Volume 89, Issue 7, 2011
August-September 2011
- Identifier:
- nela.2011_089_07
- Title:
- Volume 89, Issue 7, 2011
- Issue Name:
- August-September 2011
- Date Issued:
- 2011-08-01
- year:
- 2011
- Season:
- Summer
- PDF filename:
- NL_89.07_2011_Aug_Sep_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 089
- issue:
- 07
- number:
- 089.07
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
Blooming sunflowers throughout Nebraska are a sure sign that summer has arrived and autumn is
right around the corner. Photo by Luke Kathol
Volume 89, Number 7, August-September 2011
12 A History of Grouse Hunting
Hunted and trapped for market, Nebraska grouse once faced
extinction. BY JON FARRAR
20 Thistle Defense
Despite their reputation, thistles are much more complex –
and important – than people realize.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS HELZER
24 Merry Grousemas
A special holiday for some, but not all, hunters.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JEFF KURRUS
28 Caught on Camera
Trail cameras are more reliable, user-friendly and affordable
than ever. Here are some tips for choosing and using them.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MATT HOUSKA
32 Earth Lodge at the Archway
Working together, two former Nebraska tribes recently
completed an earth lodge in Kearney for all to enjoy.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KEN BOUC
36 Champion Mill State Historical Park
12
●
Its mill pond fixed, this important historical site dating back
to 1886 has now been restored. BY JON FARRAR
38 Hooked on Hunting
A successful doe hunt in western Nebraska hopefully has a
group of hunting newbies ‘hooked’ on hunting.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ERIC FOWLER
Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mixed Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Wilderness Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Page 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Parks & Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Portraits from the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
20
●
28
●
38
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Cover: An early morning rain saturates the foliage along Stone Creek at
Platte River State Park as summer edges into fall. Photo by Justin Reed.
Opposite: Covered in dew, a dragonfly waits for the sun to dry it out on a
late summer morning. Photo by Chris Helzer.
NEBRASKAland (VOL. 89 / NO. 7, ISSN 0028-1964) is published monthly, except for the
combined Jan./Feb. and Aug./Sept. issues, by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,
2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln, Nebraska, and additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NEBRASKAland, P.O. Box 30370,
Lincoln, NE 68503-0370.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 3
Fox Pups Up Close
I had been watching these (three in
all) pups for two to three weeks when
on June 1st I was able to get within
three to four feet of them. I watched
and took many pictures for over an
hour. They would walk right towards
me.
This was just south of the O’Neill
Country Club on the west edge of town
– the same area where I got a picture of
a baby fawn in 2005.
When I went back to the area later
that day to check the fox hole, there
laying on top of it was the lower
portion of a baby fawn’s leg. Guess
that is the circle of life.
Mary Daffy
O’Neill, Nebraska
Walgren Lake Monster
The July issue of NEBRASKAland
Magazine truly contained a blast from
the past for me.
I was flipping
through the
magazine
when I
came
across the
NEBland
Flashbacks of
The Monster of
Walgren Lake.
I immediately
remembered
Frank Holub’s
cover art and
how it terrified
me as a child.
(Judging from
the magazine’s
publishing date,
I was seven at
the time.)
I also vividly recall being afraid to be
around our family’s coffee table, where
Giganticus was lurking among the
other magazines, like Newsweek and
Better Homes and Gardens. Eventually
Giganticus went away, and so did the
memory – until last week.
Frank Holub was a good artist – that
cover is still scary! Thanks for the
fright.
George Miller
Omaha, Nebraska
We especially enjoyed the shooting
complex this year – Ron Renner, range
safety officer, must be given special
thanks for the enthusiastic support he
gave our little shooters. Ron personally
helped the three little girls, aged 6 to 8,
and they were amazed that they were
hitting targets with a pellet gun on
the first try. The expert teachers/
marksmen at the archery range were
equally helpful. We will return to use
that facility many times during the
year.
We will definitely continue to use
Platte River State Park for our family
getaways.
Mary Schwab
Lincoln, Nebraska
State Park Family Camp
My whole family recently stayed at
Platte River State Park for our second
annual, three-day “Family Camp.” This
included grandpa/grammy, our three
kids, their spouses and our five grand
angels.
I had taken my three children and
their cousins to PRSP at least six years
in a row for similar outings more than
25 years ago. It is fun to watch the
young adults reliving old times with the
grandchildren.
I want to commend the wonderful
staff for their continued excellence in
maintenance and cleanliness of the
park and all the cabins. We also
wish to thank the employees of
the restaurant, craft barn,
horse wranglers, Owen
Landing and swimming
pool for excellent customer
service. All the park employees
were warm and friendly, and the
amenities were just what we want a
state park to offer – a quiet, relaxed
outdoor experience. We only regret that
in a span of three days we did not find
time to do all the activities the park has
to offer.
More Visitors Than We Thought
Interestingly, readers brought to our
attention two more visitors that we did
not even notice in the last issue (these
visitors were part of the photographs).
Readers wrote in that they saw
another insect on page 16 (as well as
the carpenter ant) on the white flower.
State Entomologist, Julie Van Meter
identified it as an ash gray blister
beetle, and she noticed a second one
coming up from under the flower.
On page 37, readers saw a fly on the
school bus.
We want to thank all 61 readers
that sent e-mails and letters for last
issue’s visitor, a carpenter ant that was
on page 16 (see page 11 for the winner,
rules and this issue’s hint).
Here are some of the responses we
received:
On page 16 is what I think is just a
regular ol’ “field ant.”
Your magazine seems to be getting
better with every issue. I particularly
enjoy the pictures of people, places and
activities of years gone by that you
have been publishing. I hope someone
will identify the people in your article
4 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
“Old-Time Fourth of July.”
G.E. Dave Fuller
Lincoln, Nebraska
I see an ant in the upper left corner
on page 16 and what looks like a
housefly on the lower right corner of
the photo of the bus on page 37.
Mark Grummert
Jansen, Nebraska
The black carpenter ant (Camponotus
pennsylvanicus) is one of the most
common ant species in Nebraska.
Because of its large size – up to 1/2” or
so in length – it is also one of the most
noticeable. Carpenter ants make their
homes in trees and tree stumps,
hollow logs, landscape timbers and,
occasionally, buildings. Unlike
termites, carpenter ants do not eat
wood. Instead, they feed on other
insects and honeydew, a sweet
substance produce by aphids and scale
insects. They will also eat other sweets,
meats and fatty foods. Often the
carpenter ants seen in homes are not
infesting the building, but scavenging
for food. The ant colony will include a
queen, who lays all the eggs, and
worker ants that find food and
maintain the colony. When
a colony gets too large,
winged males and females
will swarm, leaving the
colony and
establishing a new one.
This usually occurs in spring
and early summer.
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State
Entomologist, Nebraska Department of
Agriculture. Visitor image by Chris Helzer.
www.bugguide.net is a good site for identification
Send your comments to:
Doug Carroll, Editor
NEBRASKAland Magazine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or e-mail Doug.Carroll@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address and
telephone number.
Letters may be condensed and edited
for clarity. Photographs are
welcome and will be returned.
COMMISSION
CONSERV
CONSERVATION OFFICERS
Director Rex Amack
Deputy Director Jim Douglas
Commissioners
Chairman - Mick Jensen, Blair
Vice Chairman - Ron Stave, Waterloo
2nd Vice Chairman - Norris Marshall, Kearney
Jerrod Burke, Curtis
Dr. Mark Pinkerton, Wilber
Dr. Kent Forney, Lincoln
Lynn Berggren, Broken Bow
Rex Fisher, Omaha
Mark Spurgin, Paxton
NORTHWEST
Officer
City
Jim Zimmerman (S) Gering
MAGAZINE
MAGAZINE STAFF
STAFF
Editor Doug Carroll
Associate Editor Jeff Kurrus
Art Director Tim Reigert
Senior Editor Jon Farrar
Regional Editor Eric Fowler
Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg
Regular Contributors Bill Hager, Chris Helzer,
Lisa Knopp
Photo Librarian Sarah Johnson
Circulation Donna Robinson
For address changes and questions about
your subscription, e-mail
Donna.Robinson@Nebraska.gov
or call (800) 632-5263
Marketing/Advertising
For advertising information contact
Larson Enterprises
e-mail dave@larsonent.com
or call (515) 440-2810
NEBRASKAland Magazine Copyright 2011, all rights reserved.
NEBRASKAland is available on audio cassette from the Nebraska
Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, Suite 120, 1200 N
St., Lincoln, NE 68508. (800) 742-7691. NEBRASKAland Magazine and
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reserve the right to reject any
advertising not in keeping with the agency mission.
Rates: $18 for one year; $33 for two years; $44 for three years. Nebraska
recipients must add appropriate sales tax. To subscribe call
1-800-NEBLAND (632-5263), or go online to:
NebraskalandMagazine.com.
COMMISSION OFFICES
Headquarters/Southeast District Office
2200 N. 33rd Street Lincoln, NE 68503
Phone (402) 471-0641
Northeast District Office
2201 N. 13th St. Norfolk, NE 68701
Phone (402) 370-3374
Southwest District Office
301 E. State Farm Rd. North Platte, NE 69101
Phone (308) 535-8025
Northwest District Office
East Hwy. 2, Box 725 Alliance, NE 69301
Phone (308) 763-2940
Bassett Office
524 Panzer St., Box 508 Bassett, NE 68714
Phone (402) 684-2921
Kearney Office
1617 First Ave. Kearney, NE 68847
Phone (308) 865-5310
Omaha Office
1212 Bob Gibson Blvd. Omaha, NE 68108
Phone (402) 595-2144
Greg Hesse
Scott Brandt
Heath Packett
Frank Miller
Dan Kling
Phone (308)
(office) 763-2940
(cell) 641-6138
Alliance
760-3647
Gering
631-0663
Gordon
360-0682
Valentine (402) 389-0444
Harrison
430-0572
SOUTHWEST
Officer
City
Phone (308)
Roger Thompson (S) N. Platte (office) 535-8025
(cell) 530-3097
Ray Dierking
Brkn. Bow
870-0322
George Sund
Cambridge
655-0028
Michael Thome
Cozad
529-8146
Terry Brentzel
Doniphan (402) 469-5795
Matt Andrews
Elwood
746-2418
Dirk Greene
Imperial
882-0015
Jerry Pecha (Sup.) Kearney (office) 865-5327
(cell) 293-3551
Dale Johnson
Kearney
440-3847
Dudley Sorensen
N. Platte
530-0016
Nicholas Fix
Ogallala
289-0427
Dennis Thompson
Ogallala
289-0755
Rich Routh
Rep. City
920-0367
NORTHEAST
Officer
Tom Zimmer (Sup.)
Dale Davis
Steve Oberg
Daniel Roberts
Randy Pomplun
Jeff Jones
Jon Reeves
Pat George
Doug Pollard
Tim Williams
Cory Krause
Phone (402)
(office) 370-3374
(cell) 649-8053
Bassett
760-0712
Columbus
910-3366
Fremont
719-1108
Fullerton
550-0489
Hartington
762-5022
Kennard
889-8508
O’Neill
340-0787
Ord
778-7101
Neligh
929-0051
West Point
380-6410
SOUTHEAST
Officer
Duane Arp (Sup.)
City
Gretna
Sean McKeehan
William Krause
Mike Luben
Dan Zuehlke
Darin Gress
Douglas Kramer
Dina Barta
Stacey Lewton
Levi Krause
Robert Finke
Russell Mort
Dan Evasco
Jeff Clauson
City
Norfolk
Phone (402)
(office) 332-2965
(cell) 521-0194
Ashland
521-0159
Auburn
274-8063
Colon
443-6392
Cortland
806-9084
Hebron
768-8665
Lincoln
890-6465
Lincoln
890-6463
Lincoln
890-7140
Louisville
949-0593
Milford
947-1363
Nebr. City
209-1506
Papillion
616-5961
Waterloo
658-7057
ADMINISTRATION
Officer
City
Ted Blume (Adm.)
Lincoln
Craig Stover (Asst.) Lincoln
Phone (402)
471-5531
471-5532
Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers 1-800-742-7627
Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium
21502 W. Highway 31 Gretna, NE 68028
Phone (402) 332-3901
Under federal and/or state law, discrimination is prohibited on the basis
of race, color, religion, age, gender, marital status, national origin,
disability or political affiliation. If you think you have been discriminated
against in any program, activity or facility by the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission or want more information, contact the Commission in
Lincoln, NE, at (402) 471-0641 or the Equal Opportunity Commission,
Lincoln, NE, (402) 471-2024, TTY/TDD (402) 471-4693).
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 5
Here is a list of
upcoming outdoor
events across
Nebraska.
For more
information
about
these and
other events, click on
the calendar at
www.OutdoorNebraska.org.
July 31- August 5
• Nebraska Star Party – Merritt SRA
Want a great view of the night sky?
Then come out and enjoy the 18th
annual Nebraska Star Party at Merritt
Reservoir’s Snake River campground.
Contact: Loren Murray
(402) 376-3320
loren.murray@nebraska.gov
August 6-7
This opportunistic bullfrog apparently had a young bird land too close to it last May.
