GERING, Neb. – A virtual program from the Wildcat Hills Nature Center will explore the traditions and celebrations of the spring equinox. The program will be 10 a.m. MST on Saturday, March 13.

The spring equinox, which is the astronomical first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, is March 20 this year. After the equinox, the northern half of the globe will begin tilting closer to the sun.

Amanda Filipi, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission outdoor education specialist who is presenting the program, hopes the educational opportunity will spark new traditions for families who participate.

To register for the free program, which will be on the meeting platform Zoom, visit https://tinyurl.com/4so74egs.

Events kick off March as Nebraska Outdoor Women’s Month

LINCOLN, Neb. – Several virtual events are scheduled by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to kick off March, which Gov. Pete Ricketts has proclaimed Nebraska Outdoor Women’s Month.

These free events include a women’s career panel, women’s conservation history event, and women’s birding event, among others. Registration is required at calendar.outdoornebraska.org.

Game and Parks encourages women to get outdoors and engage other women in the outdoors. Throughout March, women in the outdoors and women’s outdoor achievements will be highlighted on the agency’s social media, including on the Nebraska Wildlife Education’s Facebook. Posts will include information and basics on how to get started in outdoor activities.

For more information about Nebraska Outdoor Women’s Month, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/NOW.

Spring Saturday Series of turkey workshops begins March 6

LINCOLN, Neb. – Turkey hunters with limited experience are invited to expand their knowledge through the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Spring Saturday Series of workshops.

These free, virtual Facebook sessions, starting March 6, will help develop specific skills necessary to increase hunting success and enjoyment. Each session begins at 9 a.m. Central time. All are listed at OutdoorNebraska.com/Workshops.

The Spring Saturday Series schedule, with topics, is as follows: March 6, shotgun patterning for success; March 13, decoy placement; March 20, using calls; March 27, cleaning wild turkey; April 3, wild turkey recipes.

Also, for those wanting to get the most from Spring Saturday Series, a special Turkey Hunting Mystery Box is available for purchase at $60, including shipping. The mystery box, which includes some must-haves for spring turkey hunting, is limited in supply. Order at OutdoorNebraska.com/Workshops.

Trout have interesting history in Nebraska

By Larry Pape
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

LINCOLN, Neb. – Trout are more likely to be found in Nebraska than elephants. Prehistorically, though, this probably was not true.

The fossilized presence of mammoth in Nebraska is well described, but trout’s earliest recorded occurrence is from stocking by early Nebraska fish culturists and enthusiasts. Previous to about 150 years ago, there is little trustworthy information about trout swimming in the area now called Nebraska.

How and when trout arrived in Nebraska is an interesting story.

In the 1963 paper, A History of Nebraska’s Fishery Resources, by David J. Jones, there is an illustration titled Lewis and Clark Made the Earliest Fish Collections. While the Lewis and Clark collection included a fish they called “salmon,” it likely is the fish was something that appeared similar to trout, or was misnamed. Trout or salmon were not otherwise found in the lower Missouri River in other collections. Potentially cutthroat trout may have inhabited Nebraska as these are native to the east slope of the Rocky Mountains, but there is little evidence, folklore or tales of trout in Nebraska before settlement.

The Jones paper gives an interesting view of early fish management, both intentional and accidental. It shares the story of the earliest Nebraska fish stocking, although unintentional. A train with carloads of live fish traveling from the East Coast to California in 1873 derailed into the Elkhorn River east of Fremont. Brook trout were among the many varieties of exotic fish that escaped into the river that day, never to be seen again.

Until 1963, nine species of trout and salmon stockings were made in Nebraska: Atlantic salmon, brook trout, Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, lake trout, brown trout, cutthroat trout, artic grayling and Kokanee salmon. The Jones paper gives a detailed conclusion to many of these stockings, many of which did not continue. To download this paper, visit digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebgamepubs/31/.

Currently, four trout species are reproducing or being stocked regularly in Nebraska streams and ponds. The tiger trout is a fifth, but is a hybrid of brook and brown trout.

Rainbow trout are by far the most widely spread and stocked of all the trout. Rainbows are hardy and handle well in fish hatcheries. They are aggressive feeders, which makes them great for anglers to catch. Rainbows are stocked statewide in the fall and spring. Brown trout are natives of Europe and have established naturally reproducing populations in Nebraska because they are adaptable to variable habitats and temperatures. Brook trout are generally smaller and have found a niche, reproducing in cooler Sandhills and Pine Ridge streams. Cutthroat are recently being stocked around the state to offer a new species opportunity for anglers. All four of these species of trout are included in the Trout Slam, where an angler receives recognition for catching at least one of each of these trout (OutdoorNebraska.gov/troutslam).

Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/wheretofish to view the publication Trout Fishing in Nebraska’s Streams for details on the statewide stream distribution of rainbow, brook and brown trout. That same site also has Nebraska Fishing Maps, a more detailed version that includes private and public locations of trout distribution, with notes on stocking management.

View fish stocking reports at OutdoorNebraska.gov/fishstockingreports for a fun way to explore the historic fish stocking database for any fish species and location in Nebraska.

Salvaged trout to be stocked at CenturyLink Lake

LINCOLN, Neb. – Rainbow trout from four ponds at Schramm Park State Recreation Area will be stocked at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park’s CenturyLink Lake on March 2.

