Outdoor notes: Commission reminds public of landowner resources for those with wildlife damage

LINCOLN, Neb – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is proactively working with landowners who have encountered wildlife damage to their crops and property.

Landowners who experience wildlife damage should contact their district Commission office. They can discuss options such as scare devices, damage control permits and opening lands to public access for hunting. Contact information for district offices is available at OutdoorNebraska.org/locations. Landowners also may contact the Commission about wildlife damage issues at OutdoorNebraska.org/depredation by filling out a Landowner Assistance Form.

The Commission is working to increase antlerless deer harvest by 30 percent in the Frenchman West Unit in southwest Nebraska. To reach this goal, the Commission will increase antlerless deer permits by 25 percent and offer an increased number of damage permits.

As an additional tool for landowners, the Commission is working on a program that would connect deer hunters with landowners. Similar to the agency’s popular Deer Exchange, this program would include a database in which landowners could search for hunters to harvest antlerless deer on their property.

The Deer Exchange, which began in 2008, is designed to accommodate the additional harvest of deer. It brings together hunters who have a surplus of deer with recipients willing to accept the deer meat. The Deer Exchange allows hunters and potential venison recipients to join a database and search for other participating parties in their area. Parties will work out the details of the transfer. While the venison cannot be sold, recipients may pay for the processing or butchering of the meat. Donors and recipients can register online for free.

Landowners and hunters are important to managing wildlife; together with the Commission, they are the driving force for wildlife conservation in Nebraska. Landowners provide habitat and access for hunting game species. Readily available permits and long seasons provide tremendous opportunities to harvest deer in Nebraska, especially antlerless deer.

Hunting has an annual $848 million economic impact in Nebraska and supports nearly 9,000 jobs. Hunters, anglers and park-goers travel from around the world to take advantage of Nebraska’s mixed bag opportunities for hunting and to watch wildlife.

The Commission is charged with managing all wildlife in the state. It strives to find a balance between healthy wildlife populations, opportunities for hunting, and keeping deer and all game populations at socially acceptable levels.

Aug. 17 Rock Creek Station living history event to showcase everyday life in 1864

LINCOLN, Neb. – At a special living history event on Aug. 17 at Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, living historians from across the country will reenact the daily life of the site in 1864.

During “A Walk Back in Time,” living historians will inhabit the park’s reconstructed road ranch, demonstrating haying, carpentry, blacksmithing, stock tending, and running a mid-19th century Overland Trail road ranch in Nebraska Territory.

Several living historians will be traveling in from out of state, from as far away as Texas and Minnesota, said park superintendent Jeff Bargar.

Bargar hopes visitors walk away with a richer understanding of the world of Rock Creek Station, which was “an interstate of the 1800s,” he said.

“When you think of ‘pioneer and immigrant experiences,’ you think of a line of wagons headed west. That’s not the actual life of that era,” Bargar said.

Rock Creek Station was established in 1857 along the Oregon and California trails. It was a supply center and resting spot for westward emigrants and later became a Pony Express relay station. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission developed it as a state historical park in 1980.

Rock Creek Station State Historical Park is located at 57426 710 Road, approximately 6 miles east of Fairbury in Jefferson County. For more information, call the park at 402-729-5777. A park entry permit is required.

Enjoy unique 5K race Aug. 17 at Fort Atkinson SHP

LINCOLN, Neb. – For a unique 5K race experience, sign up for the Cannon Fire 5K, to be held Aug. 17 at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park.

The 5K takes place at a site filled with Nebraska history, where the first U.S. military post west of the Missouri River was established. The 3.1-mile course will take you through the park’s timber trails and roads.

The course includes a hill, gravel and paved paths, and mowed grass portions across the prairie. Runners also can enjoy post-race drinks and snacks, and a fun atmosphere.

The 9 a.m. race, hosted by Anytime Fitness Elkhorn, includes T-shirts and finisher medals for all participants.

Registration is required, and ends Aug. 16 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. The cost to register is $35 per person. Sign up online at www.runsignup.com/Race/NE/FortCalhoun/CannonFire5K.

Packet pick-up is at Anytime Fitness Elkhorn, 20231 Manderson St., Ste. 105 in Elkhorn, on Aug. 16 from 2-6 p.m., and Aug. 17 from 7:30-8:45 a.m., prior to the race.

