Commissioners Will Meet March 16 to Select Director

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners will meet Friday, March 16, to select a new agency director. The meeting is at 10:30 a.m. at Game and Parks headquarters in Lincoln, 2200 N. 33rd St.

Director Rex Amack is retiring in April following 45 years at Game and Parks, the last 24 as director.

On March 8, the commissioners interviewed the following candidates for the director position: Mark Brohman, executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust; Jim Douglas, Game and Parks deputy director; and Roger Kuhn, Game and Parks parks division administrator.

Also on the agenda is the finalizing of boundaries for the new four-zone duck hunting format.

River Antlerless Deer Permit Part of Big Game Changes

LINCOLN, Neb. – A change in strategy has the state’s antlerless white-tailed deer harvest focused on river corridors. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners adopted big game regulation amendments at their meeting in Lincoln on March 9.

New in 2012 is the River Antlerless permit, which allows 126 days of hunting along 11,300 square miles of river corridors. The permit is not valid on federal or state public land. This $11 permit replaces the October Antlerless permit and has a bag limit of two antlerless white-tailed deer. The new permit is valid for archery Sept. 15-Dec. 31, muzzleloader Dec. 1-31 and firearm Oct. 1-10, Nov. 10-18 and Dec. 26-Jan.18, 2013.

The River Antlerless Unit includes most of the state’s major rivers and allows hunting within 3 miles of the banks on designated stretches of rivers.

“Harvest is focused on areas where white-tailed deer populations are highest and avoids most upland areas where populations are low,” said Kit Hams, Game and Parks big game program manager.

Another major change this year is the removal of Earn-a-Buck rules in eastern firearm units. “The Missouri, Wahoo, Elkhorn, Blue Southeast and Blue Northwest units have had a decline in deer herds and landowner complaints,” Hams said. “It is time to revert to liberal use of antlerless tags to control the herd.”

Game and Parks’ deer management goal is to provide quality hunting and viewing opportunities within the limits of the deer resource, while maintaining deer populations at a level acceptable to most landowners.

Other major big game regulation changes include:

— A new nonresident statewide buck permit allows nonresidents access to mule deer harvest in the high-demand Mule Deer Conservation Area (MDCA) during the November firearm season.

— The statewide archery permit is valid in the MDCA for mule deer and white-tailed deer.

— Season Choice Area names and boundaries are changed to match names and boundaries of November firearm deer units.

— Youth and landowner deer permits are not valid with a firearm Oct. 1-10 in the River Antlerless Unit.

— Archery, muzzleloader, youth and statewide buck bonus antlerless deer tags are not valid on the Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest, McKelvie National Forest or Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.

— Nonresident youth statewide permits that allow harvest of any deer are not valid in the Republican, Platte or Frenchman draw units.

— Hand-thrown spears are legal equipment for hunting big game and .357 magnum and .45 Colt rifles are legal equipment for hunting deer and antelope.

— Quartering big game is defined as the head, loins and four quarters with the femur/scapula attached.

— An additional 40 buck/either sex permits, and 51 firearm doe/fawn permits for pronghorn antelope have been added.

— A late doe/fawn antelope season has been added in the Box Butte West Unit.

— The definition of a legal antelope doe/fawn has changed to include bucks with horns shorter than the ears.

— Elk landowner zones have been expanded to accommodate a growing elk population.

— Twelve elk bull permits have been added in the Ash Creek, Bordeaux, Hat Creek and North Platte River units, and all bull permits were removed from the Boyd Unit.

— Three cow permits were added in the Ash Creek Unit and three are removed from the Boyd Unit.

— Electronic calls are not allowed for elk.

— Rifles at least 25 caliber that deliver at least 1,700 foot-pounds of energy at 100 yards are legal for hunting elk and bighorn sheep.

Focus on Pheasants Incentives Offered

LINCOLN, Neb. – Farmers and ranchers in the expanded Focus on Pheasants (FOP) areas may offer eligible land for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up March 12-April 6. They also may be eligible for FOP incentives.

An expansion of the Focus on Pheasants Plan was approved by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners on March 9.

The Southwest Focus of Pheasants area has expanded from 262,529 acres in portions of northwest Hitchcock, southeast Hayes and northwest Red Willow counties to 956,048 acres in all of Hitchcock and portions of Hayes, Frontier and Red Willow counties. The new South-Central Focus on Pheasants area includes 353,275 acres in portions of Furnas and Harlan counties.

FOP is a joint effort by Game and Parks, Pheasants Forever and resource and conservation partners to improve pheasant hunting by creating more and better habitat.

CRP allows landowners to enroll environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits, which provides significant wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities on private lands.

As part of the FOP effort, project partners are providing an enrollment incentive equivalent to one year’s CRP soil rental payment and an incentive for establishing higher-quality wildlife habitat plantings on enrolled CRP land. Incentive payments will be made after landowners plant their CRP under a new contract.

