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Latest Features

Snappers

By Monica Macoubrie, Outdoor Educator In the United States, biologists recognize three snapping turtle species — the common snapping turtle, native to Nebraska, the alligator snapping turtle and the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, which is native to the southeastern portion of the United States. Both species of alligator snapping turtle are not found in Nebraska, yet common snapping turtles and the two alligator snapping turtles are distant cousins and look oddly similar to each other. Upon further inspection, however, you’ll …

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Trapping Turkeys

Photos and story by Justin Haag A new research effort is aiming to uncover mysteries about Nebraska’s wild turkeys. University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have teamed up with Nebraska Game and Parks to trap turkeys, measure them, collect samples and outfit them with GPS transmitters and leg bands. Over time, researchers will learn about turkey movements, habitat selection, nesting success and genetic diversity. These variables all play a role in wild turkey population numbers, which have shown a decline in many …

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May Wildlife Viewing – Birds!

  By Olivia DaRugna, Watchable Wildlife Biologist May in Nebraska is a bird watcher’s paradise. Endless birding opportunities abound, from colorful warblers, to unique shorebirds, to interesting breeding behaviors. It is no wonder May is Nebraska Bird Month. No matter where you are located in the state, you can bet that there will be variety of birds to spot. Shorebirds Late April to mid-May is peak shorebird migration as 30 species and about 300,000 to 500,000 shorebirds stopover in the …

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Compete in the Nebraska Birding Bowl

By Olivia DaRugna, Watchable Wildlife Biologist We are kicking off Nebraska Bird Month (May) with a new event: The Nebraska Birding Bowl! This free event is open to anyone who enjoys observing birds in Nebraska. Whether you just started birding, are an avid backyard birder or a competitive lister, you can participate in the Nebraska Birding Bowl and win prizes. That’s right — win prizes just for observing birds! Enter in one of several categories: Fledgling Flock is for youth …

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Magnificently Dark

For those wanting to observe the night sky, Nebraska’s remote locations are tops. One such place has earned official confirmation of its brilliance after dark. By Justin Haag For lovers of solitude, it is hard to imagine a better place to be. The occasional howl of a coyote, hoot of an owl, moos from cows. The eerie sound of ice forming over a lake on a cold December night. On occasion, the quiet, but growing, roar of a truck’s engine …

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City Nature Challenge

Connecting to Urban Wildlife Through the City Nature Challenge By Brianna Nugent, Educator Urban growth, agricultural expansion and other human activities have forced most of Nebraska’s wildlife into small remnants of their once extensive habitats. If that is the case, why are rabbits nibbling on our flower beds, foxes roaming the streets and racoons rummaging through our trash cans? These clever animals have found ways to coexist with us and adapt to life in the big city. For example, animals …

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Terrestrial Invaders

By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist Alien invaders have inhabited Nebraska for quite some time. Have you seen them? I’m not referring to the green little Martians that come to mind when the word “aliens” is mentioned. I’m thinking a little less extraterrestrial and spaceships, and a bit more grounded and sprawling. An invasive species can be any type of organism. It can be an amphibian, plant, fungus, bacteria, mammal, seed, egg, insect, fish, etc., that is non-native to a …

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Hunter’s Harvest

Story by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley Photos by Jesse Deuring The year was 1958. “Volare” dominated the Billboard Hot 100. NASA got its start, and the first Intel microchip was created. In Nebraska, the Blackstone Hotel made its own history. Primarily known for its invention of the famous Reuben sandwich, the Omaha landmark also bears a vibrant, storied past. Black and white photographs hanging in the renamed Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel pique interest, especially among hunters. “The photos kind of remind me of …

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Building Resilient Land Through Cattle

By Ronica Stromberg, NRT Program Coordinator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln On almost any given day, a person can drive by grazing land owned by The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska and see an artist in residence. Recently, the conservancy’s science director Chris Helzer told National Science Foundation Research Traineeship students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that the environmental group uses cows as “habitat artists” to build resilience in grasslands. The conservancy is experimenting with various methods of creating a “shifting mosaic” of …

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A Soldier Returns to Fort Atkinson

By Eric Fowler Were it not for happenstance, we might know little about Lt. Gabriel Field. When John “Jack” Rathjen uncovered a portion of his headstone while plowing a crop field in 1954, it led to the exhumation of six graves, including Field’s, north of where Fort Atkinson, the first U.S. military fort in what was to become Nebraska, had once stood. In the years that followed, historians, both professionals and amateurs, searched through military and genealogical records trying to …

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