Name This Bird
Greg Hartel of Murray, an aquatic education instructor that works out of AkSar-Ben Aquarium near Gretna, captured this photo of a North American bullfrog
still working on its latest meal in mid-May.
Voracious predators, bullfrogs eat a variety of prey, including worms, fish,
insects, crustaceans, other frogs, snakes, mice and birds (obviously), among other
things. The most recent menu for this large frog, according to Joel Jorgensen,
nongame bird program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,
apparently included a cedar waxwing.
The bullfrog was released unharmed after this photo was taken. The same
cannot be said for the bird.
Channel Catfish Tags
Channel catfish in the Middle Loup
River are currently being tagged as part
of the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission’s efforts to monitor fish
passage projects on that river.
Anglers who catch a channel catfish
with one of the two tags shown in the
accompanying photo are asked to
contact Steve Schainost, Rivers and
Streams Program Manager for the
Commission, by e-mailing him at
Steve.Schainost@Nebraska.gov, or by
calling him at (308) 763-2940.
The tags don’t need to be returned
(some anglers like to keep them as a
souvenir), but Schainost needs to know
the three digit number
off the tag, what color
the tag was, and where
and when the fish was
caught. Anglers who
would like a response
back regarding their
fish need to provide a
name and mailing
address.
6 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
• Ft. Atkinson Living History Days
Visit Ft. Atkinson SHP to watch
volunteers portray life at an 1820s
military fort the first weekend of the
month from May through October.
Interpretive hours are from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. each day.
Contact: Ft. Atkinson SHP
(402) 468-5611
ngpc.fort.atkinson@nebraska.gov
August 13
• Shooting Sports Skills Camp –
Ponca State Park
This event is for those who wish
to hone their shooting techniques.
Participants will camp out in a hunting
camp atmosphere, eat wild game and
practice shooting various firearms
and bows. Registration required.
Contact: Ponca State Park
(402) 755-2284
ngpc.ponca@nebraska.gov
September 2
• Sailboat Regatta – Lake
McConaughy
Come out to Lake McConaughy for
the Hobie Fleet 61 Sailboat Regatta.
The event will be held on the east
side of Theis Bay.
Contact: Stephen Cooley
(303) 980-0591
September 17-18
• 7th Annual Missouri River Outdoor
Expo – Ponca State Park
This annual event features
hands-on demonstrations, exhibits,
presentations and activities on
camping, hunting, fishing, hiking and
a variety of other outdoor pursuits.
Contact: Ponca State Park
(402) 755-2284
ngpc.ponca@nebraska.gov
Important Trail Decisions
Erica Hengelfelt
On the trail, food and water are
unquestionably the two most valuable
instruments carried on your back.
Without proper hydration and nutrition,
your body won’t even be able to put
together a tent, collect firewood or
dress a wound. Though proper nutrition
and hydration are both necessary for
successful ventures, oftentimes it seems
that maintaining them on the trail is a
“Catch-22” – the more food and water
you decide to bring, the heavier your
pack becomes. As the weight of your
pack increases, so do the number of
calories burnt. This, along with
perspiration, causes your body to
demand even more food and water. On
and on, this troubling cycle continues.
Though carrying a few extra pounds
may seem like a burden, especially for
longer hikes to secluded spots, there is
Eastern Mole
Chris Helzer
First, full disclosure. This mole was dead when I found it
laying on top of the ground – I have no idea why. Having
never had a good chance to look at one before, I put it my
pocket (I’m a biologist, what can I say) and took it home.
When I got there, I decided I’d never have a better
opportunity to photograph a mole, so I stuck him (her?) in
the ground and took picture. Just so you know.
The eastern mole is the most common in Nebraska and
can sometimes be found in fairly high abundance (several
per acre). Moles are hunters of worms and grubs, and most
of their tunneling is essentially just swimming through soil,
looking for something to eat. Because it takes so much
energy to dig, moles are voracious eaters, eating between
70 and 100 percent of their body weight every day. Hunting
tunnels are generally shallow and only used once by the
mole. However, those tunnels are heavily used by other
animals, including voles and mice, for both travel lanes and
protection from predators. In fact, much of the damage to
plants that moles are blamed for actually comes from those
interlopers who feed on seeds and roots of plants while in
the tunnels. Moles can disrupt plants by burrowing through
them, but don’t feed on the roots.
Since they live their entire life underground, moles don’t
have much need for eyes. They have very small eyes, mostly
covered by skin, that can probably detect light and dark, but
not much else. They don’t have ears at all. What they do
have is a long, cone-shaped nose that is used to probe around
for food. That nose, and their huge digging claws, are their
major life tools. Few predators are a threat to moles, though
a skunk or coyote might periodically dig one up – their big
worry is floods.
As I was writing this, my teenage daughter walked by and
asked me what I was doing. After I explained, she said, “You
put a dead mole in your POCKET? I am NEVER marrying a
biologist.” Sigh. Sorry guys.
never a need to sacrifice your overall
health in the name of backpacking. In
fact, there isn’t a need to sacrifice
delicious, flavorful meals while
backcountry camping either. Here is
one recipe sure to please.
Apple Pie Trail Mix
Let’s face it, munching on the same
store-bought trail mix hike after hike
can get old pretty quickly. The
hiker’s staple, blanketed as “trail mix,”
is actually a very versatile snack. This
homemade recipe puts a new spin on
two old favorites – trail mix and apple
pie. It also tastes great with craisins,
dried apricots or banana chips.
1 egg white
1 tbsp water
1 lb bag walnut or pecan halves
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dried apple rings, cut into quarters
1 box “Golden Grahams” cereal
Capitol Peregrine Chick Banded
One male peregrine falcon chick from a nest box near the top of the Nebraska
State Capitol building was banded and given a checkup on June 7. Biologists
placed unique bands on both legs, took blood samples, checked for diseases and
parasites before returning the falcon to the nest box.
“The banding went very well and the chick appears to be in very good shape,”
said Joel Jorgensen, nongame bird program manager for the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission.
8 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
habitat on the
Missouri and Platte
rivers. Once trapped in floodwaters, they can quickly grow
by feeding all day on phytoplankton and algae. Silver carp
can be dangerous, as they can jump from the water and have
been known to seriously injure boaters. Whether or not they
are good eating is still up for debate.
Find and share your own camping
recipes at camprecipes.com.
Nebland Flashbacks
See You Out There ... But Where?
Silver Carp State Record Broken
Elizabeth Mack
The May Mixed Bag article, “Nebraska Waters at
Risk from Asian Carp,” warned of the risks of bighead and
silver carp infiltrating our streams, and this year’s high
waters seem to be only exacerbating the problem. A record
38-pound, 10-ounce silver carp was arrowed May 23 at a
Saunders County sandpit on a 40-pound bow, followed by
another 35-pound catch from the same fishermen [Daniel
Hernandez and James Watson] on the same day, shattering
the previous state record of 27-pound, 11-ounces. Recent
flooding has caused the invasive species out of their normal
Beat egg white and water until
frothy. Mix in sugar, salt and
cinnamon. Add nuts and stir until
well-coated. Spread on a large baking
sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake at 200°F for one hour, stirring
every 15 minutes. Remove from oven
when the nuts are dry and toasted.
When cool, mix with cereal and apple
rings. Store in airtight container.
Breakfast-Oatmeal
Instant oatmeal is a quick breakfast
solution. The wax lining on the inside
of the packet is waterproof and can
serve as its own bowl for easy clean up.
1 instant oatmeal packet
½ cup boiling water
Additional fruits, nuts, or granola
Directions: Empty packet into bowl.
Add boiling water; stir and let cool.
Stir in additional ingredients as desired.
Do you know where this Nebraska photograph was taken?
See answer at the bottom of page 13.
Humor has been a part of
NEBRASKAland Magazine for
many years, especially with the
help of local writers like author,
humorist and folklorist, Roger Welsch.
Well-known as a senior
correspondent on the CBS News
Sunday Morning program, he was
featured in a segment called
"Postcards from Nebraska."
Welsch was also the 2005 winner
of the Henry Fonda Award, from
the State of Nebraska Travel and
Tourism Division.
To see and read Roger’s 1977
article “The Way It Was,” visit
NebraskalandMagazine.com and
click on “Nebland Flashback.”
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 9
Dealing with Adversity to Get the Job Done
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
The use of crossbows for hunting in Nebraska has recently been expanded.
device, which makes it much easier to
hold steady, and a crossbow’s drawn
string is held in place with a mechanical
device, removing the need for the
hunter to hold the weapon’s draw
weight until the string is released,
which is required when using a bow.
“The crossbow is already drawn and
loaded when you go to aim for a shot,”
said Cabela’s manager Matthew Hall.
“All you have to do is pull the trigger.”
Beginning hunters often feel more
comfortable shooting a crossbow rather
than a normal bow because it does not
require as much strength or skill to
operate. It should come as no surprise
that crossbow hunting has long been a
popular outlet for aging hunters who
can no longer draw sufficient poundage
on a normal bow, or those introducing
young children to the sport, Hall said.
Essentially, men and women of all ages
and levels of ability can enjoy archery
through the use of a crossbow.
Even though crossbows are easy to
use, hunters should have knowledge of
the weapon and its basic components.
Crossbows typically weigh between
8-10 pounds and have a draw weight of
about 170 pounds. To draw the string
into position, a hunter will usually
either set the bow on the ground,
steady it with their feet and pull the
string back until it locks in place, or, if
provided, use a crossbow’s mechanical
device to cock the weapon.
The projectiles used in crossbows are
called bolts and are shorter (20-22
10 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
inches) than the arrows used in a bow.
They are also a bit larger in diameter
to improve downrange kinetic energy
and come outfitted with broadheads
specifically made for crossbows.
Quivers attached to crossbows can hold
up to three bolts but, like a bow, only
one shot can be taken at a time.
Because the energy stored in a
crossbow’s limbs cannot be released
without shooting a bolt (“dry firing” a
crossbow without a bolt, much like
shooting a drawn bow without having
an arrow on the string, is a good way
to cause injury to both the weapon and
anyone nearby), at the end of a hunt
many hunters replace their hunting bolt
with a biodegradable discharge bolt,
which is then shot harmlessly into the
ground, said Alexander.
Contrary to popular belief, crossbows
have nearly the same limited range as
normal bows. Hunters need to be within
approximately 40-60 yards of an animal
to make an accurate shot, but the more
money a hunter is willing to spend, the
more technology their crossbow will
have to help increase accuracy. Prices
range from approximately $225 for a
basic crossbow to $1500 for higher-end
pieces of equipment outfitted with
scopes, drawing mechanisms, noise
cancellation devices and other
accessories, said Ross Young, owner of
Premier Archery in Lincoln.
The Nebraska archery deer season
runs from September 15 to December
31, 2011.
PHOTO BY JON FARRAR
Erica Hengelfelt
“If you can shoot a BB gun, you can
shoot a crossbow,” said Rich Alexander
of the Omaha Scheels archery
department.
What he means, of course, is that the
basic mechanics of crossbow hunting
are fairly simple to understand, even
for beginners. This is good news in
light of Nebraska’s recent legalization
of crossbows for use by the general
public during the archery season. Until
that change, crossbows were only
allowed to be used during a rifle deer
season or by physically impaired
hunters unable to use normal bows to
hunt during the archery season.
“We have a large aging hunting
population,” said Kit Hams of the
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
“More and more people wanted the
legalization.”
The hope is that the expanded rules
for crossbow use will help get more
hunters in the field during the archery
season, thus increasing both recreational
hunting opportunity and hunter success
at controlling the state’s burgeoning
whitetail deer population.
Though practice and experience in
the field will teach hunters their most
valuable lessons, beginning crossbow
hunters with experience shooting a rifle
or bb gun can expect to achieve some
success with relatively little training.
“They’ll be able to hit something as
soon as they walk out of here,” said
Alexander.
Nebraska retailers have seen a steady
rise in crossbow sales since the change.
Average crossbow sales have doubled
at Cabela’s in LaVista, and at the
Scheel’s store in Omaha, the number of
crossbows sold since January far surpass
the number sold during the store’s first
six years of existence. Employees at
both shops anticipate sales to increase
even more as deer season approaches.
Like traditional bows, the basic
mechanics of a crossbow involves a
strong string stretched tightly across two
flexible limbs that launches a projectile
when drawn and released. The difference
is that a crossbow is mounted
horizontally to a gun stock-type of
Jon Farrar
Second only to surviving, the driving force of plants is to reproduce.
Whether they are annuals (emerging from seeds, growing stems, leaves, flowers
and setting seed all in one year) or perennials that may live many years, all must
complete their annual cycle between the last killing frost of spring and the first
killing frost of autumn. Plants are adapted to the length of the growing season
where they live and so, if all goes well, they reproduce most years. But if a deer
nips off the top of the stem where flowers are to be borne, or a mower whacks
them back to only a two or three inches tall, they may not have time to recover
and set seed before the first killing frost. Many plants, though, deal with such
adversities by flowering on the short stalks remaining or quickly grown.