Fort Atkinson State Historical Park is located seven blocks east of U.S. Highway 75 near Fort Calhoun. For more information, call the park at 402-468-5611. A park entry permit is required.

Display and sell your work at Eugene T. Mahoney art and craft show

LINCOLN, Neb. – Organizers of the River Valley Artisan and Craft Market, set for Nov. 2-3 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park, are seeking unique artists and craft makers to join the show.

This popular event, to be held at Peter Kiewit Lodge, offers vendors the opportunity to display and sell handmade work. Art from a wide variety of mediums is welcome, including wood carvings, ornaments, home décor, handmade soaps and lotions, jewelry, pottery, handmade jams and jellies, and more.

Hours for the show are Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Nov. 3 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Vendor space is limited. The application fee is $75, and registration closes Oct. 18. A park entry permit is required.

For more details and to apply, call the park’s group function office at 402-944-2523 ext. 7344.

Mormon Island SRA temporarily closed because of storm damage

LINCOLN, Neb. – Mormon Island State Recreation Area is temporarily closed because of damage caused by a storm early Aug. 7.

Winds of 87 mph and damaging hail were reported in the area of the park, located 3 miles north of Doniphan in Hall County, and surrounding communities.

Mormon Island is closed to public access until park staff can clear roadways and remove dangerous trees from the area.

Squirrel season a great introduction for novice hunters

LINCOLN, Neb. – Small game, such as squirrel, is a great way to introduce novices to hunting. Skills, equipment and licensing are more basic than other types of hunting.

Squirrel season – Aug. 1 through Jan. 31, 2020 – is the first of Nebraska’s fall hunting seasons. This leaves the hunting woods available to novices and their mentors.

“Squirrel is one of the most easily accessible and feasible species to pursue in the state,” Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Hunter Education Coordinator Jackson Ellis said. “Squirrels are plentiful across most public land close to metro areas, they don’t require any specialized equipment, and the weather tends to be mild and enjoyable.”

Nebraska residents younger than age 16 can harvest squirrels without a hunt (small game) permit or Nebraska Habitat Stamp. Residents 16 and above and all nonresidents require the permit and stamp. A Hunter Education certificate is required for anyone age 12 through 29 who hunts with a firearm.

Squirrels may be hunted statewide, but no hunting is allowed on state refuges and sanctuaries. The daily bag limit is seven squirrels, and the possession limit is 28.

“Bag limits are liberal and the meat is easy to process and create a meal that nearly anyone will enjoy,” Ellis said. “The reasons to take to the field after squirrels are as limitless as the opportunity to be had afield.”

Before a hunt, scout locations for trees that bear mast, as it could pay off when it is time to hunt. Squirrels prefer to eat the nuts of oaks, hickories and walnuts. They will eat other types of nuts and fruit when preferred food types are not available.

Hunters always should follow the basic rules of firearm safety:

-- Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.

-- Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.

-- Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

-- Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.

Hunt permits may be purchased at OutdoorNebraska.org. Read the 2019-2020 Small Game and Waterfowl Guide at Outdoornebraska.gov/guides for more hunting information.

Mormon Island SRA to reopen at 5 p.m. Aug. 8

LINCOLN, Neb. – Mormon Island State Recreation Area is scheduled to reopen at 5 p.m. on Aug. 8. It had closed the day before so crews could clean up tree damage from a storm.

While the park’s roads and campgrounds will reopen, parts of the area will remain closed to the public while cleanup operations continue.

Campground reservations for the coming weekend are still valid.

A park entry permit is required at Mormon Island, located 3 miles north of Doniphan in Hall County.

Great Park Pursuit offers additional incentive to participants

LINCOLN, Neb. – There is still time to sign up a team for the 2019 Great Park Pursuit – or to get your team out to this year’s locations.

As extra encouragement, all teams that submit a park visit through the mobile app or by mailing in a rubbing sheet by Aug. 26 will receive an entry for one of two Fitbits, provided by the Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association.

The Great Park Pursuit is a free program in which participating teams can visit up to 20 official park sites across the state, where a Great Park Pursuit post is hidden. Teams, which visit parks for the chance to win prizes, follow clues to the post and prove they were there with the free mobile app, or by making a pencil impression of the post to mail in.

The Great Park Pursuit is a joint program of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the Nebraska Recreation and Park Association. Sign up at outdoornebraska.gov/greatparkpursuit.

