Research

Antler Basics Horns and antlers, decorative headgear sported by some of Nebraska’s best-known species, are not the same. Horns are keratin, a hair-like sheath, that grows over a bony core throughout an animal’s life. They are found on pronghorn, bison, cattle, goats and sheep. Antlers, however, are bones that grow each spring and summer and are shed, or cast, late the following winter as the animal’s testosterone levels decrease. You’ll find them on deer and elk. Antlers grow up to …

A man-made prairie-chicken lek finds success. It was a calm March morning when Dan Leuenberger first heard it: the echoing calls of greater prairie-chickens. Climbing a hill on his Johnson County farm, he spotted a flock of about 20 birds gathered for mating season. Each spring, males congregate on leks, or display grounds, to perform mating rituals that have made the species an icon of the prairie. They stomp, leap, spin in circles, inflate orange air sacs on their neck …

Proficiency on a foam block doesn’t always translate to real hunting scenarios during the season. Too many archery hunters practice archery and not bowhunting. Setting a foam target in the yard, walking back to a premeasured distance and flinging arrows all summer is good practice for hitting a foam target, but climbing into a blind for turkeys or a tree stand for deer is completely different. Being an effective bowhunter is about what you do with the shots you are …

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: • 1 pound of boneless perch fillets • 2 to 3 large eggs • ⅓ cup of all-purpose flour • 1½ cup of Panko breadcrumbs • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, plus extra • Freshly cracked pepper, to taste • 1 cup of mayonnaise • 4 teaspoons of Sriracha sauce • 4 teaspoons of lemon juice • Vegetable oil for frying • Lemon wedges, for serving 1. To make the spicy …

The Cheyenne Buttes provide one of the most scenic vantage points in the Pine Ridge. They also are forever tied to an event from Fort Robinson State Park’s history as a U.S. Cavalry post and got their name from a notorious event. Historians rate the happenings of Jan. 9, 1879, among the most significant events of the Indian Wars. While that day is certainly important, it is just one day among a period of more than three months. The previous …

Hunting the late-waterfowl season is not for the faint of heart. Thick ice, biting temperatures and freezing equipment are only a few things that the most die-hard of waterfowl hunters have to contend with in January and February. I talked to four of these hunters, who provided insight on how to best cope with hunting in harsh winter conditions. Julie Geiser is a public information officer and Nebraskaland regional editor for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. She has spent …

Controlled shooting areas have been popping up over the landscape for several years now, and hunters are taking advantage of the opportunities available at these places. Wanting to try it, our family made a trip to Camp George just north of Arnold. This trip was a good way to spend some quality time together while doing what we all love: hunting. Having never been to one of these areas, none of us really knew what to expect, but we were …

Cattle drives are an important part of one chapter of Nebraska’s history. For about 20 years in the late-1800s, cowboys on horseback would push huge herds of longhorns from Texas to Nebraska, where the animals were loaded on trains and shipped to feed a growing nation. Cattle drives and roundups remain a part of everyday life on ranches throughout the state today. It’s a pretty simple process, where cowboys on horseback, ATVs or pickups push the cows from one place …

Servings: 6 Prep Time: Overnight Cooking Time: 6 hours Ingredients: • 1½ pounds bone-in duck or goose legs • 1 pound of dried cannellini beans • Water • 1 onion, separated • 1 rib of celery, roughly sliced • 2 carrots, roughly sliced • 2 bay leaves • Olive oil • 6 ounces of andouille sausage, sliced • 4 cloves of garlic, minced • 1 bunch of kale, leaves coarsely chopped • 1 tablespoon of tomato paste • 4 sprigs …

I know when I’m the outsider. As a longtime Nebraskaland Magazine writer and photographer, I’m well aware when I’m interrupting someone’s hunting or fishing trip. So when I went on a top-secret hunt near Ashland with a group of hunters I barely knew, I had been gifted an exclusive trip. But it wasn’t the first time I had been on a hunt like this. On the night before the open day of pheasant season in 2008, I was at Frank’s …