Nodding lady’s-tresses orchid (Spiranthes
cernua), one of six species of lady’s-tresses
orchid in Nebraska, is a good example. They
may be found statewide except in the
Panhandle and extreme southwest, and prefer
moist to wet loamy to sandy soils in prairies
and meadows, and along lake and stream
margins. They were probably once quite
common in Sandhills meadows. They do not
produce flowers on their twisting spike until
late-August into October. Unmolested, they
will grow as tall as one foot.
Sandhills meadows are mowed for hay from
early-July and often into September. What is a
lady’s-tresses to do that is half grown and
mowed? They make do, rushing to reproduce.
It is not uncommon to find them blooming on
flat-topped stalks only four to six inches tall
in mowed meadows. While not as lovely as an
unmolested plant, they get their job done.
One of the most likely places to see
chopped-off plants in flower while only a
fraction of their natural stature is along
roadways. The blue flowers of chicory are
sometimes seen only inches tall and flowering
throughout the summer. Usually, though,
mowing and grazing pastureland at the same
time of the year, year after year, eventually
leads to the disappearance of flowering native
wildflowers.
Mike Flair of Omaha has had his plate since
the mid-90s, and when he catches his first
10-pound largemouth bass in Nebraska, he
plans on having his photo taken with the plate
and the fish as proof that he is indeed the
Bass Master. If you have a unique outdoor message plate you would like to
share, e-mail a photo (high-resolution, JPEG format only, please) of it to
Eric.Fowler@Nebraska.gov, along with your name, hometown and a brief
description of the interests expressed on your license plate.
NEBRASKAland Visitor
Winner and Hint
Last issue’s winner of
the NEBRASKAland
Visitor drawing was
Myah Gibney of
Arlington, Nebraska, who found the
carpenter ant on page 16.
Readers are encouraged to contact
NEBRASKAland within 10 days
after this issue’s publication with the
correct page number and name of
this issue’s “Visitor” – a bug found
in Nebraska that just happened to
find its way onto one of the pages of
our publication.
We will then gather the correct
entries and draw one to win a
NEBRASKAland Magazine mug.
To enter each month, write:
NEBRASKAland Visitor
2200 North 33rd Street,
Lincoln, NE 68503.
Or e-mail:
Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.gov
with “Visitor” in the subject line of
the message.
HINT: This issue’s visitor is not on
page 2, 4, 5 or 23.
“Towers in Time” sculpture, Ponca State Park.
Crossbows – Expanded
Hunting Opportunities
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 11
By Jon Farrar
August through March. University of
he history of grouse and grouse
Nebraska entomologist and ornithologist
hunting in Nebraska could be a
Myron H. Swenk, in the January 1936
fat book with many pages, small
type and copious footnotes. It is a story edition of The Nebraska Bird Review,
summarized the carnage wrecked on
of once-great abundance, exploitation,
prairie grouse during those essentially
grudgingly slow legal protection, the
unrestricted times:
methodical destruction of grouse
In the last number of the Review
habitat and today, ironically, more
reference was made to the wanton
grouse to hunt than hunters who want
destruction of Greater Prairie Chickens
to hunt grouse.
in Nebraska during the 1860s and
Prior to settlement by
earlier 1870s,
Euroamericans,
during which
what was to be
period these birds
Nebraska was
could be hunted
almost entirely
with dog or gun,
grassland. Sharptrapped, sold, or
tailed grouse were
shipped without
found everywhere
restriction, and the
except the
statement was
southeastern
made that hunters
corner of the
would commonly
state. Greater
kill from fifty to as
prairie chickens
high as 200 prairie
(pinnated grouse)
chickens in a day.
are a tallgrass
As evidence of this
prairie species.
statement, the
Their range was
Omaha Republican
to the east and
of September 8,
southeast of
1865, tells how two
Nebraska, so they
The range of the greater prairie chicken
days earlier two
were native,
has greatly fluctuated with land use.
parties of Omaha
principally, to the
hunters shot, respectively, 422 and 287
southeastern counties, although they
prairie chickens in one day. Again, the
probably occurred farther north and
Omaha Herald of September 10, 1866,
west where tallgrass prairie pioneered
along river valleys. Sharp-tailed grouse tells of one hunter killing 192 prairie
and greater prairie chickens collectively chickens in one day. This heavy shooting
was done mostly in August and early
are referred to as “prairie grouse.”
Statutes passed by the 1866 Legislative September, when the young birds of the
year were not yet fully grown, and
Assembly, one year before Nebraska
hence still relatively unsuspicious.
was granted statehood, provided for an
Later in the season, with the coming of
open season on prairie grouse from
12 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
Sport hunters came from many large eastern cities to hunt Nebraska’s prairie chickens from the 1860s through the 1890s,
often shipping hundreds back home. Illustration from Our Feathered Game by Dwight W. Huntington, 1903.
cold weather and snow, the prairie
chickens were easily trapped, and
many thousands of them were thus
taken during those years.
There was a curious, but essentially
meaningless, turn of events to protect
prairie grouse in the mid-1870s in the
midst of a devastating Rocky Mountain
grasshopper invasion. Grouse were
known to consume large numbers of
insects, some at the time claiming as
many 150 a day. Then, as yet today,
agriculture trumped all other interests
in Nebraska, and so the 1877 State
Legislature passed a law making it
illegal to kill any wild bird within the
state at any time of the year. The law
provided full protection to grouse as
well as other birds but was not
enforced, and prairie grouse continued
to be killed and trapped for the market,
increasingly from central and western
Nebraska as those regions were settled.
The statute was repealed by the 1885
Legislative Assembly, but other statutes
passed during that session, at least on
paper, prohibited the buying, selling
and shipping of grouse during the
closed season from January through
August. Not until 1891 did it become
unlawful to “ship any such animal or
bird at any time of the year,” but even
that did not stop market hunting or the
sale of wild game, as it was rarely
enforced. And, legal shooting seasons
were blatantly ignored with impunity.
Sandy Griswold, then sports editor for
the Omaha Bee, clearly laid out the
situation in his August 5, 1894 column:
The present season has been a good
one for the prairie chicken crop in
Nebraska if it has not been for any
other. The early portion of the season
was perfect for nesting, and since the
little chicks have hatched out there
have been no violent storms to kill them
off. There was a large number of old
birds left over from previous years and
reports from the central and western
part of the state indicate that there is
an unusual supply of young birds this
season. In spite of the fact that the law
does not permit the shooting of the birds
until September 1, it is a notorious
fact that the hunting of these birds
commences all over Nebraska early in
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 13
The Lacey Act
The federal Lacey Act of 1900
prohibited the interstate shipment of
birds and mammals taken in violation
of any state law, but did little to curb
market hunters as there were few federal
officers to enforce the law. A man from
Dunning, under the pseudonym Bona,
wrote Griswold at the World-Herald on
July 15, 1900, making it clear that
grouse were being shipped east when
the hunting season was closed in
violation of the Lacey Act:
Commencing yesterday a gang of
three lawless hunters began hunting
out from this town, and almost any
night for the next six weeks, if not
sooner stopped, it will be an easy
matter to catch the gang at the B.&M.
[Burlington and Missouri railroad]
station with 400 to 500 young birds.
Burt Harris purchases the birds from
these outlaws, paying from $2.30 to
$2.50 per dozen; while he disposes of
them to eastern parties for $6 and
$7 per dozen, shipping them by Adams
express as ‘dressed poultry.’ If you
know of a good detective who would
like to make a good haul, put him on.
He can come to either Dunning or
Anselmo any night and bag the culprits.
Citizens hereabouts are timid about
swearing out warrants of arrest, for
these ‘rustlers’ would not hesitate at
any crime to ‘get back’ on the informer.
... What this state needs is a game
warden. If this wholesale violation of
our game laws is not stopped, Omaha
and other city sportsmen will find just
as good hunting in their business
thoroughfares as they will out here in
the ‘sand hills.’
“No game law will be potent until
some one is appointed or elected whose
PHOTO COURTESY OF STUHR MUSEUM OF THE PRAIRIE PIONEER
July, and usually by the time the season
is here there are very few left in the
vicinity of the towns, and the sportsman
who respects the law must either be
content with no shooting of a satisfactory
character, or else must go some distance
from the town to get it.
Griswold continued to condemn
market hunting after he moved to the
Omaha World-Herald in 1898, but
unabashedly reported large kills of
“chickens” by his Omaha friends. In a
September 1894 letter, for example, a
hunter wrote and bragged he and two
companions bagged 187 prairie chickens
in three days near O’Neill.
In 1904, when the above photograph was made, a hunter was allowed 25 grouse daily and 50 in possession.
duty it shall be to enforce it,” Bancroft
sportsman John Everett wrote in a
March 11, 1900 letter to the Omaha
World-Herald. “That which is
everybody’s business is nobody’s
business. Our legislature meets and
enacts game law after game law, none
of which ever amounted to any thing or
ever will till one is enacted which will
provide for a game warden in each
county.”
First Game Wardens
The Chicago & North Western Railroad along the northern Sandhills promoted
“chicken” hunting. From Wild Fowl Shooting by William B. Leffingwell, 1890.
14 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
The 1901 Nebraska Legislature
repealed the 1879 law creating the Fish
Commission and created the Game and
Fish Commission. That change put in
place the state’s first comprehensive
wildlife law code, offering the promise
of slowing the plummeting course of
game animals. Under it, for the first
time, daily and possession limits were
set. Without exception they were
unreasonably liberal, particularly for
waterfowl and shorebirds. The legal
hunting season for prairie grouse was
October and November. Twenty-five
were allowed daily and 50 in possession.
Law-abiding sportsmen foolishly
expected immediate results from the
new game department in curtailing the
work of market hunters. They were not
forthcoming. Occasional arrests for
game law violations made good
newspaper headlines but did not put a
dent in market hunting or out-of-season
shooting. In one case, Nebraska wardens
confiscated a shipment of nearly
600 prairie chickens and quail packed
in barrels marked “sauer kraut.” When
the barrel’s bungs were pulled the
wardens indeed found sauerkraut, but
further investigation revealed it was
only in tin cups tacked over the holes
on the inside of the barrel.
Sandy Griswold, undeniably the most
potent voice for Nebraska sportsmen at
the time, continued to call for more
wardens and better enforcement, and
would for nearly three more decades.
He grew increasingly pessimistic about
the long-term expectations for prairie
grouse in Nebraska, fully expecting
their eventual extirpation. Beginning in
about 1903, a regular pattern emerged
in Griswold’s columns. In the late
spring and through the summer he
would receive and publish letters from
ranchers or sportsmen in grouse country
to the effect that “...the crop of chicken
is undoubtedly the largest known in
Nebraska fields for years, and in many
localities the shooting will be little
short of grand.” More often than not,
once the season was underway and
after it closed Griswold would report
“...grouse hunting was tolerable good
but not all anticipated.” Poor years were
usually attributed to disadvantageous
weather during the nesting and
brooding season, and to the continued
shooting of young grouse before the
hunting season opened for sport or sale
on the market.
When Should the
Season Begin?
The 1905 grouse hunting season was
extended a full month – open
September through November. The
daily bag limit remained 25 and the
possession limit 50, but only 10 grouse
were allowed daily or in possession in
September. Griswold’s attacks on the
new game laws were relentless. In a
July 9, 1905 World-Herald column, he
unleashed his writing skills to paint an
ugly portrait of the despicable work of
market hunters.
Did you ever see a real live old-time
market hunter work? They used to go
in gangs of three and four. They got out
with a team and camping outfit and
covered many miles a day. Through
Northwestern Nebraska there were few
fences and the market hunter’s outfit
followed through the fields as the men
shoot. One drove the team a half mile
in the rear. Two men with guns spread
out over a field, say 100 yards apart,
and the dogs covered the ground for a
mile each way. When a ‘point’ was
made, the hunters closed up. Each was
armed with a ‘pump’ gun, and each
was a dead shot. On the first rise each
man shot from three to six times. As a
rule, from a bunch of a dozen birds,
they would get all but two or three on
the first rise. Those escaping were
‘marked down,’ and within ten minutes
the whole covey was exterminated. The
wagon is driven up and the dead birds
packed into an ice box and then the
death march proceeds. Thus the country
was swept absolutely clean of birds,
and that, too, long before the lawful
season begun.
The 1907 legislature cut the first half
of September from the grouse season.
Bag and possession limits remained the
same. The most significant section of
the state game laws stated it was
unlawful at “any time or season of the
year” to “sell, barter, or expose or offer
for sale or barter” any of the game
animals included in the statutes. Market
hunting, although it would continue for
many more years, was finally illegal.
Prairie Grouse and
the Kinkaiders
The Kinkaid Act of 1904 was an
attempt by the federal government to
transfer the remaining public land of
the Great Plains into private ownership.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 15
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN SCHOEN
with the small force we have had to
work with. It is also noticeable to those
who go regularly from year to year for
a few prairie chicken, that the suitable
nesting places grow scarcer, because
the prairie land is being pastured more
closely. This condition leaves them easy
prey for coyotes, skunks and other
animals. I fear we are beginning to see
the last of these noble birds, particularly
the pinnated grouse, a condition which
calls for more restrictive legislation.
In response the declining numbers of
prairie chickens and sharptails, the
1909 Legislature reduced the hunting
season to the months of October and
November with daily and possession
limits of 25 and 50 respectively. Market
hunters had been driven underground,
but they did not miss a step, and by the
time the legal hunting season opened the
number of birds was much diminished.
