NGPC News

LINCOLN, Neb. – Justin Haag will join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as a public information officer for the Panhandle beginning Jan. 28. Haag’s duties include community and media relations, public information, and photography and writing for NEBRASKAland Magazine and all agency media. P> Haag, a lifetime resident of western Nebraska, comes to Game and Parks after 12 years at Chadron State College, where he was a communications coordinator for seven years and then media and public relations coordinator …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Jenny Nguyen has joined the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as a public information officer for northeast Nebraska. She began her duties, working out of the agency’s Norfolk office, on Jan. 14. Nguyen’s duties include community and media relations, public information, and photography and writing for NEBRASKAland Magazine and all agency media. Nguyen was 2 years old when her family emigrated from Vietnam to Southern California, where she grew up in Garden Grove. She graduated from UCLA …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will certify youth fishing instructors at the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium on March 2. Youth fishing instructors will receive training and tools to conduct fishing clinics. They will have access to Game and Parks’ loaner fishing equipment and educational materials, as well as receive program incentives. They also are encouraged to volunteer for such Game and Parks programs as Family Fishing Nights and the Outdoor Discovery Program. The training workshop is from 9 …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska’s resident mountain lion population has grown slightly, staff told the Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners at their meeting Jan. 18 in Omaha. Sam Wilson, Game and Parks’ furbearer and carnivore program manager, estimated the reproducing population of mountain lions in the Pine Ridge of northwest Nebraska in 2012 was 22, compared to 19 in 2010. The estimates were derived from studies in which dogs were used to detect mountain lion scat, which were then analyzed through …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants and Quail Forever will host a prescribed burn workshop Jan. 23 in Beatrice for landowners who want to learn how prescribed burning can improve forage, control red cedars and improve wildlife habitat. The workshop will be from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Homestead National Monument, 8523 W. Nebraska Hwy. 4. Lunch is included in the $10 fee. Participants should register by Jan. 22. Visit NebraskaPF.com or call Bruce Sprague at …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants and Quail Forever will host a prescribed burn workshop Jan. 24 in Ithaca for landowners who want to learn how prescribed burning can improve forage, control red cedars and improve wildlife habitat. The workshop will be from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1071 County Road G. Lunch is included in the $10 fee. Participants should register by Jan. 22. Visit NebraskaPF.com …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Ice anglers and other visitors to Lake Wanahoo State Recreation Area (SRA) are asked to comply with an exclusion zone implemented to protect the lake’s nesting bald eagles. The exclusion zone is an area closed to all access from Dec. 1-July 15. A pair of bald eagles first built a nest at Lake Wanahoo in 2011. They produced two fledglings in 2011 and two more the following year. The nest is located in a large, dead cottonwood …

LINCOLN, Neb. – Football fans, family and friends can enjoy the Super Bowl in a scenic surrounding with the Super Bowl Special at Ponca State Park. One- and two-night mini-lodge stays are available Feb. 2-3 at a 30-percent discounted rate of $189 per night, not including tax and reservation fee. A two-night stay includes two free pizzas, five bundles of firewood and late check-out. A one-night stay includes a free pizza and two bundles of firewood. Each mini-lodge includes four …

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants and Quail Forever will host a prescribed burn training workshop in David City on Jan. 16 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The workshop will take place at Hruska Memorial Library, 399 5th St. The workshop will introduce the basic concepts of prescribed burning. A $10 fee includes a meal. Registration deadline is Jan. 14. Visit NebraskaPF.com or call Pam Grossart at 308-850-8395 or Brian Teeter 402-219-2572.

LINCOLN, Neb. – A mountain lion was unintentionally killed in a cable restraint trap in Scotts Bluff County on Jan. 9, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The mountain lion was a female weighing approximately 81 pounds that appeared to be in good health. The trapper called Game and Parks immediately upon discovering the mountain lion, as required by Game and Parks policy. High pelt prices have led to an increased effort to trap bobcats and may have …