For more information about FOP, landowners in the south-central area may call John Laux at 308-928-2541 and landowners in the southwest area may call T.J. Walker or Adam Kester at 308-535-8025.

Shooting Sports Complex Renamed for Sykes

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners, at their meeting March 9 in Lincoln, renamed the shooting sports complex at Platte River State Park the Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex.

Sykes, of Louisville, passed away on Dec. 13, 2011, following a sudden illness. He was the park’s only superintendent.

“We fondly called him the mayor of Platte River State Park,” Game and Parks Director Rex Amack said. “It was impeccable the way he left the grounds. His style of perfection was unique to him, but he spread that style throughout the state in the parks system.”

Sykes’ family was on hand as Amack read a proclamation stating, in part, that the renaming of the shooting sports complex will “serve as a lasting memorial to his legacy.”

The newly developed shooting sports complex opened in 2011 to connect Nebraskans of all ages and skills levels to the heritage of outdoor sports.

“It’s an honor and privilege to have Roger remembered this way,” Sykes’ wife, Gloria, said.

Sykes, a 42-year employee of Game and Parks, became superintendent at the then-new Platte River State Park, located near Louisville, in January 1982. He was instrumental in development of the park and has been its steadfast steward.

Sykes began his Game and Parks career in June 1968 as assistant superintendent at Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (SHP) at North Platte. He became superintendent at Fort Kearny SHP near Kearney in October 1970 before moving to Platte River SP in 1982.

Lake Wanahoo SRA to Open April 28

LINCOLN, Neb. – Lake Wanahoo State Recreation Area (SRA) will open April 28, Director Rex Amack told the Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners at their meeting March 9 in Lincoln.

Game and Parks agreed in January to manage the SRA owned by the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District (NRD). On March 8, the NRD voted on a date to open the area. A grand opening is expected some time in May.

The 1,777-acre property that includes a 662-acre reservoir is located north of Wahoo in Saunders County. The area will offer camping, fishing, hiking, boating, hunting, wildlife viewing and park facilities.

The commissioners on March 9 also approved a no-wake boating regulation for Lake Wanahoo.

In other business, commissioners adopted a four-zone format for duck hunting in 2012, while postponing a decision on boundaries for those zones. They asked for more time to look at the boundaries before submitting a decision to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the May 1 deadline. A four-zone format will allow more diversity in season dates across the state than the current three-zone format. However, closed periods within seasons, commonly known as splits, no longer can be used. The four-zone format will be used through at least the 2015-16 hunting season.

The commissioners also approved an expansion of the Focus on Pheasants (FOP) Plan. The plan expands the existing Southwest Focus Area and adds the South-central and Northeast focus areas. In all, more than 1 million acres are added to the plan.

FOP is a joint effort by Game and Parks, Pheasants Forever and resource and conservation partners to improve pheasant hunting by creating more and better habitat.

The Southwest Focus Area has expanded from 262,529 acres in portions of northwest Hitchcock, southeast Hayes and northwest Red Willow counties to 956,048 acres in all of Hitchcock and portions of Hayes, Frontier and Red Willow counties. The South-Central Focus on Pheasants area includes 353,275 acres in portions of Furnas and Harlan counties, and the new Northeast Focus on Pheasants area includes 294,124 acres in parts of Antelope, Holt and Knox counties.

The commissioners renamed the shooting sports complex at Platte River State Park the Roger G. Sykes Outdoor Heritage Education Complex. Sykes, the park’s only superintendent since it opened in 1982, passed away on Dec. 13, 2011.

The 2012 big game recommendations were approved by the commissioners. They include a new 126-day River Antlerless deer season that targets 11,300 square miles of river corridor.

In other action, commissioners endorsed an agreement regarding the biological evaluation process for the Federal Aid Transportation Program. Michelle Koch, environmental analyst supervisor for Game and Parks, said the agreement between Game and Parks, Nebraska Department of Roads, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Federal Highway Administration facilitates an evaluation process for road projects, allowing for more efficient and timely environmental reviews. Road projects are reviewed for possible impact on threatened and endangered species.

Don Gabelhouse, Game and Parks’ fisheries administrator, updated the commissioners on the Aquatic Habitat and Angler Access programs, which revitalize fisheries and improve bank-fishing opportunities. He said 11 projects will be completed in 2012-13 at a total cost to Game and Parks of approximately $10 million.

Todd Nordeen, Game and Parks’ northwest district wildlife manager, updated the commissioners on the February translocation of 39 bighorn sheep from Alberta, Canada to the Nebraska Pine Ridge north of Harrison.

The meeting was the last for Amack as the agency’s director. He will retire in April following 45 years at Game and Parks, the last 24 as director.

“I thank you for all your support,” he told the commissioners. “If a person can find a more interesting, meaningful place to work, I’d like to apply.” As for the next director, Amack said he “hopes he has the same appreciation for how meaningful and important the job is as I have.”