It was much the same in 1910.
The reason there was not better game
law enforcement was the Game and
Fish Commission was pitifully funded
by legislative appropriations. Deputy
Fish Commissioner W.J. O’Brien
requested a change in funding in annual
reports and in a letter to the Omaha
World-Herald published in the January
8, 1911 edition.
Our state constitution provides that
all licenses and fines of every description
be turned into the school fund, and the
fines collected for violations of the fish
and game laws are paid in to the
school fund in the counties in which the
The Schoen family from Gurley, Nebraska in the Panhandle established elaborate tent
camps near Rat and Beaver lakes in Cherry County to hunt grouse in the early-1900s.
16 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
violators are prosecuted. The license
money, both resident and non-resident,
is remitted by the county clerks to the
state treasurer, and becomes a part of
the annual state school apportionment.
I have not got the exact figures but in
the past ten years, since the present
license law has been in effect, the
average annual collections from resident
and non-resident licenses has been
about $8,000, or $80,000 for the ten
years, and the commission has not been
allowed to use a single dollar of this
money. Nebraska, so far as I can learn,
is the only state that handles its license
money derived from fish and game
licenses this way....
PHOTO COURTESY OF WILLIAM W. LEMBURG
In Nebraska, the bulk of it was in the
19,000-square-mile Sandhills region,
the last stronghold of prairie grouse.
The act granted settlers 640 acres of
land in 37 western Nebraska counties.
Between 1900 and 1920, the population
of those counties increased from
136,615 to 251,830, corn production
nearly doubled and wheat production
increased fourfold. Where once
there had been large cattle ranches,
increasingly there were families
occupying single sections, scratching in
large gardens and crops on the better
land and running what livestock the
land would support. The interspersion
of small grain fields in the Sandhills
benefited prairie chickens. As during
the time of the Homesteaders in the
1870s and 1880s, prairie chickens
expanded their range. While Kinkaiders
created habitat for prairie chickens, it
came at a price.
Chief Deputy Warden George L.
Carter addressed the impact settlement
of the Sandhills region had on prairie
grouse in his biennial report to the
governor for the years 1907 and 1908.
Again, we find the increased settlement
of our sand-hill section, due to the
Kinkaid homestead law, has been
detrimental to these birds, because they
disturb them during the nesting season,
and it is reported that they kill a great
many out of season and in season,
sometimes from necessity, and always
at a time and in a manner that we have
been unable to stop them effectually,
More State Statutes
By 1911, public sentiment was
demanding action to save grouse and
other wildlife. In response, the Metzer
Game Bill was passed. It was the first
comprehensive overhaul of Nebraska
fish and game laws since 1901, and
included a reduction of the grouse limits
from 25 daily to 10, and possession
limits from 50 to 10. The grouse
season was again longer, though, open
September through November. The
total force of game wardens remained
one chief, three deputies on the payroll
only eight months of a year, and one
secretary. With the chances of being
caught exceedingly slim, the 10-bird
limit was reported to be largely
ignored. Griswold continued to bemoan
what he saw as the inevitable extinction
of the prairie chicken, and attributed
their fate not to market or sport hunting
but changing land-use.
Of all the game birds, yet fairly
plentiful within the borders of the state
of Nebraska, slated for an early doom,
there is no question about it, the
pinnated grouse, our beloved prairie
chicken, comes first. While this royal
bird has been on the down grade for
the past twenty years, their descent
from this on will be rapid; and those
who prize the chicken above all game
on earth can count upon the fingers of
one hand the seasons that yet remain
for them to enjoy its pursuit. The reason
for this is as plain as it is undeniable,
and the legitimate sportsman has little
to do with it. The tremendous influx of
homeseekers in the wild districts still
adaptable to its thrift will shortly prove
William H. Lemburg, a farmer from rural Dannebrog, made annual forays into the Sandhills in the early-1900s for prairie chickens.
its almost absolute extinction. The
prairie chicken is necessarily and
distinctively a wild bird, and can only
survive amidst its wild concomitants,
the untrammeled oceans of waste
prairie and uninhabitable sand hills.
Seeming to accept that grouse were
destined to shrink back to a few isolated
strongholds, if not vanish from the state
entirely, the Game and Fish Commission
– following the lead of their predecessor,
the Fish Commission, that in the late1800s saw the salvation of fishing in
the state as the widespread introduction
of German carp – was already searching
for exotic game bird replacements for
the native grouse and bobwhites, birds
that could coexist with more intensive
agriculture. Hungarian partridge were
first stocked in 1908, and pheasants in
1911.
World War and
Grouse
The World War I years were
prosperous times for agriculture. More
native grasslands were plowed to grow
corn and other grains. There was a short
-term gain for prairie chickens in some
regions as small crop fields were planted
in grassland areas, but more likely it
only shifted the range of both sharptails
and prairie chickens. Farming pressed
deeper into the Sandhills margins and
chickens moved with it. The sharptail
range shrank back deeper into choppy
hills too rough to farm.
Griswold seemed weary of the fight
by the late-1910s and increasingly cutand-pasted old columns addressing the
same problems and threats that had
faced prairie grouse for two decades.
But restrictions to protect grouse were
tightening. The 1919 legislature cut the
grouse-hunting season to one month –
the last two weeks of October and first
two weeks of November. From 1921
through 1926, grouse hunting in
Nebraska was only allowed during the
month of October, with 10 birds daily
and 10 in possession. In his October
23, 1927 column, Griswold predicted
there would not be a grouse season in
1928, but there was – only the month
of October, with a daily and bag limit
of five birds. The 1928 season was no
sooner closed before Griswold stated it
would be the last grouse-hunting season
Nebraskans would see for some time.
His November 4, 1928 World-Herald
column had the tone and solemnness of
a eulogy.
This glorious game bird, while literally
extirpated in many regions of the state
where it was but a few years ago most
plentiful, stands today on the eve of
incontinent extinction in all localities
even unto the most inaccessible of the
most isolated solitudes of our western
hills and prairies... As I have so
frequently mentioned, the prairie
chickens are necessarily a wild bird and
they cannot thrive if denied the wild
concomitants necessary to their thrift,
and these are rapidly being denied
them, but of all the inimical causes
combined the ruthless killing off of the
remnant left today, by shooters of the
state, is the most potential and deadly.
... The preservation of this beautiful bird
today, means more to the picturesqueness
of our far flung plains and everlasting
hills than any other feathered or furred
creature, and this being the only
heritage we can leave posterity, the
true sportsman can well forego the
divine pleasure of a day in their
pursuit with the gun.
Out of the Frying
Pan into the Fire
There was no grouse-hunting season
in the autumn of 1929. One factor that
contributed to the decline of prairie
grouse had been eliminated. There
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 17
sizes. ... Barring future sweeping
changes in land use, it seems likely that
most of Nebraska’s prairie chicken
population in the coming years will be
confined to a southwest-to-north-central
belt of sandhill borderland which is
less than 50 miles in width in the
southwest and about 100 miles wide in
the north-central part.
The Return of Grouse
Hunting
put an unexpected twist on the effect
of the 1930s drought on prairie chicken
populations. He described the dry
conditions of that decade as an “angel
in disguise.” Mohler wrote in the
October 1942 issue of Outdoor
Nebraska:
The drought made it perilously
difficult for the remaining prairie
chickens to find satisfactory nesting
cover, and perhaps food, during the
low of the cycle, but it was a lifesaver
to the prairie chicken by causing an
adjustment in farming practices which
restored many sandhill border counties
to good chicken habitat. ... Important
points in this restoration were the
improved grazing and range
management practices, and consequent
restoration of the grass, which
accompanied the increase in farm
Sportsmen going to the Sandhills often went for a mixed bag, in this case prairie chickens, ducks and bullheads.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GERALD V. MENDENHALL
would still be birds potted by illegal
hunters, but the number would be
insignificant. Market hunting had
essentially been brought to a halt. The
variables remaining were agriculture
and the weather. Nothing could be
done about severe winters and
disadvantageous conditions during the
nesting and brooding seasons; and
nothing would be done about how
private land was used.
Weather and land-use exacted an
immeasurable toll on grouse during
the drought of the 1930s. The most
significant impact of the drought was
habitat loss. The Sandhills region fared
better than other parts of the state as far
as precipitation during the 1930s, but
grasslands declined in quality as the
drought persisted and grouse wintering,
nesting, brooding and roosting cover
was grazed down to nubbins. Ranchers
struggling to hang on during the
Depression took in cattle from even
drier regions and pastures were stocked
far beyond their carrying capacity
compounding the deteriorating range
conditions.
The 1940s brought not only a return
to more typical annual precipitation,
it ushered in scientific game
management, admittedly at an
embryonic stage. Decisions regarding
wildlife resources were increasingly
based on scientific methods – surveys
rather than hearsay and hunches. In the
forefront of grouse study and management for the Commission was Levi L.
Mohler, college educated in the sciences,
but coming from common roots in
Chase County. He had grown up with
farming and prairie chickens. Mohler
During the 1940s, grasslands recovered
from the prolonged drought of the
1930s and grouse numbers increased.
World War II, when agricultural
production was maximized, probably
slowed the recovery as marginal lands
were again farmed and grasslands
again vanished under the plow.
In 1950, the Game, Forestation and
Parks Commission allowed a restrictive
grouse hunting season, November 10
through 12. It was open only in Brown,
Cherry, Keya Paha and Rock counties
and that portion of Sheridan County
south of the Niobrara River, counties
where sharptails predominated. The
margins of the Sandhills, and other
grasslands where prairie chicken
populations were still building, remained
closed. Only two grouse were allowed
in possession during any of those days.
As if the restrictive hunting regulations
were not enough, all three days were
bitterly cold, with strong winds and
snow in some parts of the region.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARLENE LAPHAM
These grouse hunters in a wagon drawn by a team of mules near Lakeside
in the western Sandhills were pictured on a 1910 photographic postcard.
The Ford Model T, introduced in 1908, opened up the Sandhills interior to hunters, even
though roads were no more than wagon trails. Photo from 1922 near Hyannis.
18 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
Grouse hunters who had long anticipated
the return of grouse hunting were
universally displeased. Biologists were
unmoved by hunter dissatisfaction and
the 1951 grouse-hunting season was
identical. The weather, though, was
more salubrious, with highs in the 60s
all three days. In 1953, more Sandhill
counties were open to hunting. The
season was October 10 through 15,
with three grouse allowed daily and in
possession. Biologists explained grouse
populations had reached a cyclic high
in 1952 and surveys showed them
declining in abundance, so there was
no grouse-hunting season in 1954.
A conservative grouse-hunting season
was allowed in 1955 – five days in
late-October, with a bag and possession
limit of two grouse. Seasons during the
last half of the 1950s were all in
October and became cautiously more
liberal. By the 1959 season, four
grouse were allowed daily, eight in
possession and the season was 16 days
long. In 1965, the grouse season began
opening in mid-September and the
season varied between 15 and 58 days,
with a trend toward longer seasons.
During the 1960s the daily limit was
two or three birds, and the possession
limits ranging from four to nine.
Regulations were much the same
through the 1970s. During that decade,
center pivot irrigation began proliferating
across Nebraska, having the most
profound effect on land use and grouse
since the drought of the 1930s.
Quarter-section after quarter-section of
low, rolling rangeland on the southern
and eastern margins of the Sandhills
was plowed to grow irrigated corn.
Sandsage grasslands in the southwestern counties of Dundy and Chase, once
good prairie chicken habitat, virtually
vanished under the rotating sprinklers.
The effect was much the same as during the invasion of Kinkaider farmers –
the sharptail range shrank back from
the edges of the Sandhills region and
the band of prairie chicken habitat
vanished from where it had been and
moved deeper into the Sandhills.
During the 1980s, grouse hunting
regulations stabilized, the season usually
opening about mid-September. In the
first three years of the 1980s, the season
closed mid-November, but through the
rest of the decade remained open to the
end of the month. Throughout the
decade, the daily limit was three grouse
with a possession limit of nine. The
grouse-hunting season was extended
through December in the 1990s. Since
2000, limited grouse hunting has been
allowed east of U.S. Highway 81, the
first time since the 1920s, as prairie
chickens had staged a comeback in
response to establishment of
Conservation Reserve Program
grasslands. Only a limited number of
permits were issued, and only three
birds were allowed per hunter for the
entire season. In 2011, for the first time
since 1916, the grouse season opens
September 1.
Today, Nebraska has more greater
prairie chickens and the best opportunity
to hunt them in the nation. The state’s
sharp-tailed grouse range is expansive
and they are abundant. And yet the
number of grouse hunters continues to
decline. Many more prairie grouse
could be shot without jeopardizing
their future. While the Sandhills region
seems destined to always be one of the
continent’s last great grasslands, its
history and the history of grouse in
Nebraska is yet to be written. As James
B. Kellogg wrote in his December 5,
1959 American Field article, “Early
Chicken Trails in Nebraska”: “If and
when the chickens and grouse are
forced to make a last stand, Lord
forbid, the Sandhills of Nebraska will
hold their monument.” ■
Editor’s Note: A full-length version of
this article, including more information
and historical quotes, can be found at:
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/
nebland/articles/articles_hunting.asp.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 19
Despite their reputation, thistles are much more
complex – and important – than people realize
Text and photos by Chris Helzer
T
here’s no way to sugar coat it: Thistles have a bad
reputation. Most landowners cringe at the very
mention of the word, because it stirs up memories
of long, hot days chopping thistles or the smell of
2, 4-D. But thistles are a much more complex –
and important – group of plants than most people realize.
