Outdoor notes: Prescribed burns planned for several WMAs, state park areas

LINCOLN, Neb. – Prescribed burns are planned this spring on many Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife management areas, state parks and state recreation areas where weather allows.

Historically, wildlife habitats were shaped by wildfires that occurred throughout the year. Burns can help set back undesirable plants that invade native woodlands and prairies, as well as other grass and wooded areas.

Prescribed burning, if used with grazing, can set back smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass, increase diversity in grasslands and improve habitat for wildlife. Burned acres often become more attractive to wildlife. Acres managed by prescribed burning has better long-term effects on wildlife habitat compared to acres not burned.

Burns will take place spring through fall at the following areas:

Southeast District: Butler County – Redtail WMA; Cass County – Eugene T. Mahoney SP, Louisville WMA/SRA, Platte River SP, Rakes Creek WMA, Randall W. Schilling WMA; Douglas County – Two Rivers WMA; Fillmore County – Green Wing WMA, Redhead WMA; Gage County – Arrowhead WMA; Jefferson County – Alexandria WMA, Alexandria SW WMA, Flathead WMA, Rose Creek WMA; Johnson County – Hickory Ridge WMA, Osage WMA, Twin Oaks WMA;

Lancaster County – Bluestem WMA/SRA, Branched Oak WMA/SRA, Conestoga WMA/SRA, Hedgefield WMA, Olive Creek WMA, Pawnee SRA/WMA, Wagon Train SRA/WMA, Yankee Hill WMA; Nemaha County – Aspinwall Bend WMA, Langdon Bend WMA, Aspinwall Bend WMA; Otoe County – Triple Creek WMA; Pawnee County – Burchard WMA, Lores Branch WMA, Table Rock WMA, Taylor’s Branch WMA;

Richardson County – Kinter’s Ford WMA, South Fork WMA Thomas Matter WMA, Verdon SRA; Saline County – Divoky WMA; Saline County – Swan Creek WMA; Sarpy County – Schramm Park SRA; Saunders County – Bramble WMA; Seward County – Oak Glen WMA, Straight Water WMA; Thayer County – Little Blue WMA, Little Blue East WMA, Meridian WMA; York County – Marsh Duck WMA.

Southwest District: Buffalo County – Bassway Strip WMA; Chase County – Enders Reservoir WMA/SRA, Wanamaker WMA; Clay County – Bulrush WMA, Kissinger Basin WMA, Whitefront WMA; Custer County – Arcadia Diversion WMA, Berggren-Young WMA, Pressey WMA; Dawson County – Bittern’s Call WMA, Dogwood WMA; Dundy County – Rock Creek SRA; Frontier and Red Willow counties – Medicine Creek Reservoir WMA/SRA, Red Willow Reservoir WMA/SRA; Furnas County – Cambridge Diversion Dam WMA;

Hall County – Cornhusker WMA; Hamilton County – Deep Well WMA, Pintail WMA; Hayes County – Hayes Center WMA; Hitchcock County – Swanson Reservoir WMA/SRA; Howard County – Harold Anderson WMA, Leonard Koziol; Keith County – Clear Creek WMA; Lincoln County – Platte WMA; Nuckolls County – Smartweed Marsh WMA, Wapiti WMA; Phelps County – Sacramento-Wilcox WMA; Sherman County – Sherman Reservoir WMA/SRA; Webster County – Indian Creek WMA, Narrows WMA.

Northeast District: Antelope County – Grove Lake WMA, Hackberry Creek WMA, Red Wing WMA; Brown County – Keller Park WMA; Cedar County – Wiseman WMA; Dakota County – Danish Alps SRA; Dawson County – Plum Creek WMA; Dixon County – Elk Point Bend WMA, Powder Creek WMA; Garfield and Loup counties – Calamus Reservoir SRA; Greeley and Valley counties – Davis Creek WMA;

Knox County – Bazile Creek WMA, Lewis and Clark SRA, Niobrara SP; Madison County – Oak Valley WMA, Yellowbanks WMA; Nance County – Council Creek WMA, Don Dworak WMA; Platte County – George D. Syas WMA, Wilkinson WMA; Rock County – Fred Thomas WMA; Stanton County – Red Fox WMA, Wood Duck WMA; Wayne County – Thompson-Barnes WMA.