These trout, which range in length from 12 to 18 inches, will be salvaged from the park’s four canyon ponds. By comparison, trout stocked in annual spring stockings are approximately 10 inches in length.

The ponds are being temporarily drained so they and the spring that supplies them can be evaluated. This is part of periodic maintenance and upkeep to the ponds, where fish are grown for educational programs, such as Trout in the Classroom.

The other fish species in the pond, goldfish and koi, will be held, then returned to the ponds when they are refilled.

Two Rivers SRA trout lake to open March 6

LINCOLN, Neb. – The trout lake at Two Rivers State Recreation Area in Douglas County will open Saturday, March 6 for family fishing.

The lake will be stocked with 10,000 11- to 12-inch rainbow trout in time for the opener.

All trout caught in the lake must be harvested and not released. Anglers first must purchase from the park office a daily trout tag for $6. Each tag is good for a daily bag limit of four trout. A person may have up to three tags per day and 12 trout in possession. An adult angler may have two children under the age of 16 fishing under the authority of his/her tag, but the group bag limit still is limited to four trout per tag.

The trout lake (Lake No. 5) is open from 7 a.m. to sunset each day. Anglers, except residents younger than age 16, must have a Nebraska fishing license. All vehicles entering the park must have a park entry permit. Anglers possessing trout on any other lake at Two Rivers must have a trout tag, as well. Anglers are allowed to use one fishing rod and reel each.

Share your favorite Nebraska state park experiences on social

LINCOLN, Neb. — Every person and every state park has a story to tell, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wants yours.

With the parks system centennial year underway, we want to hear your best and unforgettable experiences. Your epic camping fails. Your firsts: time on a horse, ski attempt, wildlife encounter or living history adventure. We want to hear your sentimental memories and your “never again” moments experienced at one of Nebraska’s 78 state park areas or trails.

Share your story on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by using the hashtag #NEParks100, or share your story online through our web-based form at YourNebraskaParks100.org/NEparks100. Game and Parks will re-share your stories and pictures throughout our centennial year celebrations.

The Nebraska state park system includes state parks, historical parks, recreation areas, and recreational trails. Game and Parks’ first state park, Chadron State Park, was established in 1921, and now, every Nebraskan has at least one state park area within an hour’s drive of their home. Outdoor recreation opportunities offered at those parks are endless.

“Outdoor enthusiasts’ interests are as diverse as our state and as individual as we come,” said Jim Swenson, Parks Division administrator. “We look forward to hearing how people’s adventures have led to great memories at their state parks.”

To a find park near you, visit YourNebraskaParks100.org/exploreparks. A park entry permit is required of each vehicle visiting a state park area; buy one at OutdoorNebraska.org.

Women & Birds of Nebraska webinar honors two

LINCOLN, Neb. – A virtual webinar March 18 will honor Mary Bomberger Brown and Marian Langan, Nebraskans who had significant impacts in bird conservation.

Women & Birds of Nebraska will be co-hosted at 6:30 p.m. Central time by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in celebration of Nebraska Outdoor Women.

The webinar will focus on the women’s influence on birds in Nebraska, sharing the legacy they left for women in science.

Bomberger Brown was a former associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Tern and Plover Program coordinator. She was most known for her research on cliff swallows, a 35-year collection of data considered to be the largest collection in the world. She also researched the effects of wind energy on greater prairie-chickens.

Langan was the former director of Audubon Nebraska and first director of Spring Creek Prairie, southeast of Lincoln. She was a fierce advocate for conservation, especially tallgrass prairies, and providing inquiry-based nature education.

The event is free but registration is required at calendar.outdoornebraska.gov. To learn more about NOW programs this month, visit outdoornebraska.gov/now.

Portion of Branched Oak WMA closed to target shooting

LINCOLN, Neb. – A portion of Branched Oak Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County is closed to target shooting, effective immediately, for safety reasons.

That closed area is south of West Raymond Road between NW 112th Street and NW 126th Street.

Options for shooters include the 100-yard rifle sight-in range at Killdeer WMA in Lancaster County and the Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor Education Center in Lincoln.

For additional information about target shooting on public hunting lands, see the Public Access Atlas at outdoornebraska.gov/publicaccessatlas.

Game and Parks to host virtual pre-K Nature Tails program

LINCOLN, Neb. – Join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on Tuesday mornings for a series of virtual pre-K programs entitled Nature Tails starting March 9.

Each week at 10 a.m. Central time, outdoor educators will read a nature-themed children’s book in line with that week’s theme. The children then will be given an activity. The schedule of programs and themes: March 9 – Dinosaurs, March 16 – St. Patrick’s Day, March 23 – Weather, March 30 – Worms, April 6 – Prairies, April 13 – Seeds.

All Nature Tails programs are free and no registration is required. Go to outdoornebraska.zoom.us/j/99354189353 to join each program.

Each virtual event will be recorded and posted to the Nebraska Game and Parks Education Channel on YouTube.

Contact monica.macoubrie@nebraska.gov with questions or for more information. Also, check out the events on the Game and Parks’ Facebook page, the Wildcat Hills Nature Center and State Recreation Area Facebook page, or the Nebraska Wildlife Education Facebook page.