There are actually 10 species of thistles in the state, not
counting other plants with “thistle” in their name, such as
sow-thistle, star-thistle and Russian thistle. Of those 10,
five are native to the state and rarely cause problems for
landowners. Of the five species not native to Nebraska, three
– musk thistle, Canada thistle and plumeless thistle – are
noxious weeds that landowners are required by law to
control. The other two non-native species are bull thistle and
scotch thistle, each of which can be problematic in some
situations and/or regions of the state.
Because not all thistles are nuisance species, it’s important
to know how to separate the good from the bad. The easiest
way to tell native thistles from non-native thistles is to look
at the underside of the leaf – in Nebraska, all of our native
thistles have dense, pale-colored hairs on the bottom side
of the leaf, making them look white or silver. The only
non-native thistle that occasionally has pale undersides on its
leaves is Canada thistle, and it has other characteristics that
separates it from other thistles. For example, Canada thistles
are perennials that spread by underground rhizomes, so they
are almost always in thick patches, and they also tend to
grow in low or moist soil, particularly in western Nebraska.
Finally, Canada thistles have much smaller and more
abundant flowers than other thistles in the state, with the
green part of the flower (beneath the pink) usually measuring
½-inch or less in diameter. In general, if you see a thistle with
bright white undersides to the leaves, it’s a native thistle and
it’s not necessary to kill it.
When dealing with non-native thistles, it’s important to
understand their life histories and growth strategies. With
the exception of Canada thistle, all of the non-native thistles
are biennials that you can basically treat like big, spiny
dandelions. Like dandelions, they usually produce a rosette
in the fall and then bloom and die the next spring/summer.
Because they have to start over from seed each year,
dandelions and biennial thistles require open space and little
competition from neighboring plants – that’s why you see
dandelions most frequently in portions of your lawn that are
dry, recently disturbed or in other situations where the grass
is weak. And that’s why biennial thistles are usually most
abundant in overgrazed areas of pastures or around windmills,
as well as steep creek banks or other places where bare soil
is exposed.
When thinking about the control of biennial non-native
Left: Native Flodman’s thistle, showing white undersides of
leaves.
Opposite: Native tall thistle, also showing the bright white
underside of the leaf.
20 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 21
The native Platte thistle is becoming increasingly rare.
Tall thistle was included in the seed mix for this prairie restoration and is a welcome part of the native flora at The Nature
Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies near Wood River.
22 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
thistles, the best long-term option is to increase the competitiveness
of other plants around them. Chopping or spraying biennial thistles
can remove the current year’s crop, but they will re-occur in the
same place the next year unless you can change the conditions of
the site to make them less successful competitors. Musk thistles
and other biennials usually don’t stand up well against a good
stand of native prairie plants, so encouraging a healthy stand of
grasses and wildflowers is the best way to get rid of musk thistles.
Broadcast herbicide application can often be counterproductive if
it’s done in a way that removes other nearby broadleaf plants that
could have helped compete against the thistles. Spot-spraying or
chopping problem plants and altering grazing or other management
of the site is usually the best long-term strategy. Canada thistles
can be more aggressive than the other non-native thistles, especially
in the western half of the state, and although their large patches
can sometimes necessitate broadcast herbicide spraying, the more
selective you can be with your control methods, the easier it will
be for the area to recover and for other, more beneficial species to
move in and compete with the thistles.
While non-native thistles can cause real problems for landowners,
native thistles, like all other native plants, play important roles in
the functioning of native ecosystems. All thistles (including the
non-native ones) are important sources of nectar and pollen for a
wide variety of insects. They also provide large seeds that are
good food sources for a number of birds and other wildlife
species. In particular, goldfinches use thistles for both nesting
One of many wildlife species that feed on thistle seeds,
American goldfinches delay their nesting period to ensure the
availability of seeds for their young.
materials and food. In fact, goldfinches time their nesting
season so that their nestlings hatch about the time that thistle
seeds are ripe, and then feed regurgitated thistle seeds to
their young.
Three of the state’s native species – wavy-leaf, Flodman’s
and Platte thistle – are perennials. Because of that, they tend
to spread across the landscape much more slowly and are
less tied to bare ground and severely disturbed sites.
However, they do respond well under very intense grazing,
because their spines make them unattractive to cattle. Like
any other wildflower, if the surrounding competition is
removed and they are allowed to reproduce, they will
become more abundant over time. For this reason, they are
often listed as pasture weeds, along with other non-palatable
native wildflowers such as verbenas and ironweeds. If any of
these species become too abundant in a pasture, however,
altering the grazing system to allow more recovery time for
grasses between grazing bouts is an effective strategy to
reduce their numbers.
Like musk thistle, the remaining two native thistle species
– tall thistle and yellow-spine thistle – are biennials and
favor disturbed areas where surrounding vegetation is
weakened. However, they tend to be less aggressive than
non-native species. Like dandelions, their population
numbers can increase or decrease quickly, depending upon
conditions, but while some consider them unsightly, they do
provide important benefits as wildlife habitat and food
sources. In eastern Nebraska, tall thistle blooms much later
than other thistle species and is heavily used by pollinators
during the fall.
Recently, Dr. Svata Louda and her students at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln have found new evidence
promoting the value of native thistle species. Their data
suggests that the presence of native thistles, particularly tall
thistle, in a landscape helps control non-native thistles such
as bull thistle. The native insects that feed on tall thistle also
attack the seeds of bull thistle, eating ¾ or more of the seeds
from most plants. The researchers found that landscapes
with abundant tall thistle had many fewer bull thistle plants
than areas where tall thistle was absent.
As with anything else, when dealing with thistles it pays to
be well-informed. Knowing which species are noxious or
Regal fritillary butterfly (rare species) on non-native musk
thistle. Musk thistle is not only non-native but also an official
noxious weed.
non-native and which are native can save you time and
money. In addition, selective control methods can help
maintain the vigor of other plants that help to compete against
non-native thistles. Finally, while they will probably never
become the most popular wildflowers in the state, keeping
native thistles around really can provide a range of benefits,
including food for wildlife and insects and, potentially,
assistance with controlling non-native thistle populations.
If you want more information, the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture has put together an excellent booklet that helps
with the identification of Nebraska’s
thistle species and provides background
information on each of them. To order
copies of “The Thistles of Nebraska,”
contact the Department of Agriculture
at (402) 471-2394.
Chris Helzer is an ecologist and
Eastern Nebraska Program Director
for The Nature Conservancy. He blogs
at prairieecologist.com.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 23
Merry Grousemas
A Special Holiday For Some, But Not All, Hunters
Text and photos by Jeff Kurrus
“L
onely” probably isn’t the term
that Lincoln hunter Steve Voss
would use to describe his
favorite time of the year – that opening
day in September when he and a few
friends hunt for prairie chickens in
Nebraska’s East Zone (east of Highway
81). But if one were to see the number
of other hunters accessing these lands
for grouse, “crowded” wouldn’t be the
correct descriptor either.
“We don’t see a lot of people down
here chicken hunting,” said Voss,
“which is always good for us – we
have the pick of the land.” The land,
coming in the form of Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP) land, Open
Fields and Waters acres, and stateowned property, gives Voss’s group
thousands of upland acres to hunt in
Johnson, Otoe and Pawnee counties,
where the majority of East Zone grouse
hunting takes place – more than
enough land for his group to hunt, as
long as it’s the right type of land for
grouse hunting.
“Suitable habitat for grouse,” said
Commission upland game program
manager Jeff Lusk, “are areas with
relatively short vegetation for lekking.
In addition, hens need some grassland
in the vicinity of these spots for grass
and forbs for brood rearing. Recent
research conducted in southeast Nebraska
also indicated that hens moving chicks
from nesting habitat to brood-rearing
habitat lost more chicks the greater the
distance between the two habitat types.”
Voss chooses open prairie areas that
have hilly terrain. While pheasants like
thicker cover, Voss has found that
chickens prefer spending time on the
tops of prairie grassland hills squarely
in the wind’s crosshairs, even on
blustery, snow-covered days.
When driving the county roads in
this part of Nebraska, these habitats
reveal themselves quite often to Voss.
“Grouse are in that field,” he will say
to Mike McDaniel, a friend who has
driven from Texas since 2003 to grouse
hunt, during their gravel road drives
Steve Voss’s English pointer, Scapa, works a patch of CRP grass in Johnson County.
24 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
each year.
“Have we hunted there before?”
Mike will often ask.
“No, but we should.”
Within minutes the two will have
stopped the truck and set off walking,
using Voss’s English pointer to work
the grass toward the top of the prairie
hill he noticed from the road. From this
perspective, the hunt much resembles
an open-terrain pheasant hunt, with
hunters flanking the dog from both
sides as they ascend chicken habitat –
with “resemble” being the operative
word.
These slower-flushing, long-distance
flyers are comparatively easier to shoot
than pheasants on one condition – you
can get to them. “Grouse are an elegant
bird that lends itself to very good dog
work,” said Voss. “These birds won’t
tolerate anything less than a perfect job
by a pointing dog. Throughout the
entire season you can’t push these
birds, and by the end of the season I
may even have to sneak up on a point.”
Despite these challenges, or may be
because of them, Voss said, “people
just aren’t that interested in grouse in
these parts.” And while East Zone
permits have either sold out or come
close to selling out each year, Lusk
agreed.
“In most cases,” said Lusk, “hunters
apply for a permit on the chance that
they encounter grouse while afield for
other quarry.” A point that sits just fine
with Voss.
“We have plenty of public land to
hunt, and haven’t been shy about
knocking on a private door or two as
well,” said Voss. “You just have to
remember that you’re grouse hunting,
not pheasant hunting. Those thinly
grassed ridgelines you usually drive by
when looking for good pheasant habitat
are the spots you need to stop and hunt
when in search of grouse.” ■
Steve Voss shoots at prairie chickens after
a flush on CRP land in Johnson County.
Voss has hunted grouse since 1975 in the
Sandhills and since 2000 in Nebraska’s
East Zone, where he has seen up to 40
grouse flush from a single point. When
hunting, Voss shoots a 16-gauge with
7
/8-ounce, No. 7 shot from an improved
cylinder choke, a combination that suits
him well.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 25
Left: Kirk Breyer’s Gordon
setter, Beem, runs through
a CRP field searching for
prairie chickens.
Below (from left to right):
Mike McDaniel, Steve Voss,
Kirk Breyer, and Ron
Hedenskog discuss a recent
grouse hunt on CRP land in
Johnson County.
In 2000, the East Zone,
covering that portion of the state
east of Highway 81, was
opened to the public for grouse
hunting. Between that first year
and 2003, the Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission issued
300 free permits each year that
allowed two grouse per hunter
each year. Because of stable bird
populations, in 2004 the
Commission increased the number
of permits to 400 and allowed
three birds per hunter. Only in
2010 did the Commission not sell
out of permits, falling two short.
Beginning August 1, 400 permits will once again be
available on a first-come, first-served basis to East Zone grouse
hunters, with permit requests accepted at the Lincoln Game and
Parks Commission office, by mail, or by phone at (402) 471-5597
for this season lasting from September 1 to January 31, 2011.
Permit requests must include the applicant's name, address
and current year's annual hunting permit number (or, for residents
12 through 15 years of age, their Hunter Education Certificate
number) or Lifetime Hunting Permit number. Those who are not
required to purchase an annual hunting permit must provide
documentation of such exemption (seniors, veterans, landowners,
etc.).
Mail requests to:
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Attn: Grouse Permits
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
26 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 27
U S I N G
T R A I L
C A M E R A S
By Matt Houska
For deer hunters, land owners and nature watchers, trail cameras
have become more reliable, user-friendly and affordable.
Here are tips on using and purchasing them.
PHOTO BY CHRIS POLENZ
Place the camera on a sturdy tree.
a camera that is wired to take a photo
when heat or motion is detected. Deer
hunters are the largest users of these
cameras, while others use them for
surveillance or simply so see what kind
of wildlife they have in their neck of
the woods.
Trail cameras, like most electronics,
come in many styles. To sort through
them, I consulted with two experts in the
field of trail cameras: Greg Prochaska
manages the archery department at
Scheels in Omaha, runs up to eighteen
cameras in the field and sells hundreds
a year. Bryce Lambley, a Fremont
resident, lives and breathes deer hunting
and uses trail cameras extensively to
help him put the pieces of the big buck
puzzle together. His hunting den, filled
with taxidermy and trail camera photo
albums, backs up his credentials.
Three white-tailed bucks in velvet are revealed on land in Sarpy County.
28 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
As Greg was quick to point out,
“There is no perfect trail camera that
fits every hunter’s needs, because the
way hunters use them is different.” He
recommends finding the camera with
the features you need. Film versus digital
would be the first choice, but there
really is no choice – film is on the way
out, while digital is here to stay. The
main advantage of digital over film is
the number of images the camera can
take before it must be reloaded. Film
cameras are limited by the roll of film
used (usually no more than 36 frames),
while digital cameras with large memory
cards can take thousands of photos.
