor-Report-with-Coach-Scott-Frost-507113351.html

They strike often. They fight hard. They are easy to clean and cook. They are wonderful to eat and they have tremendous health benefits! They are stocked trout in Nebraska waters. A major asset along with many of its excellent qualities as a cold-water game fish is the fact that few foods are as nutritious as a stocked trout from Nebraska waters! And, get this: Tens of thousands of 10-12 inch rainbow trout are being stocked when the weather, conditions …

I am shaking my head. It is so hard to believe. This scenario has been among the most surprising and shocking in my career as a conservation professional. More on that in a bit. All of us realize that wildlife-related crimes know no boundaries. Just like poaching game and fish, there are unethical, unscrupulous people, motivated purely by greed, who seek to profit without regard for natural resources, private or public property and ecosystem health. But now, valuable woodland habitat is …

Our Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Service Center/Office in Omaha at 8495 Frederick Street has reopened for business! Stop by! Valentine’s Day/2019 marked our reopening. We were closed for more than six months due to a fire on July 23, 2018 that occurred in the Frederick Plaza where we are located. Our space suffered extensive smoke and soot damage and had to be renovated from installing a new HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system on the roof to new carpeting …