Conservation

I have often said that all of our waters can be important fisheries in Nebraska, and that includes some of the state’s smallest waters–pits and ponds.  Angler surveys have consistently shown us that at least a quarter of licensed Nebraska anglers spend some time fishing pits and ponds each year.  Those small waters produce some of the best largemouth bass and panfish fishing in Nebraska every year and there are a variety of other species caught from some of those …

The University of Nebraska (UNL) – Lincoln Wildlife Club extends an invitation to the public for their annual Wildlife Club Awards Banquet on April 11 at the Izaak Walton League, with the social hour beginning at 5:30pm. This year, UNL Lincoln Wildlife Club will be hosting John Chapo, the president and CEO of The Lincoln Children’s Zoo, as the keynote speaker. His presentation is titled “The Lincoln Children’s Zoo- Small Zoo, Large Success.” The banquet, which includes a catered dinner, is $20 …

BASSETT – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission placed tracking collars on three elk near Bassett in north-central Nebraska on Tuesday, the latest installment of a multi-year effort to use real-time location data to determine populations, make harvest recommendations and monitor herd health. Game and Parks contracted a helicopter wildlife capture crew to catch the elk and equip them with GPS tracking collars and ear tags. In addition, samples were taken from the three cows to obtain health and genetic …

I have an interesting news release I want to share with you: Now I know this open house, this particular fish passage project, is not going to be of great importance to many of you unless you are familiar with the Cedar River particularly in the Spalding and Ericson area.  But, I am betting that very few reading this have even considered that there might be a need for fish passageways on Nebraska rivers and streams.  No, we do not have migratory …

I know what you’re thinking. No, this is not going to be a blog about the memorable snow storms I’ve experienced growing up in the Cornhusker State. Nope. This is a going to be blog post about the memorable times I had last year hunting snow and Ross’s geese during Nebraska’s Light Conservation Order hunting period here in Nebraska. I can favorably recall each and every experience! I saw huge flocks of light geese. I watched superb dog work. I was fortunate to harvest …

As I write this I am not sure if we are in ” ‘tween” season or not–between safe ice and open water fishing.  I know there are parts of the state where folks are still getting on the ice, and looking outside my window today, I am thinking there are parts of the state where we may be back on the ice again.  Regardless, this is as good of a time as any to post a little review of bait …

When I initially wrote this blog post it looked like we were going to have a long and prosperous ice-fishing season.  Now, not so much. . . . However, this is something I still want to mention, something I want some ice anglers to think about; with some cold weather, you might be able to put this into practice yet this ice season.  If not, there is always next year. Gaffs are a tool that can be used to land …

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 …

Yes, I am going to recycle some news for this blog post.  I fully realize that all of our Youth Fishing Instructors have seen this by now, and I know that some of the events mentioned have by now come and gone, but I think it is good to let others see this newsletter too.  It is good to let folks know what we have been doing and to tell them a little bit about the great folks that work …

In recent weeks I have spent some time away from the computer, some time in the field and on the water doing a variety of things.  There is too much to tell in one blog post, so let me break it up and begin with a quick report from the field. . . . It will disappoint some of my fur-harvesting friends, but I have to honestly confess to you that right now I am a casual fur harvester.  My trapping …