This is handy when the camera is left
out for months or over a spot where
there is a lot of wildlife traffic, such as
a waterhole or mineral lick.
The next decision would be flash or
flashless cameras, such as infrared
models. Flash cameras operate like the
typical point-and-shoot cameras, where
the flash illuminates the subject during
low light and nighttime. These models
are generally less expensive than the
infrared counterpart, but the jury is still
out whether the flash spooks deer.
Greg doesn’t believe the flash causes a
negative reaction in deer, while Bryce
feels it is dependent on the temperament
of the deer: “I have some deer stand
there and get photo after photo, while
others you can already see them jumping
away in the first photo,” said Bryce.
Another downside to flash units Greg
pointed out was theft at night: “Most
guys that have had cameras stolen were
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSKA
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSKA
hat is the best way to scout for
deer while your boss expects
you to be at work? Answer, the
trail camera.
Trail cameras continue to grow in
popularity as new technology makes
them more reliable, user friendly and
affordable. Trail cameras are basically
Trail cameras generate excitement throughout the year as users are allowed to monitor wildlife movements no matter what the season.
These cameras have become valuable commodities not only for hunters, but for many nonconsumptive users as well.
probably taken at night – other hunters
chasing coons, tracking deer or just
trespassing – and the flash gives the
camera’s location away.”
The possibility of spooking game
and theft are two reasons why infrared
(IR) cameras are growing in popularity.
IR works by recording the photo using
IR wavelengths, resulting in a black
and white image. Some IR units will
emit a low red light for a second or two
while others emit no visible light.
Regardless of whether an IR or flash
unit is used, make sure the effective
range fits your needs. For example, if
you place your camera over a field edge,
you may want to consider the longer
range of flash – more than 15 feet. If
you are placing your camera close to a
trail, you don’t need the extra range.
Battery life is another major feature
to look at. If the camera is set out close
to home and the opportunity is there to
check it every couple weeks, any unit
should fill the bill. If the camera is far
from home or can’t be checked often,
consider one that has the capacity for
an external battery. “If your property is
an hour away,” said Greg, “the last thing
you want is your battery to die. Find
one that you can attach a car battery to
and run it all year without a worry.”
The time between when the camera
detects motion and when the photo is
taken is called the trigger speed. This is
important if the camera is over a trail
where a deer will walk by – a slow
trigger speed may miss the deer. If the
camera is over a food source or water,
then trigger speed is not as critical. Other
considerations are image resolution –
large resolution allows for prints up to
8x10, but also takes up more memory
on the card. If the images are just being
viewed on a computer, smaller-sized
images work better because more will
fit on a camera card. Consider using a
trail camera that uses the same memory
card as your point-and-shoot camera,
allowing you to check images in the
field.
When setting out a trail camera, find
a solid mount to attach the camera to –
too small of a tree can cause the camera
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSKA
Infrared cameras produce black and
white images that still reveal the subject.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 29
“ T H E
C A M E R A ’ S
B I G G E S T
B E N E F I T
I S
T H E
C O N F I D E N C E
PHOTO BY CHRIS POLENZ
to blow in the wind, resulting in false
movement and dozens of unwanted
photos. Clear away all branches in
front of the camera that could also
cause false triggers, and be careful of
branches or leaves that are too close to
the flash, because they cause light to
bounce back into the lens, causing
flare. Because trail cameras are also
triggered by heat, the rising and setting
sun can cause unwanted photos. To
combat this, place the camera facing
north or south or in shaded areas out of
direct sunlight.
Set the camera at the height of the
intended animal. If deer are the sole
target, set the camera three to four feet
off the ground to allow smaller animals
to walk underneath without triggering
it. If you would like to see what else is
in your area, place the camera closer to
the ground. Some believe placing the
camera at a height above the deer’s
eyes, then pointing the camera down,
will not cause the deer to spook from
flash, as it believes it is lightning.
30 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
B I G
B U C K
I S
O U T
T H E R E . ”
Trail cameras in Nebraska have captured a variety of wildlife, including bobcats
(above), mountain lions and a bald eagles feeding on a deer carcass. (below).
PHOTO BY CHRIS POKORNY
Trail cams are also used by turkey hunters wanting to know everyday patterns of birds.
Deer behavior and patterns change
through the year as seasons change,
crops grow and human influences
affect a deer’s routine. A deer hunter
looking to capture deer with a trail
camera needs to place the camera to
correspond with these changes. Good
areas to place a camera are where deer
are naturally attracted to, such as
waterholes where water is scarce and
salt blocks or mineral licks. It should
also be noted that salt blocks are
considered baiting in Nebraska and are
illegal to hunt within 200 yards. Other
good areas to consider are natural game
trails and fence crossings that funnel
deer through a specific spot.
Bryce mainly hunts riverbottom
whitetails in eastern parts of the state.
His goal with trail cameras is to target
large bucks and determine what deer
are on his hunting spots. He begins
setting out cameras in mid-June
through winter and into February. With
years of experience, he has found areas
that attract bucks. “The first place I like
to start with is under a mulberry tree in
June. There is just something about a
mulberry leaf that bucks seem to like
that time of the year.”
The latter part of June through July
and August, Bryce’s favorite place for
cameras is on old lanes between woods
or cornfields that lead to soybean
fields. Bucks will use these lanes to go
from the woods or corn to soybean
fields, which Bryce feels is their
preferred food source this time of the
year. Popular lanes will be filled with
deer tracks.
Bryce is a firm believer in these
lanes: “What I find amazing is I get a
very high percentage of buck-to-doe
pictures on lanes. A theory of mine is
as a buck’s antlers grow, the bucks are
starting their hierarchy and become
showy – kind of like a teen that lifts
weights and then shows off he is getting
bigger. Whatever it is, I get way more
bucks than does on the camera.”
Another tip that Bryce mentioned is to
put a little tree branch in the middle of
the lane or scuff the ground in front of
the camera – this often causes the buck
to pause long enough for the camera to
get a good image.
As the season progresses into
September, deer begin making large
scrapes on the edge of agricultural
fields. This is another favorite spot for
Bryce to use trail cameras. “These
scrapes are far enough out in the open
that no self-respecting buck will use
them during the daylight hours, but at
nighttime they are a hub of activity. It’s
like they are a switchboard or community
message board for bucks.” At times
Bryce will get as many as 15-20 different
bucks on camera over such scrapes.
When September turns to October
and November, many deer hunters
place the cameras over trails their tree
stands overlook. This is one place
Bryce avoids with his cameras. “I don’t
like to put them anywhere close to where
I hunt – I am just too scent conscious,
plus I don’t want to take a chance of
A
PHOTO BY CHRIS POKORNY
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSKA
PHOTO BY MATT HOUSKA
Trail cameras can also capture beautiful photographs of seldom seen wildlife, but
ingenuity is often the key to capturing hard-to-get photographs, such as using bricks
(upper right) to steady the camera used to photograph this fox kit at its natal den.
When placing the camera over a trail,
position the camera at an angle to catch
deer as they are coming or leaving, as
opposed to placing it parallel to the
trail – this allows cameras with slower
trigger speeds to capture faster-moving
critters.
Another advantage to digital is that
an image that seems too dark, where all
there is black and pair of reflecting
eyes, can often be fixed on the computer,
revealing what the eyes belong to. This
is done with editing software such as
Photoshop, using the levels adjustment
slide. If you are like most adults, who
can remember a time before computers
and cell phones and don’t know
Photoshop, find a grade-school kid to
show you how. While they are at it,
have them program your cell phone as
well. All kidding aside, by using levels
a completely dark image will sometimes
lighten enough to see what, and how
big, the animal is.
K N O W I N G
spooking deer due to flash.”
There are some that frown at trail
cameras, labeling them as a high-tech
gadget that is cheating by telling the
hunter where a buck will be at a given
time of the day. Bryce’s view differs:
“In October and November, a big buck
doesn’t have a regular pattern, at least
on the riverbottoms I hunt. They do
what they want when they want. Trail
cameras have told me that. I will get a
photo of a buck on a trail and never see
him again.” Bryce attributes his success
to hard work and hunting 80 to 100 times
a year. “The best spot to place a camera
is often different than the best spot for
a stand. The camera’s biggest benefit is
the confidence in knowing a big buck
is out there.” ■
Matt Houska is
a professional
photographer who
lives in Omaha. He
has been a contributor
to NEBRASKAland
Magazine since
October 2004.
To see more of Matt’s work, visit his
website at www.mhprophoto.com.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 31
Cory Spotted Bear clears a space in the wall of the earth lodge for a cedar slab
to be installed by a waiting Allan Demaray of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
requent travelers of Interstate 80 in the Kearney area
are by now used to the sight of the Great Platte
River Road Archway spanning the road's four lanes.
It's an interesting piece of work, but how many are
aware of another fascinating specimen of architecture nearby,
a large Plains Indian earth lodge that’s visible from the
highway but much more interesting up close and inside?
“The earth lodge at the archway was built in 2010 as part
of a project with the National Park Service and is a feature
F
Pawnee crops await instructors and students for a class
taught inside the finished earth lodge.
of the archway's Great Plains Cultural Learning Trail – a
series of vignettes that depict what a traveler might have
seen while following the Overland Trail in the mid-1800s.
The earth lodge, all by itself, is a wonderful place, a spiritual
place where we can teach about the history of the Pawnee
and other earth lodge-dwelling Plains tribes. It's really the
32 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
anchor of the Great Plains Cultural Learning Trail that we
use in our programming,” said Ronnie O'Brien, director of
cultural education at the archway.
“In 2010, we had an Indian lore session with a troop of
Boy Scouts from Wisconsin in which they built a two-footin-diameter model of an earth lodge out of twigs, grass and
mud, using our new full-size earth lodge as a guide. With
that, they completed their Indian lore merit badges, then they
spent the night in our lodge. It was our first overnight function
in the earth lodge .... The Learning Trail Tours became a
popular, regular feature at the archway for 2011. We've had
overnights in the lodge for scouts, and we've had a lot of
school programs happening there since fall of 2010,” said
O'Brien.
Although the archway's earth lodge does not replicate
dwellings of any specific tribe, it varies only in minor detail
from lodges once built by numerous sedentary agricultural
peoples throughout the North American plains. Other native
groups extending into Alaska and the Aleutian Islands also
once lived in various forms of earth lodges.
The archway’s was built exclusively by native Americans,
led by a crew of 15 men and women from the Fort Berthold
Indian Reservation in western North Dakota, where the
Arikara, Mandan and Hidatsa tribes – all earth lodge
dwellers in the past – have lived since the late-1800s. The
Fort Berthold crew was joined by nine men and women from
the Pawnee tribe in Oklahoma who were anxious to learn
earth lodge construction so they could build lodges for their
people back home to enjoy.
Fort Berthold's Arikara and the Pawnee in Oklahoma,
particularly the Skidi Band, feel a close kinship with one
another that dates back to the time in the 1700s when the
Skidi Pawnee and Arikara lived as neighbors and kinsmen in
east-central Nebraska. Pawnees today often refer to Fort
Berthold residents as “our brothers in North Dakota,” and
Fort Berthold people may speak of the Pawnee as “our
brothers in Oklahoma.”
In recent years, Fort Berthold crews have built several
earth lodges, mostly in North and South Dakota, under the
direction of Cory Spotted Bear, who was born and raised in
Twin Buttes on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
“Earth lodges were our traditional homes, so I got this
idea in my head to build an earth lodge,” Spotted Bear said.
That's when he decided to visit every existing earth lodge in
North Dakota, most of them in state parks such as Knife
River Indian Village, On a Flat Village and Fort Lincoln. He
visited and videoed earth lodges in all of them.
Spotted Bear also read “Hidatsa Earth Lodges” – a book
written by Gilbert Wilson, an anthropologist who visited the
Fort Berthold Indian Reservation around the turn of the 20th
century. After visiting the lodges and reading the book,
Spotted Bear came to understand how earth lodges were
built and began telling people he was going to build one.
Spotted Bear finished graduate school at the University of
Kansas in 2004 with a master’s degree in Indigenous Nations
Studies, with emphasis on Native Languages Teaching and
Learning. After returning to the reservation that summer, “A
close friend at the time said 'Gee, Cory, you sure told a lot of
people here that you were going to build an earth lodge.
You'd better do it.' I got to thinking – 'She's right. I'd better
do it.'
“On June 1, I got started. I bought a chain saw on my
credit card and, to make a long story short, from June 1 to
July 1, I worked on it. People from the community volunteered
here and there and we built this earth lodge ... in my home
community in Twin Buttes, North Dakota, on my family's
land, right by what once was the Missouri River, now
inundated by Lake Sakakawea.”
Spotted Bear discussed his motivation for building earth
lodges: “A lot of it is pride in my heritage ... It's like trying
to remember the good things about our people ... Our people
believed that there is power resident in a circle, that there is
strength in a circle, so they made their homes in circles, like
the earth lodge. As soon as I researched a bit, I began to
understand, but really, the reason I did it was just taking
pride in who I am, where I come from.
