I’m Ross Young and I am an outdoor cooking, basic pistol, and archery specialist at the Nebraska Outdoor Education Center (NOEC) in Lincoln.  The education center has taken on such an important role for Game and Parks and I am proud to be a part of what is taking place at the facility.  I love being able to pass on the traditions I learned as a child. I fondly remember spending summers with my parents, at the lake in our …

EEEEK! TICK! The ticks are out! In Nebraska, ticks become active early in the spring and are one of the first biting pests we experience as the weather warms. Ticks are part of Nebraska’s environment, and they shouldn’t stop any of us from pursuing our favorite outdoor activities this time of year — wild turkey hunting, morel mushroom picking, bird watching, tent camping, hiking, fishing, etc. We just need to take the necessary precautions to dissuade these little buggers from crawling on us, embedding …

LINCOLN – The following is a listing of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission events and important dates in April: April 1 – Basic Archery Instructor Training, Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center, Lincoln, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 402-471-6141 April 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – Explore Archery, Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center, Lincoln, 6-7 p.m., 402-471-6141 April 2 – Learn to Hunt Spring Turkey, Mormon Island State Recreation Area (SRA), Grand Island, 10 a.m.-noon, 308-660-6955 April 2 – …

Truth be told, I’m finding it difficult to cope as I wait anxiously for Nebraska’s spring wild turkey hunting seasons to arrive. The days are getting longer, we’ve had some of those abnormally warm winter days, and hints of green are emerging on my lawn! Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m really looking forward to experiencing the spring migration of waterfowl and sandhill cranes, in addition to hunting snow geese, but it’s hard not to not think about wild turkeys in the springtime when there is …

Looking for some ideas on what to do outdoors in 2016? Here are sixteen fun and interesting things I think you should consider doing in Nebraska’s outdoor scene in the New Year. Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2016! 1. Enjoy a winter activity in one of our state park lands. 2. Mentor youth in your favorite outdoor activity. 3. Visit a place you’ve never been. 4. Experience living history at a state historical park. 5. Take a back road. 6. Do something you’ve never done, learn a new outdoor skill. 7. Float …

Ran into a fellow pointy-headed fish biologist yesterday who has since moved on to bigger and better things in another state.  But, he stills comes back to Nebraska to do some hunting!  He asked me how my fall has been and that got me to thinking that I should give a little review.  It has been a good fall, mild, warm, long, lots of fish. . . . I love fall fishing.  I fish H-A-R-D in the fall; it is …

I’ve always said the outdoor world presents many different twists and turns, and that’s what makes it so intriguing! I compare entering the outdoor world anytime to going out on that first date: You’re excited, you’re nervous, you’re not wanting to forget anything, you’re probably overdressed and you’re wondering what eventualities might take place. But, I think spending as much time as possible in the field and trying new things improves your overall outdoor knowledge and skill level. In my mind, you’re able …

Don’t miss 84-year-old, Korean War Veteran and 50-plus year morel mushroom hunter, Earl Fletcher of Omaha, NE, when he visits my  Saturday morning Great Outdoor Radio Show to talk “morels!” Earl is a veteran among veteran morel mushroom hunters and has much information to share with you. Below he is pictured with his daughter Sue Smith on a recent morel mushroom hunt in eastern Nebraska. The Great Outdoor Radio Show airs LIVE Saturday morning from 9-10 a.m. CST on Omaha’s KOZN Radio/1620 AM “The Zone.”  …

Time for my first report on this spring’s turkey season.  My kids and I have been hunting quite a bit since the shotgun season opened up a little over a week ago.  We have been casual about our hunting, slipping out when we have time, mostly in the evenings so far.  Call me lazy, but I have not been in the field at “0-dark, thirty” yet this season. We have been hunting both some private and public lands, have seen …

I do not live in the country right now, not by a long shot.  But, sometimes it is amazing the wild critters a person can see in town.  We were sitting on the couch the other day when I saw a woodpecker in one of our oak trees.  Now I am not a birder, but this was a woodpecker that I did not recognize and I was curious about it.  In spite of the red-stripe on its head, it is …