Hunting – Page 3 – North Platte Post Archive

Nebraska to Have Statewide Early Teal Season

Posted on August 12, 2014

LINCOLN – Nebraska will have a statewide early teal hunting season in September.

As in the past, hunting will take place in the High Plains and Low Plains zones. But this year those zones are identical to duck zones and cover the entire state. That means the entire state will be open to early teal hunting.

The portion of Nebraska that previously had been closed to early teal season — roughly the northern half of the state — will have an experimental early teal season. In that area, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will monitor hunters’ attempted take of non-teal species.

The 2014 season dates are Sept. 6-14 in the High Plains zone and Sept. 6-21 in the Low Plains zone.

“The continuation of the teal season in northern Nebraska is solely dependent on hunters and their ability to distinguish teal from other duck species,” said Mark Vrtiska, Game and Parks’ waterfowl program manager. “We’ll be evaluating the rate at which non-target species are shot at or taken. If the rate is considered unacceptable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we’ll lose the teal season in northern Nebraska.”

Although duck hunters need exercise caution about identifying ducks in all seasons, it’s especially important with the September teal season. Those who take or attempt to take ducks other than teal also will be subject to prosecution.

To view or download Game and Parks’ 2014 Early Teal Guide, visit OutdoorNebraska.org. Printed guides are available at Game and Parks’ Lincoln headquarters, 2200 N. 33rd St., and soon will be available wherever permits are sold.

Meat Processors for Hunters Helping the Hungry

Posted on July 30, 2014

LINCOLN – Twenty-one meat processors will participate in the 2014 Hunters Helping the Hungry program. Administered by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Hunters Helping the Hungry provides ground venison to Nebraskans in need.

Deer hunters may donate deer at any contracted Hunters Helping the Hungry processor beginning with the start of the archery season on Sept. 1, 2014. The most up-to-date list of processors accepting deer for the program will be available at OutdoorNebraska.org/HHH.

Participating meat processors include Amherst – Belschner Custom Meats Inc.; Bayard – Bayard Processing; Bridgeport – KDK Meats LLC; Broken Bow – Broken Bow Pack; Elwood – SteakMaster Inc.; Franklin – Franklin Locker; Humphrey – Country Butcher; Johnson – Pelican’s Meat Processing; Lindsay – Melcher’s Locker; North Bend – Bob’s Custom Meats LLC; North Platte – Kelley’s Custom Pack LLC; Oakland – Oakland Processing; Omaha – B. I. G. Meats Inc., Stoysich House of Sausage; Orleans – Harlan County Meat Processors; Oxford – Oxford Locker Inc.; Panama – Panama Locker; Ralston – Van Fleet Meats; Table Rock – Den’s Country Meats; Ulysses – The Butchery; Wahoo – Wahoo Locker.

Founded in 2012, Hunters Helping the Hungry is allows hunters to donate deer at participating processors. The deer is processed into ground venison, which is then distributed to food pantries and soup kitchens. The processing is paid for entirely by donations. Learn more about this unique program at OutdoorNebraska.org/HHH or contact Teresa Lombard at 402-471-5430 or [email protected].

Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners Open Entire State to Teal Hunting

Posted on July 11, 2014

LINCOLN – All of Nebraska will be open for teal hunting in 2014. The Nebraska Game and Parks Board of Commissioners adopted changes to teal and youth waterfowl hunting seasons at their meeting July 11 at Niobrara State Park (SP).

The commissioners created new zone boundaries. The High Plains Zone encompasses the western half of the state and the Low Plains Zone the eastern half. Previously, teal hunting was generally restricted to the southern half of the state.

The 2014 season dates for teal hunting are Sept. 6-21 in the Low Plains Zone andSept. 6-14 in the High Plains Zone.

Commissioners also set the youth waterfowl season in each of four zones for theSaturday and Sunday immediately preceding the start of the regular duck and merganser season.

The season dates for the regular duck and merganser season, as well as other waterfowl, will be determined at the commissioners’ Aug. 29 meeting in Grand Island.

In other business, the commissioners:

– Set new prices for several nonresident permits: deer, $214; statewide buck only deer, $535; season choice antlerless only deer, $60; special antlerless only deer, $60; landowner deer, $107; turkey, $95; and landowner turkey, $47.50. The corresponding resident permit prices will remain the same.

– Added language for the eligibility of fall youth turkey hunters to match the requirements for spring youth turkey hunters. Youth must be age 15 and under, except youth age 16 may hunt on youth fall turkey permits provided they are age 15 both when they apply and on the opening day of the season.

– Passed a regulation to ban the possession or use of explosive or incendiary targets while target shooting on wildlife management areas.

The lottery drawings for the two Super Tag multi-species permits also were held at the meeting. Kay Wagner of Petersburg, Neb., won the single-entry Super Tag permit while Jennifer Simons of Atlantic, Iowa, won the multiple-entry Super Tag permit. On July 9, Game and Parks electronically drew the winners of the Combo multi-species permits. Bryce Hanson of Lincoln won the resident permit and Christie Berg of Logan, Kan., won the nonresident Combo permits.

The Super Tag and Combo permits are valid in 2014 and 2015. The Super Tag bag limit is one elk, one antelope, one deer and two turkeys. The Combo bag limit is one antelope, one deer and two turkeys. The permits are valid in open seasons with appropriate weapons.

There were 920 entries in the Super Tag single-entry lottery ($25 application fee). In the Super Tag multiple-entry lottery, 807 people submitted 1,581 applications at $10 each (1,117 resident and 464 nonresident applications). Thirty people applied 10 or more times in the multiple-entry lottery.