Northwest District: Dawes County – Bordeaux Creek WMA, Chadron Creek Ranch WMA, Ponderosa WMA; Morrill County – Arnold Trupp WMA; Scotts Bluff County – Kiowa WMA, Nine Mile Creek WMA; Sioux County – Gilbert-Baker WMA, Peterson WMA.

Panhandle, Sandhills offer spring fishing opportunities

ALLIANCE, Neb. -- As the ice melts and days get longer, spring fishing opportunities heat up in western Nebraska.

Whether anglers want a Frye Lake crappie or a Fort Robinson trout, Joe Rydell, a fisheries biologist for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s northwest district, said spring brings diverse angling opportunities throughout the region.

From data gathered from last year’s fish surveys and other observations, Rydell has some predictions of where anglers will have success this spring. Some of his picks for this year’s best opportunities in the district, which includes the 11 counties of the Panhandle and Cherry County, are listed below.

• Trout. Rydell said the first fishing opportunities that comes to mind for spring are trout stockings. Beginning in March and through May, select lakes throughout the state receive stockings of rainbow trout. Locations include Bridgeport State Recreation Area, Terry’s Pit, the Morrill Sandpits, Chadron State Park pond and Fort Robinson State Park ponds, such as Carter P. Johnson Lake and Grabel Ponds. Spring also is a prime time to pursue trout in western Nebraska’s streams, including Nine Mile Creek, the White River, and the south and middle forks of Soldier Creek.

• Northern pike. The second opportunity on Rydell’s list is ice-out pike fishing. Pike are a cool-water species that get aggressive in cold water. They also begin to move into the warmer shallow waters at ice-out in preparation to spawn. He said the best pike lakes in the district include Box Butte Reservoir, Dewey Lake, Hackberry Lake and Smith Lake.

• Largemouth bass. Largemouth bass can be aggressive early in the year, seeking warmer shallow areas such as drainage ditches, feeder creeks or shallow bays. Rydell said some of the best bass waters from 2020 surveys include Frye Lake, Avocet Lake, Island Lake, Home Valley Lake and Smith Lake.

• Walleye/Saugeye. As water becomes warmer, walleye begin to congregate in spawning locations such as gravel or rocky shorelines, along riprap, or even up flowing water. Rydell said some of the best early season walleye fishing can be found at Whitney Lake where the turbid water warms up quickly. Other lakes notable from 2020’s walleye surveys include Lake Winters Creek and Merritt Reservoir. Big Alkali Lake surveyed high for saugeye, a hybrid of walleye and sauger.

• Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Crappie. Panfish bites typically pick up in April into May as water temperatures break 50 degrees. Rydell said some of the best bluegill lakes include Smith Lake, Frye Lake and Box Butte Reservoir. Best bets for yellow perch include Watts Lake, West Long, Smith Lake and Home Valley. For crappie, the best lakes for population are Whitney Lake and Cottonwood-Steverson, and Home Valley and Frye Lake both have crappies over 12 inches.

More survey information can be found in the Nebraska Fishing Forecast, available in print and at outdoornebraska.org/fishingforecast.

For a map with locations of these fishing destinations, visit maps.outdoornebraska.gov. The spring trout stocking schedule, along with stocking records of other species, can be found at outdoornebraska.gov/fishstockingreports.

Lastly, Game and Parks fisheries staff provided updates in virtual public meetings throughout the state in recent weeks. Recordings of those meetings can be found at the “NGPC Conferences & Sessions” YouTube channel.

Prescribed fire exercise at Enders Reservoir SRA set for April 3

LINCOLN, Neb. – A prescribed fire exercise is scheduled for April 3 at Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area in Chase County.