“Had I not built the one in Twin Buttes, the lodge at
Kearney would have never been done because no one would
have known how to do it. I learned how to do it. I built one,”
Spotted Bear said. “The year before we built the lodge at
Kearney, I built one in Lower Brule, South Dakota – a
50-footer, by far the biggest one I ever built. Now there's a
little movement going on, where people are getting back into
it (building earth lodges) and I am able to help with that
because I have the knowledge.”
Having an earth lodge nearby creates a positive feeling in
the people of the Fort Berthold Reservation, according to
Spotted Bear. “People believe that these things are happening
not just on a physical level, but on a metaphysical level, a
spiritual level, because they are back in these earth lodges
again and doing something that brings a healing or a wellness
to our people ... People say they feel good when they go
inside an earth lodge, that it does something to them, that
they leave with a good feeling about everything.”
Whenever he builds a lodge, Spotted Bear tries to recruit a
crew of people to help who live in wellness, that is, drug and
alcohol-free. “I believe that we leave our energy there, that
the effort we put forth on a lodge, the blood, the sweat, the
tears, whatever goes into it, that we put our energy there and
that when we leave and the structure is up, the energy will
be good, and when people go there they will feel the prayers.
Every day before we start work, we say a prayer and maybe
sing a few songs. We're taking a step further than just putting
logs together and digging dirt – we're actually putting our
energy into it. So people go there and say that they can feel
that. It's that good energy, that good feeling, and that's what
we try to leave at these earth lodges we build.”
Spotted Bear feels that both Indians and non-Indians can
experience good feelings in the earth lodges he has built. “I
suspect it would not be any different for non-Indians. I think
it would be the same feeling for anyone of good heart. None
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 33
A stout timber framework to support the walls and roof was the essential first element in the construction of a Plains
Indian earth lodge at the Great Platte River Road Archway in Kearney.
of us are any different on the inside, in how we feel things.
When non-native people enter one of these lodges, I have
had them tell me 'I feel something when I come in here,
something good.' Anyone who lives a good, clean life is
more attuned to those feelings,” he said.
The Pawnee contingent that joined Spotted Bear's crew in
building the archway's earth lodge was led by Brian Frejo.
“The akarraratau (mud lodge home) was very
important to all the bands of the Pawnee. We
lived in them and had ceremonies in the
medicine lodge. It was our home and just in
the way it was designed, from inside
its shape, echoed the heavens
and the stars,” Frejo said.
“Visiting our relatives of the
three affiliated tribes in North Dakota
and seeing some of the earth lodges
they built was real cool. It was great
that they recovered their knowledge
of the earth lodge and kept that part
of their history alive. For us, as
Pawnee and Skidi, we wanted to
do the same thing. Some
Pawnees once tried to build one
in Oklahoma, I think in the '80s,
but it was never finished. I
remembered that because I
wanted to be a part of it, but it
was left unfinished as it neared
A young Plains Dancer in grass
dancing regalia helps celebrate the
completion of the earth lodge.
completion, then was dismantled.”
Frejo has often thought about that. “We needed to build
one, and to finish it. That was always on my mind when I
was younger and learning more about it and about our
history and culture, in working with the tribe and the
language program, the Pawnee pakuru (language) ... and
then the tribal college we started. The akarraratau crossed
my mind, and I wanted to be a part of building one of those
when we finally did that,” Frejo said.
“In 2009, our brothers in North Dakota contacted us about
building an earth lodge at Lower Brule in South Dakota. We
went up there and helped them out a bit toward the end of
the project. We got to go in there, a big lodge, 50 feet in
diameter, and stay there.
“After that, I remember thinking 'We need to build one
for our Pawnee people.' It would be real important with
everything else that we're doing in the tribe, with the
progress we're making with the language and the tribal
college, just like the resurgence of our cultural preservation.
I wanted to figure out how we could do a cultural project
like that, perhaps working with Debbie Echo-Hawk here
in Oklahoma and Ronnie O'Brien of the archway at
Kearney and our brothers in North Dakota, trying to
figure out some way to build one in Nebraska, our former
homeland.
The two groups began to correspond, the Pawnee to learn
how their brothers in North Dakota design their lodges and
to share how the Pawnee had designed theirs, which was a
bit different. The Pawnee used the crotches, the natural forks
of tree trunks and limbs, to hold the connecting horizontal
timbers on upright tree trunks, while timbers in the northern
lodges are connected with notches.
“My relatives and family were among a group of Pawnee
34 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
Steve Halbert, one of the Archway’s instructors, teaches Kearney Public School
fifth-graders how the Pawnee grew, dried, stored and ate squash.
who built a mud lodge home in Chicago's Field Museum.
They used the crotches all the way around on the outer wall
posts and on the center posts, too... but it's kind of the same,
the same principle of circular design and the center posts,
making a stable lodge from the same elements. That's
something I wanted to be a part of, something that was really
cultural and historically correct, and how we did it as far
back as we know, building it all out of earth and the natural
materials at hand,” said Frejo.
In 2010, when the Pawnee had everything organized, Frejo
took the lead of the young men and women from Pawnee,
Oklahoma, to go to Kearney. Working together with the crew
from North Dakota, they came up with a design in Nebraska
that worked. With the exception of the long, slender lodgepole
pine trunks from Wyoming that were used in the roof, all of
the building materials for the lodge came from the Kearney
area.
“We had ceremonies before we went to build it, and we
conducted the whole project in much the same way –
praying for the project, asking for help and guidance in what
we were doing, and praying that no one got hurt. We asked
our ancestors and the Creator to watch over us. We did that
every morning, to carry on that spiritual part of our culture,
and that was important, a part of building the lodge. When
we finished we felt that spirit among our people, that they
were glad, that they were happy to take the time to do
something like that,” Frejo said.
The next project the Pawnee crew wants to tackle is an
earth lodge among the Pawnee living in Oklahoma. “We
want to follow the traditional Pawnee design, with the floor
of the lodge dug below the surface about 18 inches, like in
the lodges the Pawnee built when they lived in Nebraska,”
Frejo said. ■
Members of a Wisconsin Boy Scouts troop put the finishing
touches on a miniature earth lodge they built as a replica.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 35
CHAMPION MILL
STATE HISTORICAL PARK
By Jon Farrar
★
Champion Mill State Historical Park is
located in Champion, seven miles
southwest of Imperial, and is open to the
public Saturdays and Sunday afternoons,
Memorial Day through Labor Day.
he mill pond at Champion Mill
State Historical Park again has
water. In early-June 2007,
record rains in the Frenchman
Creek watershed sent water
spilling over the mill dam in the town
of Champion, located southwest of
Imperial. The Nebraska Department of
Natural Resources inspected the dam
and determined it was not stable
enough to impound water without
repairs and improvements. Repairs
have finally been made and beginning
in late-May of this year the dam was
again backing up water in the mill
pond, restoring an important historical
site dating back to 1886. The dam had
washed out or been damaged several
In the late-1800s and early-1900s, people came from miles around to swim in the pond
above Champion Mill. There was a 24-foot diving tower and bath house. Rowboats and
swimming suits could be rented, and the cottonwoods were a popular picnicking area.
Ice was harvested from the pond during the winter and stored for summer use.
36 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
of their payment in ground grain. In
1889, the mill was praised by the
Chase County Champion for having the
most modern equipment – a 36-inch
Leffel water turbine that powered the
mill’s steel grinding rollers. Over the
years it operated, surplus flour from the
mill was sold throughout the region
under such names as Champion Roller
Mill Flour, The Home Flour, Valley
Pride and Prairie Rose. The mill also
ground grain, especially corn, for
livestock feeding.
John L. Banks, who owned and
operated the mill in the late-1920s, was
a strong advocate of healthful flour.
“Mr. Banks resisted the trend to bleach
and no chemicals were used,” the
Chase County Historical Society
pamphlet states. “The wheat for the
flour was thoroughly washed and
scrubbed before it was used. It was
then dried and put though several sets of
steel rollers until thoroughly pulverized.
It then went into a battery of imported
silk screens where the bran and hulls
were removed. The flour was then put
into a series of electric arcs to make it
a beautiful white color.”
Banks’ wife, Arie, was said to test
batches of flour by baking bread from
each load that was “run off” at the mill.
At that time, flour produced by the mill
was called Will Rise Flour and Mom
Banks Flour. She frequently used it to
make cinnamon rolls to feed children
swimming or skating on the mill pond.
From the beginning, and particularly
in the early decades of the 1900s, the
mill pond was a recreational magnet.
People came from miles around to
Austin McDonald of Champion, Nolan Spady of Imperial, and Cindy and Colton Beckett
of Wiley, Colorado fish the spillway below Champion Mill.
picnic in the shade of ever-towering
cottonwoods, swim, boat, fish and ice
skate in the winter. Ice was harvested
from the pond during the winter
months and stored in caves or insulated
icehouses to keep iceboxes cool in
summer and make Fourth of July ice
cream. During its heyday, there was a
bathhouse on the pond’s south shore,
rental boats and swimming suits, and a
diving board.
The Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission acquired the mill in 1969.
It is open to the public Saturdays and
Sunday afternoons, Memorial Day
through Labor Day, and staffed by
local volunteers. Group tours can be
arranged at other times. Champion Mill
State Recreation Area is adjacent to the
mill and the 11-acre lake, and has picnic
sites and eight primitive campsites. For
additional information see the
Commission’s website at:
OutdoorNebraska.org. ■
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHASE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
T
times over the course of its history.
A pamphlet published by the Chase
County Historical Society in 1974
traces the history of the mill. The town
of Champion, and hence the mill, was
named in honor of Champion S. Chase,
Nebraska’s first Attorney General and
former Omaha mayor, in appreciation
of giving an Independence Day address
in the town (then called Hamilton) on
July 4, 1887, and for his support of
naming the town the county seat the
year before.
From the mill’s beginning until its
last bag of flour was ground in 1968,
it has had at least a dozen owners.
Farmers hauled wagonloads of grain to
the mill to sell, often taking part or all
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Well into the 20th century, most Nebraska counties had a grist mill where farmers
brought grain to be ground into flour, meal or livestock food. Stone burs
were most often used to grind the grain but Champion mill used steel rollers. Steam
and wind powered some mills but running water was most commonly used.
Some mills also generated electricity for nearby communities.
Champion Mill has been preserved as it was when last used in 1968. The mill located
on the Elkhorn River at Neligh is similarly preserved and open to public viewing.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 37
Hooked
on Hunting
A Mentored Hunt at the Forney Ranch
Text and photos by Eric Fowler
ntil January, Drew Hedstrom
had never shot a deer. He’d
never even hunted deer. Yet
not quite a minute after he
harvested his first deer, he
knew he liked hunting enough that he
passed on a chance to take his second.
Drew and his father, Charley, had
been sitting in a ground blind next to a
half-circle of center-pivot irrigated corn
tucked into a valley on the Forney Ranch
in the western Sandhills since early
afternoon. Two hours after their hunt
began, deer began to filter out of a cedar
grove on the hillside just above the pivot
and into the corn, albeit out of range.
“There’s a family,” said Drew. It was
the first of many observations the
12-year-old shared with his dad, also a
first-time hunter, who mostly sat back
U
and watched.
“There’s two of them looking right at
us,” Drew said a bit later. “Oh, there’s a
nice buck.
Later yet, “Oh, I could shoot that
one. Should I get my gun ready?”
Be patient and wait for one to get
closer, Charlie told Drew.
So he did. More deer walked out of
the cedars and the hunters watched as
two does raised up on their hind legs
and batted at each other with their front.
“Oh, they’re fighting,” said Drew.
As father and son looked on, several
of the herd leapt atop the string of
round alfalfa bales laid end to end on
the edge of the field. “I could shoot one
off the top of the hay bale,” joked Drew.
Eventually the deer began to work
their way into the corn stubble and
Charley and Drew Hedstrom of Lincoln were all smiles after Drew harvested his first deer.
CoDee Johns of Gordon takes aim at a deer under the watch of Heath Packett, a
Commission conservation officer and one of the hunt organizers.
38 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
closer to Drew. “What do you think?”
he asked. With Dad’s “If you’re
comfortable” blessing and a doe turned
broadside at about 150 yards, a single
shot from Drew’s borrowed rifle,
resting on donated shooting sticks,
dropped her in her tracks. Instantly,
three of the deer she was with began
running directly toward the blind.
When they stopped 30 yards or so in
front of it, Drew had a decision to
make. He had purchased two $6 youth
deer permits, which during this late
firearm season allowed him to harvest
two mule-deer does and two whitetailed does. Harvesting his second
mulie doe would end his hunt on this
part of the ranch.
“Shoot one,” Charlie whispered to
his son.
“I don’t want to take my second one
today. I want to go hunting tomorrow,”
pleaded Drew.
“But if you shoot your second one,
we can go home tomorrow,” his dad
joked.
No chance, Drew said. Just three
hours into his first deer hunt, he knew
he wanted more. But it wasn’t just more
hunting Drew was looking forward to –
it was spending time in deer camp with
six friends who had also made the trek
west from Lincoln for this special
mentored youth hunt, and four who had
much shorter trips from Gordon and
Chadron. Drew had been hearing stories
about deer camp since he and his friends
were first invited on the hunt, and he
didn’t want to miss any of it.