Hunters Helping the Hungry meat processors to accept deer donations starting Sept. 1

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters may begin donating deer to the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program beginning Sept. 1 at 11 processor locations around the state. Two additional processors will accept deer for the program starting Nov. 1 and Nov. 16.

Hunters pay no processing costs for deer accepted by processors for this donation-driven program.

The HHH program is funded solely by tax-deductible contributions. Ground venison is distributed by charitable organizations to Nebraskans in need. Hunters should first talk with processors but may keep antlers, head and cape and donate the rest of the deer. Processors accept only whole deer in good condition to ensure a good yield of pure ground venison.

Learn more about the program and how to support it at OutdoorNebraska.org/HHH or contact program coordinator Teresa Lombard at 402 471-5430 [email protected].

The participating meat processors are: Amherst – Belschner Custom Meats; Bayard – JM Pack (starting Nov. 1); Elwood – SteakMaster; Humphrey – Country Butcher (starting Nov. 16); Johnson – Pelican’s Meat Processing; Lindsay – Melcher’s Locker; North Bend – Bob’s Custom Meats; North Platte – Kelley’s Custom Pack; Oakland – Oakland Meat Processing Plant; Omaha – B.I.G. Meats; Orleans – Harlan County Meat Processors; Table Rock – Den’s Country Meats; Ulysses – The Butchery.

New trout stream section to improve habitats near Mitchell

MITCHELL, Neb. – Anglers, fish and a diverse set of wildlife will soon enjoy a new stretch of trout stream in the western Panhandle.

Construction is underway to add nearly three-quarters of a mile of trout stream on Dry Spotted Tail Creek just west of Mitchell in Scotts Bluff County. The new stream section, which is being constructed to receive water from the creek’s existing straightened channel, will result in new wetland habitat for many aquatic species and terrestrial wildlife on the Platte River Basin Environment’s 1,360-acre Spotted Tail wildland between Mitchell and Morrill.

Mark Porath, Aquatic Habitat Program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said Dry Spotted Tail Creek is one of the streams in the North Platte Valley that demonstrates how water resources can benefit both agriculture and wildlife habitats.

The creek itself, which has headwaters north of Mitchell, did not necessarily have stream flow all the way to the North Platte River until irrigation infrastructure was developed in the region. Porath said the active irrigation return flows keep the water temperature cool enough to support rainbow trout, a cold-water species, in the heat of the summer.

Unfortunately, the straightened channel has cut into the soil about nine feet, consequently acting as a drain on the surrounding wetland and lowering the water table.

Workers are now creating the new meandering stream channel that was engineered and designed to work with variable water flows across Nebraska’s soils. By balancing erosion and deposition, the new stream will maintain a higher water level and restore the wetland habitat.

After the new channel is formed, complete with rocks and habitat structures, water will be slowly introduced to the new stream to establish wetland vegetation. Next year, workers will construct a permanent structure to divert the bulk of the flow from the old channel to the new stream section. This structure will be unique among Nebraska’s trout waters because the new diversion will allow return flows to continue down the old channel in a flood event, preventing damage to the new section.

Porath said the project is a collaboration between the Commission, Platte River Basin Environments, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. Funding for the project is provided by the Nebraska Environmental Trust ($275,000), the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program ($400,000), National Water-Quality Assessment ($100,000), Trout Unlimited ($39,000), Platte River Basin Environments ($35,000) and Pheasants Forever ($2,000).

The construction zone is closed to visitation, but the public may attend an open house at the site Sept. 10 from 6-8 p.m. MDT.

Migratory game bird hunters must register for HIP

LINCOLN, Neb. – Hunters of migratory game birds are reminded of their requirement to register for the Harvest Information Program (HIP).

Register for the free program at OutdoorNebraska.gov/HIP.

HIP registration is required of residents age 16 and older and all nonresidents who plan to hunt migratory game birds in Nebraska between Aug. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2020. These birds are doves, ducks, geese, snipe, rail, coots and woodcock. Among those who must register in Nebraska are hunters registered in another state and holders of lifetime, 64-and-over veteran, and 69-and-over senior permits. Only residents under age 16 are exempt.

HIP, which is required by federal regulation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, helps wildlife managers estimate the number of migratory game birds harvested each year. Those estimates help justify hunting seasons but also aid biologists in setting limits and seasons.

Hunters who have no internet access can register by calling toll-free at 877-634-8687. A HIP number, which must be carried while hunting, will be assigned to each registrant.

Hunting permits may be purchased at OutdoorNebraska.org.