Portions of the SRA will be closed temporarily to public access during the exercise.

The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department is conducting the training, along with other area volunteer fire departments, Nebraska State Fire Marshall’s Training Division, Nebraska State Forest Service, and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Other departments also will assist and train.

The objectives are to reduce the wildfire potential on the SRA, lessen the risk of wildfire to the town of Enders, train local fire departments and Game and Parks staff, and control eastern red cedar and invasive species.

The temporarily closed portions of the SRA will be Center Dam Campground, Area B Campground, No Name Bay and Crappie Bay.

Limited access may be required into the private cabin area, depending on conditions. Access to Church Grove Campground and Cow Beach Day Use Area will be via 335 Avenue from Highway 6, just east of Imperial. County Road 733 will be closed from the town of Enders west to Cow Beach Day Use Area. Access to the Main Area Campground will be available at the main entrance off Highway 61.

Users of open areas of the SRA may encounter light to moderate smoke. Access in those areas could be restricted if smoke levels are determined to be unsafe.

Join Game and Parks for Aquatic Invasives Conservation Career Chat

LINCOLN, Neb. – Join the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on March 17 in its series of virtual Conservation Career Chats. Aquatic Invasive Species Program Manager Kristopher Stahr will discuss his duties trying to prevent the spread of invasive pests such as zebra mussels.

Stahr, who has worked in his field in the Sandhills, as well as Iowa and Arizona, is a member of several regional and national aquatic invasive species panels and task forces. During the chat, the public will be encouraged to ask questions relating to the career field.

The series is held via Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. Central time as a different Game and Parks career is highlighted. Each interview will be recorded and uploaded to the Nebraska Game and Parks Education YouTube Channel.

See the calendar event entry at calendar.outdoornebraska.gov for the registration link as well as a schedule of future Conservation Career Chats.

For more information, contact [email protected] or check out the Nebraska Wildlife Education Facebook Page.

Improved camping tops list of west-central Nebraska park investments

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Improvements to west-central Nebraska state recreation areas are giving park guests more areas to camp, enjoy and recreate.

Last year, 64 basic campsites were designated and developed for improved user experience at the popular campground at Lake Maloney’s outlet, with picnic tables and grills installed at each site. A new fire pit area also was completed as an Eagle Scout project.

Sutherland Reservoir received 23 new, modern camping pads with 20-, 30-, and 50-amp service and six basic campsites at the West Shore Area at the inlet. This new campground should be ready for use this season. A new vault toilet with accessible parking is slated to be installed at the West Shore boat ramp. The projects, worth about $140,000, are supported by the Capital Maintenance Fund, implemented by the Nebraska Legislature in 2016.

At Medicine Creek State Recreation Area, repairs to the existing retaining wall at Trail 4’s Shady Bay campground swim beach area were completed last year. The retaining wall, which serves as a shoreline protection feature, was severely damaged from years of wave-action erosion and posed a safety hazard. A new day-use and shoreline access area also was created at Trail 4½, a spur off Trail 4 leading to the boat ramp. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Park Cash Funds made the improvements possible.

At Shady Bay Campground in 2019, 33 electric campsites were upgraded with new 20/30/50 amp pedestals; four new water hydrants and waterlines were installed; and 20 paved campsite pads were extended as part of this project. The $80,000 project was a 50/50 cost share between the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation and Game and Parks. The Bureau of Reclamation owns Harry Strunk Lake, more commonly known as Medicine Creek, but the recreation area is managed by Game and Parks.

