NGPC News

LINCOLN – Lincoln reggae group Ro Hempel Band will be the featured entertainment during the Toast Nebraska wine festival, slated for May 3-4 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. Omaha group The Labels also will play during the first-ever wine festival, which will showcase wines from 17 wineries across the state.  Group Therapy Bike Tours will allow groups of up to 15 people to pedal around the park on a specially designed oversized bicycle. Experts will give educational seminars on …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will conduct prescribed burns of grasslands at several state-owned areas as weather conditions allow. These burns will stimulate the growth of grasses and forbs and remove invasive tree and brush species. Burning will take place pending approval from local fire chiefs. Burns are scheduled for the following areas, listed by county. All areas are wildlife management areas, unless otherwise noted: Antelope – Red Wing, Grove Lake;  Butler – Redtail; Cass –  Schilling, …

LINCOLN – It is not too late to register to Run Wild! Choose from a 10k or 5k through scenic, naturally challenging dirt trails at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park on May 17. Children can enjoy the 1-mile fun run. Before and after the race, Raptor Recovery will have live bird demonstrations. Or you can practice your archery skills, get your face painted like a wild animal and register to win a half-price youth lifetime hunt and fish permit. The …

LINCOLN – An elk tag will be auctioned off at the Nebraska Big Game Society (NBGS) banquet May 2 in Lincoln. The banquet will be held at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club, 1800 Wilderness Woods Place. Those who wish to bid but cannot attend may call in their bids for free. Call-in bidders must first notify the NBGS by 5 p.m. on April 29 at 402-430-9191 or 402-429-7181, or via email at NBGS11@gmail.com. Only residents are eligible for the tag, which …

LINCOLN – The aquatic habitat rehabilitation project is complete at Burchard Wildlife Management Area, however the reservoir remains low. The new boat ramp facility is still not accessible and will remain closed because of the water level is 7-8 feet below full pool. Access to the reservoir is allowed for bank angling, but all vehicles must remain on roads and parking lots. Launching small vessels, such as johnboats, kayaks, canoes and float tubes, is also allowed provided they are carried …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has recently installed a temporary control structure below Rat and Beaver lakes located in Cherry County. This structure will allow the lakes to be lowered 18 inches over several months in preparation for a complete lake rehabilitation project. Improvements to the boat launch area, a complete fish renovation, and installation of two fish barriers below Rat and Beaver lakes will be completed by late 2014 or early 2015. Currently, the Rat and …

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors April 27 in Scottsbluff. The free workshop will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 101 E. 20th St., from 2-5 p.m. 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 and will receive program incentives. They also are encouraged to volunteer for such Game and Parks programs …

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials have scheduled prescribed burns on Wildlife Management Areas in Scotts Bluff and Morrill counties in the coming weeks. A 200-acre burn at the Cedar Canyon Wildlife Management Area southwest of Gering may begin as early as Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15-16, if conditions are favorable. Other properties with approved burn plans may follow. They are the Arnold Trupp WMA north of Bayard and the Nine Mile Creek WMA southeast of Lake Minatare State Recreation …

LINCOLN – Some Nebraska hunting and fishing permits now may be purchased, accessed or displayed on a mobile device. The image of a mobile permit may be displayed and saved on a device such as a phone or tablet. The mobile permit fulfills the requirement of carrying a permit while eliminating the need to carry a paper version. Mobile permit purchase options are currently limited to hunt (small game), fish, and resident fur harvest permits, as well as associated stamps. …

LINCOLN – The public is invited to join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the Southeast District Birding Day on May 14 at the Nebraska Eastern Saline Wetlands in northern Lancaster County. This free morning of birding will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the parking lot of Little Salt Fork Marsh Preserve, a half-mile west of the intersection of N. 1st Street and Raymond Road. A carpool from Game and Parks’ Lincoln headquarters, 2200 N. 33rd St., is available. …