Conservation

I know a couple of things in the “Carp World” this week that I want to mention.  First of course is our annual “Carp-O-Rama” event at Branched Oak Reservoir this coming Saturday.  As a fisheries biologist I will tell you that invasive Carp species, including the Common Carp that have been here for over a hundred years, are a scourge and if I could snap my fingers and make ’em all go away, I would.  Fisheries biologists will forever be managing …

LINCOLN – Now that the presence of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed in Nebraska, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission emphasizes that campers should continue to restrict the movement of firewood to prevent the spread of EAB throughout the state. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture on June 8 confirmed the presence of the EAB in Omaha’s Pulaski Park. EAB is a tree-killing beetle native to Asia. It can move from state to state in firewood. As …

Those that know me know that handgun hunting is my passion.  I would rather use a handgun than any other method of take for small and big game.   I think this started from days when my Dad would take me to the farm for an afternoon of plinking with our 22 LR pistols. We would also watch old westerns movies that made me dream about riding the range with a six-gun on my hip! Those days had a huge …

I was going to blog about something different today, but I just heard some talk about hot Walleye bites on Nebraska reservoirs and folks having problems releasing fish that they by regulation have to release.  I do not know why this is any kind of a problem any more–we have had a variety of length limit regulations for a variety of species for a lot of years now and catch and release is a routine part of fishing!  Either by regulation …

LINCOLN – Become a citizen scientist and help professionals learn more about two Nebraska butterfly species in decline – the monarch and the regal fritillary. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is seeking help from the public in two surveys to measure the abundance and range of these butterflies in Nebraska. More information on these surveys, as well as instructions on how to participate, are available on our website at OutdoorNebraska.org/ButterflySurvey. The Commission will host survey training at Nine Mile …

We are past the Memorial Day weekend and officially into “summer” now.  Often, by this time, I have posted a reminder about boating safety and especially wearing your life jackets.  I may be a little late with that reminder this year, but we certainly are in the middle of fishing and boating season now–still a good time to do it. I am betting most of you have life jackets in your boat like you are legally required.  But, I am …

Members of the public are invited to become citizen scientists during the Bioblitz, a 24-hour program at Oliver Reservoir west of Kimball on Friday and Saturday, June 17-18. Led by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, the free family event will allow participants to discover and celebrate western Nebraska wildlife. A bioblitz is an event where members of the public become “citizen scientists” and work with biologists to survey a particular area, recording all plants and animals they can find. …

My buddies here at the Game & Parks Commission, Jeff Rawlinson and Aaron Hershberger have been taping some “how to” videos or “V blogs” or whatever you want to call them.  You can find them on YouTube under the title of “Nebraska Outdoors“. Aaron invited me over last week to talk fishing and they just got that video posted up today.  Might as well share it here on my blog too! Have a great weekend everyone.  Fish are biting, get …

I am all fishing, all the time, except when the turkeys are gobbling in the spring.  I just cannot get enough of hunting those big, beautiful Toms.  So, the past few weeks I have to admit to you that I have been fishing very little.  But, Nebraska’s spring turkey season 2016 is now in the rear-view mirror, and it is time to get back on the water!  This past weekend, a holiday weekend, was a great one to do that, …

I taught a “basic fishing” class last Thursday evening.  That class was planned to be in a classroom and I am afraid the participants had to listen to me ramble about fishing for a couple of hours.  I hope I did not bore them to tears.  One thing I mentioned to them that I want to “hit” again today is our Family Fishing events.  Yes, some of these events have already been held this late spring/early summer, but there is …