Other improvements to state recreation areas include:

• a new boat dock at Medicine Creek State Recreation Area Trail 1 was completed in 2018;
• a new boat dock at Gallagher Canyon SRA will be installed this spring, and the existing boat dock will be relocated to Sutherland SRA’s West Shore boat ramp, which previously has not had a boat dock, when resources allow.
• new playground equipment at the Johnson Lake State Recreation Area main campground; completed in 2020, the $41,000 project was funded completely by private donations to the Johnson Lake Improvement Fund held with the Lexington Community Foundation.
• a reinforced and repaired inlet area at Johnson Lake, where 130 tons of rock were added to the jetty in 2020; an additional 60 tons will be added in 2021. Money from the Berggren Memorial funded the repairs; and
• a new kayak launch and dock were installed in 2019 at Bossung Lake, a subsidiary of Johnson Lake, funded by Park Cash dollars.

For more information on completed and ongoing park improvement projects, visit outdoornebraska.org/parksprojects.

Game and Parks to offer Growing Up WILD educator workshop

LINCOLN, Neb. – Find resources, ideas and inspiration on how to use nature as your classroom by joining the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for a virtual Growing Up WILD educator workshop April 13.

This workshop will focus on engaging young children in nature through discovery and science. Growing Up WILD is a high-quality, easy-to-use guide for all educators, after-school program leaders and in-home daycare providers working with children 3 through 7 years of age.

Participants will receive the Growing Up WILD educational activity guide containing 21 lesson plans that build on children’s sense of wonder about nature.

This workshop, which begins at 6 p.m. Central time, is approved for two in-service hours. Registration can be completed by visiting the calendar entry for the event at calendar.outdoornebraska.gov.

For more information, contact Jamie Bachmann at [email protected].

Lewis and Clark SRA to offer recycling following grant awards

LINCOLN, Neb. – Recycling will become available to Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area guests this summer and will be fully implemented by fall.

The SRA recently was awarded grants of $1,643 from the Nebraska Department of Environmental and Energy and $20,000 from the Nebraska Recycling Council to purchase recycling containers that will be distributed to collect single-stream recyclables.

The initiative will be a key component in keeping Lewis and Clark Lake clean of unwanted waste.

“As a park manager, I believe it is important to provide the public with positive examples of natural resource stewardship and sustainability,” Park Superintendent Tyler Wulf said.

Lewis and Clark SRA and Ponca State Park, both located in northeastern Nebraska, now offer recycling. Other state park areas will expand this effort when resources become available.

The Recycling Equipment Grant from the Nebraska Recycling Council is one of 118 grant projects in 2020 receiving $20 million in awards from Nebraska Environmental Trust. The Nebraska Legislature created the Trust in 1992. Using revenue from the Nebraska Lottery, the Trust has provided over $328 million in grants to more than 2,300 projects across the state.

The Nebraska Recycling Council is a nonprofit membership organization of public and private organizations, as well as individuals, and has been a recycling advocate for Nebraska since 1980.

Southeastern state park areas get improvements

LINCOLN, Neb. – Improvements at Pawnee State Recreation Area are just some of the upgrades guests at southeastern Nebraska state park areas will find this spring.

The enhancements at Pawnee include electrical upgrade to 50-amp service at several campsites in the Lakeview Campground and the Area 3 Campground. Also, the installation of a new prefabricated concrete shower house at Lakeview Campground should be completed in time for spring use.

At Branched Oak SRA, several campsites in Area 4 have been upgraded to 50-amp electrical service. Four vault toilets will be installed by summer.

Other improvements in southeastern Nebraska state park areas:

• A vault toilet will be installed by summer at Alexandria SRA;

• A new prefabricated concrete shower house has been installed at Indian Cave State Park’s tent campground;

• 14 30-amp electrical pedestals and 5 50-amp electrical pedestals have been installed at Riverview Marina SRA, as well as a new main breaker box.

Commissioners approve waterfowl recommendations, two-tier duck bag limit

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved 2021-2022 waterfowl hunting season recommendations at its March 17 meeting in Norfolk.

Among the recommendations was a “two-tier” duck bag limit option a hunter will choose from for the season.

Nationally, duck hunter numbers have fallen nearly 44% since 1990, and Nebraska has lost, on average, 464 duck hunters per year since 1990. A recent survey conducted by Game and Parks; South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks; and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has determined that duck identification skills are a major factor preventing potential hunters from picking up the sport.

