NGPC News

LINCOLN – Join bird lovers of all ages Feb. 7 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park for the Birds and Binoculars workshop. Interested birders should meet at 9 a.m. at the lower level of the Riverview Group Lodge, where the guided hike and bird identification workshop will begin. The event is scheduled in preparation for the Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count, an annual event in which participants count birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. This year’s …

LINCOLN – A typical spring rise of the Platte River has resulted in minor lowland flooding and the temporary closure of Two Rivers State Recreation Area (SRA) in Douglas County. Two people in a camper were escorted out of the park on the morning of Jan. 27 when an ice jam sent water and chunks of ice over the river bank, making roads impassable. The main road into the park has been closed. Two other Nebraska Game and Parks Commission …

Chadron State Park is visited by multitudes of big RVs and pull-type campers in the summer. It is getting a good share of its winter traffic this season from other types of big vehicles. They include a Caterpillar track hoe, six-wheeled dump trucks, a Timbco tree feller and a skidder. The big vehicles have been contracted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to renovate the park’s pond and thin trees. The separate projects are expected to be substantially complete …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will receive $1.2 million in federal grants over the next five years from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help private landowners improve grasslands and croplands for wildlife habitat and agriculture production. The money was provided through the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The RCPP is a new program in the 2014 Farm Bill managed by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, NRCS forms a …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors March 7 at Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, 21502 W. Neb. Hwy. 31, Gretna, from 9 a.m. to noon. Youth fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct fishing clinics. These volunteers will have access to Game and Parks’ loaner fishing equipment and educational materials for events, as well as receive program incentives. They also are encouraged to volunteer for such Game and Parks programs as Family Fishing Nights …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Natural Legacy Partnership Team (NLPT) is requesting proposals that will facilitate the expansion of the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project in any of the 39 Biologically Unique Landscapes. The NLPT is looking for proactive, collaborative opportunities to conserve wildlife in Nebraska by reaching out to landowners, local communities, conservation and agricultural organizations. The NLPT will competitively award proposals for innovative projects that may be habitat improvement, research, inventory, monitoring, planning or a combination of these types. Projects …

CHADRON — In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nebraska reintroduced wild turkeys from other states to its landscape after the big birds had been extirpated decades earlier during the nation’s westward expansion. The reintroduction was so successful that turkeys have again become common border-to-border and Nebraska is now able to return the favor to another state. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission led an effort this week to trap wild turkeys on a ranch near Whiteclay in northern Sheridan …

LINCOLN – A statewide youth archery tournament will take place at the Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln on Feb. 7. The tournament, hosted by Pound Middle School in Lincoln, is open to any participant in the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). Competition flights are limited to 32 archers and will begin at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon. Registration is 45 minutes before each flight. The cost is $10. NASP is an in-school curriculum …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved grant awards for the 2015 Land and Water Conservation Fund Stateside Assistance Program (LWCF) at a meeting Jan. 15 in Lincoln. The LWCF is a program administered by the National Park Service for outdoor recreation projects. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to, baseball fields, soccer fields, swimming pools, picnicking facilities, playgrounds, park acquisition and development, shelter houses and related support facilities. All projects must encourage outdoor recreation. Project sponsors …

LINCOLN – The gate across the main entrance road at Burchard Lake Wildlife Management Area in Pawnee County will open on Jan. 15 for ice fishermen. Instead of parking at the gate and walking to the lake, anglers will be able to drive to the lake.