There were 359 entries for the resident Combo permit and 217 for the nonresident Combo permit. Each entry had a $10 fee.

Niobrara SP superintendent Mark Rettig and office clerk Connie Kemp received enterprise awards for their youth outreach efforts through the park’s annual Outdoor Educational Rendezvous. This year’s event was held in May.

Nebraska Youth Waterfowl Regulations May Change

Posted on July 5, 2014

NIOBRARA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider changes to youth waterfowl and early teal season regulations at the commission’s meeting in Niobrara.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Friday at the Niobrara State Park group lodge, 89261 522 Ave.

The commissioners also will consider increasing the cost of some nonresident deer and turkey permits and passing a regulation that would ban the possession or use of explosive or incendiary targets while target shooting in wildlife management areas.

Hunters Helping the Hungry Program Sets Deadline

Posted on June 20, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has set an application deadline of July 15 for meat processors that want to participate in the 2014 Hunters Helping the Hungry program.

The program provides ground venison to Nebraskans in need.

The application form and program guidelines are available online at OutdoorNebraska.com/HHH under Processors and Charitable Organizations.

Deer donation will run from Sept. 1 through Jan. 16. Processors wishing to participate for a shorter period of time are encouraged to contact the program coordinator. Game and Parks will contact eligible applicants by Aug. 1.

Contact Teresa Lombard at 402-471-5430 or [email protected] for more information.

Nebraska’s 2014 Big Game Guide Available Online

Posted on May 20, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The 2014 Big Game Guide is available online at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website, OutdoorNebraska.org.

It’s a summary of regulations about hunting deer, antelope, elk and bighorn sheep in Nebraska. There are unit maps and information on season dates, permits and bag limits. The guide soon will be available in hard copy.

To view the guide online, click on Guides on the left side of the home page. The document may be downloaded as a PDF and printed.

Big Game Society to Auction Elk Tag May 2

Posted on April 17, 2014April 17, 2014

LINCOLN – An elk tag will be auctioned off at the Nebraska Big Game Society (NBGS) banquet May 2 in Lincoln. The banquet will be held at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club, 1800 Wilderness Woods Place.

Those who wish to bid but cannot attend may call in their bids for free. Call-in bidders must first notify the NBGS by 5 p.m. on April 29 at 402-430-9191 or 402-429-7181, or via email at [email protected].

Only residents are eligible for the tag, which will be auctioned at 7:30 p.m. The high bidder will receive a bull elk tag valid in any elk management unit during a 2014 open bull elk season using any legal weapons for that season.

Proceeds from the elk tag auction will be used by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the preservation of elk herds and hunting opportunities in the state.

Tickets for the banquet are $60 each or $500 for a table of eight. Dinner is at 6:15 p.m. Contact Jon Thomas 402-430-9191 or Rick Brandt 402-429-7181 for more information about the NBGS.

Some Mobile Hunting and Fishing Permits Now Available

Posted on April 10, 2014

LINCOLN – Some Nebraska hunting and fishing permits now may be purchased, accessed or displayed on a mobile device.

The image of a mobile permit may be displayed and saved on a device such as a phone or tablet. The mobile permit fulfills the requirement of carrying a permit while eliminating the need to carry a paper version.

Mobile permit purchase options are currently limited to hunt (small game), fish, and resident fur harvest permits, as well as associated stamps. Mobile big game permits and park entry permits are not available.

Users should remember that Internet service is required to access a mobile permit or the mobile site. Precautions, such as saving the image of the permit to your device, should be made in the event Internet service is not available in the field. A paper copy of a permit could be a backup, as well.

To access or purchase a mobile permit, a user must first have created a profile in Game and Parks’ electronic permitting system. A profile cannot be created on a mobile device. On the mobile site, permits may be purchased with a credit or debit card. Previously purchased permits and stamps also may be displayed and saved on mobile devices.

Visit OutdoorNebraska.org for a link to the mobile site on the bottom of the home page, where users can view information and instructions on accessing mobile permits.

Three New Multispecies Big Game Lottery Permits Available in 2014

Posted on April 3, 2014

LINCOLN – Three new multispecies big game hunting permits are authorized for 2014, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Each of the three permit recipients will be drawn in a lottery.

Those new permits are:

— One Super Tag permit for residents or nonresidents. This permit is valid for one elk of either sex, one antelope of either sex, one deer of either sex, and two turkeys.
— One Combo permit for residents only. This permit is valid for one antelope of either sex, one deer of either sex, and two turkeys.
— One Combo permit for nonresidents only. This permit is valid for one antelope of either sex, one deer of either sex, and two turkeys.

Each of the new multispecies permits allows qualifying persons to apply multiple times a year at $10 per application. Each is valid for 2014 and 2015 in open hunting seasons with the appropriate weapons. The turkey bag limit allows only toms and bearded hens to be taken in the spring.

A regulation that states no person may have more than one bull elk permit in a lifetime does not apply to lottery and auction permits.

In addition to the new permits listed above, Game and Parks currently has a Super Tag permit (elk, antelope, deer and turkey) for residents only that allows one $25 entry per person each year.

The application period for these multispecies permits is April 21 – July 4, 2014.

Nebraska Turkey Season has Opened for Archers

Posted on March 26, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska spring turkey hunting season has opened for archers.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says adult hunters may use only archery equipment through April 11 and may use either archery equipment or a shotgun April 12-May 31. Youth hunters may use only archery equipment through April 4 and may use either archery equipment or a shotgun April 5-May 31.

Hunters under age 16 need a youth spring turkey permit; hunters age 16 and older need a spring turkey permit.

Permits may be purchased online at OutdoorNebraska.org.