Nebraska has been given federal authority to implement an experimental system related to bag limits. The new season options are an effort to make getting into hunting easier for novice duck hunters.

When hunters register for their Harvest Information Program number, they will choose between two options. Tier I is the current traditional six-duck limit with species and sex restrictions. Tier II allows hunters to harvest three ducks of any kind. Once a tier is selected, it may not be changed during the season.

Nebraska is joined by South Dakota, which approved two-tier regulations earlier this month, in the five-year pilot program.

The full approved 2021-2022 waterfowl orders are:

Early Teal – Low Plains: Sept. 4-19; High Plains: Sept. 4-12; Daily bag limit: six; Possession limit: Three times the daily bag limit

Youth Hunt – Zone 1: Oct. 9-10; Zone 2: Oct. 2-3; Zone 3: Oct. 16-17; Zone 4: Oct. 23-24; Daily bag: Tier 1: six ducks, with restrictions; Tier II: three ducks, any species, any sex; Possession limit: Three times the daily bag limit

Duck and Coot – Zone 1: Oct. 16-Dec. 28; Zone 2: Oct. 9-Dec. 21 and Jan. 5-26; Zone 3: Oct. 23-Jan. 4 and Jan. 5-26; Zone 4: Oct. 30-Jan. 11; Daily bag: Tier 1: six ducks, with restrictions; Tier II: three ducks, any species, any sex; Possession limit: Three times the daily bag limit

Dark Goose – Platte River Unit: Oct. 28-Feb. 9; Niobrara Unit: Oct. 28-Feb. 9; North Central Unit: Oct. 11-Jan. 23; Daily bag limit: five; Possession limit: Three times the daily bag limit

White-fronted Goose – Statewide: Oct. 9-Dec. 19 and Jan. 25-Feb. 9; Daily bag limit: two; Possession limit: Three times the daily bag limit

Light Goose Regular Season – Statewide: Oct. 9-Jan. 5 and Jan. 25-Feb. 9; Daily bag limit: 50; Possession limit: none

Light Goose Conservation Order – East Zone: Feb. 10-April 15; West Zone: Feb. 10-April 5; Rainwater Basin Zone: Feb. 10-April 5; Daily bag and possession limits: none

Crow – Statewide: Oct. 15-Dec. 15 and Jan. 13-March 14

Falconry – Concurrent with teal, youth and regular duck season dates, plus, Zone 1: Feb. 25-March 10; Zone 2: Low Plains: Feb. 25-March 10; High Plains: Concurrent with all duck season dates in High Plains Zone; Zone 3: Low Plains: Feb. 25-March 10; High Plains: Concurrent with all duck season dates in High Plains Zone; Zone 4: Feb. 25-March 10

The commissioners also:

• amended Administration Regulations relating to permit fees. The changes include establishing a special season landowner deer permit for residents and nonresidents, establishing fees for big game and paddlefish preference/bonus point purchases in lieu of draw, removing the resident aquatic invasive species registration fee and increasing the boat registration fees, and eliminating the duplicate/replacement fee on all permits except deer, antelope, elk, turkey, mountain lion and paddlefish;

• renamed Looking Glass Creek Wildlife Management Area in Platte County to the Lee Rupp Wildlife Management Area;

• adopted Phase II of the Lake McConaughy/Lake Ogallala Master Plan; and

• adopted fee increases for select state park area activities, lodging and rental facilities.

The commissioners also watched a video presentation on a project in western Nebraska in which 80 antelope were captured and fitted with GPS collars. Researchers will follow the collars to learn about the movement, habitat use and survival of antelope in Nebraska.

They also heard a presentation about aquatic invasive species and the agency’s efforts to combat them.

News Channel Nebraska, represented by reporter Andy Classen, and Farm Focused, represented by owner Ben Evers, presented the commissioners with a $1,500 donation to the Hunters Helping the Hungry Program.