This wasn’t your average, every day
deer camp, however. These young
hunters, all recent Hunter Education
graduates, were guests of Kent Forney, a
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
board member from Lincoln, and his
family, who organized the hunt with
Conservation Officer Heath Packett and
Outdoor Education Specialist Aaron
Hershberger.
The Forney family had more deer
than they wanted – too many mule deer
on their ranch south of Gordon and too
many whitetails on land they owned in
the Pine Ridge north of Rushville. “I
thought, ‘Well, what better way to [trim
the herd] than to get some kids
involved?’” said Forney.
So they rolled out the red carpet for
the boys and put a simple game plan in
play. “Make sure they’re full, warm and
busy, and if they get to shoot a deer,
that’s wonderful,” Forney said. “And
then if they learn to like it, you’ll have
them hooked on hunting.”
These boys didn’t have time to get
bored, which Forney said is a “big nono” for this type of hunt. The Lincoln
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 39
were out the window. Forney had been
down that road before and didn’t want
any of the boys to miss out on one of
the most important aspects of the hunt.
Nor did the boys get cold. During the
day, they stuffed their gloves and boots
with chemical hand- and toe-warmers
before they climbed in pop-up blinds
deployed across the ranch for the hunt.
A cash donation by Dan and Patty
Kreitman of Wahoo bought the boys
blaze orange stocking caps to keep
their ears warm, as well as shooting
sticks, gloves and other gear and a
fanny pack to carry it in. The
Kreitman’s also threw in a laser
rangefinder that Drew Hedstrom won
in a drawing, and Cabela’s donated hats
for the hunt’s participants as well.
At night, the crew made their beds in
the Forney house, in campers brought
in for the hunters, or in the Running
Water Outfitters lodge, provided by
Seth Tausan of Gordon, who also
volunteered as a mentor for the hunters.
Getting all of them herded into the latter
wasn’t always easy. “I don’t think I can
go to sleep,” James Young of Lincoln
said that first night, still excited after
getting his first deer.
That excitement was the rule for the
weekend, both among the rookies and
the four young hunters who had some
experience. No one had to ask the boys
if they got a deer when they got back
to camp.
“The kids came running up to the
house telling people they got a deer. It
reminded me of when I got my first
deer,” said Tom Bowen of Lincoln, a
longtime friend of Forney’s who had
recruited members of his son’s youth
basketball team, which he also coached,
to go on the hunt when Forney pitched
his idea.
Most of the boys were joined by their
fathers. “I’m really impressed,” said
Troy Drahota, who like his son, Taylor,
hadn’t hunted deer, but was there when
Taylor harvested his first. “He’s pretty
stoked. To see the looks on their faces
when they get their first deer ... it gets
their adrenalin pumping.”
With plenty of mule deer coming to
feed on Forneys’ pivots in the evening
and not moving far from them during
the day, conditions were ripe for success,
whether the boys were hunting from a
ground blind or taking the spot-and-stalk
approach. But many of the boys were
still able to learn why it’s called hunting.
CoDee Johns of Gordon learned that
while mule deer aren’t as apt to run
away at full speed as whitetails, you
still need to move quickly or miss your
chance. But you have to make a good
shot, too. When CoDee didn’t, he got
an hour-long tracking lesson from
Packett that ended in relief and a big
smile. “If I would’ve had more time, I
think I could’ve hit her in a better spot,”
he said after finding his trophy. “I was
kind of mad.”
“It happens to everybody,” Packett
told him.
CoDee made good on his second
opportunity minutes after his afternoon
hunt began, with a clean 150-yard shot
on another mulie doe. “That was fun,”
he said, grinning ear to ear.
Matthew Henning also missed his
first shot at a deer. “I was almost certain
I had her,” the 11-year-old said after
missing a mulie doe with his father,
Matt Henning and his father, Mark, of Lincoln, watch from a ground blind, hoping to spot mule deer moving from the hills to feed in
a cornfield during an evening hunt.
Commissioner Kent Forney of Lincoln, his nephew, Austin, and mentor Wes Baxter of
Lincoln cook a breakfast of scrambled eggs and deer sausage on an outdoor grill.
40 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
contingent split their trip into two legs,
deadheading in a motel Thursday night
before driving the rest of the way
Friday and heading to the field soon
after they arrived. The western
contingent arrived in time for dinner
Friday, the first evening of activities
that included outdoor trivia and
s’mores around a campfire. Everyone
headed to the field Saturday morning.
Back at camp for some midday down
time, they were treated to rides behind
a team of sled dogs ran by Forney’s
nephew, Austin.
If any of the boys got hungry, it was
only because they were too busy to
stop and grab something off a table full
of snacks the Forneys provided. The
Forneys served venison for every meal
– burgers, breakfast sausage, chili and,
finally, backstrap steaks from one of
the harvested deer. Only for the latter
did the boys know they were eating
deer before they ate it. By then, any
preconceived notions about deer meat
Aaron Hershberger, outdoor education specialist with the Commission and an organizer of the hunt,
leads the hunters and mentors through a nature trivia quiz after dinner.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 41
By Aaron Hershberger
Mentoring does not have to be on a grand scale. Traditionally it has been done on a
very small scale as older family members tutored younger ones in the art of the sport.
Unfortunately, many families no longer have an experienced member to help the
youngsters learn to hunt, and it is up to other hunters to help keep our country’s rich
hunting traditions alive. If every hunter would take the time and effort to instill the
thrill of the chase in just two new people, the positive impacts on conservation and
the sport would be tremendous.
Keep in mind that being a mentor is a bit different than being a guide because the
goals aren’t necessarily the same. Mentoring involves equipping new hunters with
the skills and knowledge needed to become successful as a hunter in their own right.
True mentoring success goes beyond simply harvesting game and is based largely
on the relationship developed between the experienced hunter and the newbie.
You can start mentoring by simply inviting interested individuals you already know
to take part in your hunting adventures. If you’re interested in getting youth into the
field, be sure to invite a parent along so they see what all the excitement is about,
too. If you keep the hunts fun, safe and provide a good model of sportsmanship,
there is a good chance you will have found yourself a new hunting partner.
If you are looking to help at a larger event, contact a local wildlife conservation
organization such as Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited or the National Wild
Turkey Federation to find out about mentoring opportunities they provide in your area.
For more ideas and tips on mentoring, check out www.HuntSafeNebraska.org and
www.outdoornebraska.org/youth.
Hunters were treated to s'mores around the campfire the first night of the hunt.
Mark, beside him during his first hunt
ever. “I could feel my heart pumping.”
Matthew’s heart got pumping again
the next morning when his shot rang
true. And on the second evening, hunting
in the Pine Ridge, he found satisfaction
without even pulling the trigger after
watching a herd of deer feed just out of
range of their blind. “The fun part is that
you get to see all of the natural beauty,”
Matthew said.
“He’s been here all day and he’s still
not cold,” said Glen Forney, Kent’s
brother and a guide for the Pine Ridge
contingent of hunters, nodding toward
Matthew and noting the chilly January
temperatures. “I think he’s got a little
adrenalin going.”
By the time darkness set in Saturday,
six of the hunters had harvested their
first deer and all ten boys had taken at
least one. The hunters were happy, and
so were the mentors.
“It’s a great experience for kids,” said
Tausan.
“I love it,” Packett said. “I could do it
42 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
every day.”
“I think we had a really good hunt,”
said Glen Forney. “These kids are really
excited and had a good time.”
So did Kent Forney, who received
plenty of help during the hunt from his
brothers Dean and Bruce, sister Joann,
and several of their spouses, whether it
was guiding hunters, chauffeuring them
to and from blinds, or cooking and
doing the dishes.
“Our family doesn’t get together a
lot, so we always look for an excuse to
do so,” he said. “We’ve got kids, but
they aren’t this age. Our kids like to go
out [and hunt] by themselves now.”
The boys were tired that second night,
and after filling up on deer steak and
having a bit more fun, it wasn’t nearly
as difficult to get them off to bed. After
all, a long day of hunting deserves to
be followed by a good night’s sleep.
And dreams of the next hunt. “I
know all of the boys want to go again,”
said Bowen.
Which is the ultimate goal. ■
Mentoring Tips
Providing a fun, safe and comfortable experience for the new hunter is the key to
success when mentoring. Here are some thoughts on how to make that happen:
• Food – We all like to eat and snack while in the field. Bring extra. Quiet foods and
wrappers are a bonus.
• Start Short – Few new hunters can spend the entire day in a tree stand or walking
through tall grass. Keep initial outings just long enough to keep their attention with
some chance for success. The younger the hunter, the shorter the trip.
• Species and Techniques – Choose game birds and animals that best suit the
new hunter. Most new hunters have trouble sitting still and like to ask questions. Use
methods such as blinds that allow them to do this, and build up to more challenging
strategies and game.
• Involve – Many of us consider the preparations we do prior to the hunt as work.
Not so with many new hunters. Get them involved with the pre-hunt activities as it
will get them more prepared and build excitement for the actual trip.
• Target Practice – Burn some powder, fling some arrows and make it fun. This
builds confidence and helps prepare newbies for the moment of truth.
• Monkey See… – Regardless of what you might think, you are being watched by
your new hunter. Your actions will carry a lot of sway – more so than what you say.
• The Harvest – Remember to keep safety in mind during this exciting happening
and celebrate the accomplishment, but don’t put too much emphasis on this being
the true measure of success.
• Be a Paparazzi – Always take a camera and be sure to take a lot of pictures
while in the field. Photos of the harvest are obviously a good thing, but avoid the
“tailgate” syndrome. Don’t feel bad about staging photos either.
• Weather – Try your best to hunt conditions that favor an inexperienced hunter as
well as the intended game. If a new hunter isn’t comfortable, nobody is having fun.
• Gear Up – Don’t expect new hunters to have all the equipment or clothing that you
have accumulated through the years. Helping fill the gaps can be a good thing that
can make the experience positive, but the new hunter must have some “buy-in” too.
• Keep it Legal – You know the rules and regulations, but your apprentice may not.
Use this as an educational opportunity and help them find out what they need to
know and, just as importantly, where to find this information.
• Let’em Learn – Avoid the urge to use your skills to cover for their inexperience all
the time. Sometimes trial and error is the best teacher, as long as safety and ethics
are not in jeopardy.
• Encourage and Instruct – This is a learning process that needs to remain
interesting and positive. Keep in mind that you didn’t become as good as you are
after just a couple of hunts.
• Hunter Education – Be sure your protégé gets enrolled into a Hunter Education
Course, regardless of age. These courses help provide a solid foundation. Check for
availability at www.HuntSafeNebraska.org.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 43
Preparing Game for Taxidermy
These tips will help your trophy look good on the wall.
By Eric Fowler
hether it’s through luck or
hard work, one day some
of you will find yourself
standing over the buck or
bull of a lifetime and in
need of a taxidermist. At that moment,
you will either be prepared or asking
yourself, “Now what?”
Unfortunately, if you don’t know
how to properly care for your trophy
between the time you pull the trigger
and the time you arrive at the
taxidermist’s shop, your mount may
not look as good as it could. It may
also be more costly.
Of the utmost importance, said Scott
Westlund, a Wahoo taxidermist and
president of the Nebraska State
Taxidermists Association, is properly
caring for the animal’s cape – the hide
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
W
and hair from the tip of the sternum to
the nose that is used to make a shoulder
mount.
That care begins with shot placement
– never shoot a trophy in the neck. Those
holes can be sewn, but sometimes the
damage is hard to hide. And never cut
the animal’s throat.
The next step is field dressing. “If
you’re going to mount a deer, you
should never crack the rib cage,”
Westlund said. “You’re going to get
your hands a little dirtier [by not cutting
the rib cage open], but it’s going to
mean you definitely have enough cape
for the taxidermist.”
Field dressing also begins another
critical process – cooling the cape.
Whether it’s on the animal or off, if the
cape isn’t cooled quickly, slippage –
Scott Navratil of Frontier Taxidermy in Denton stretches a cape over a form.
44 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
Diagram from
taxidermist’s
instructions
showing the cuts to
make on the back of
the deer’s neck in
preparation for
mounting.
the
shedding
of hair
from the hide – can occur.
“Anything above 32 degrees, the
bacteria is starting to grow on that
animal, which can cause hair slippage,”
Westlund said. “If it’s below freezing,
it’s not nearly as critical, but the higher
the temperature, the more critical it
gets. If it’s a 70-degree day, you can
bet that if you don’t have that thing
gutted and cooled off fairly fast, you
cannot even let it go overnight without
having some real bad hair slippage
and probably even have the cape go
bad on you.”
Westlund has seen plenty of the latter
examples, especially from archery
pronghorn hunters who are in the field
in the heat of August and September
and have a long, hot drive to get back
to eastern Nebraska from pronghorn
country.
The best way to cool the cape is to
get it off the carcass as soon and as
cleanly as possible, and the best way to
do that is to make the first stop at the
taxidermist’s shop instead of the meat
locker, especially on an unseasonable
warm November day. “Bring it in as
soon as you can, preferably the same
day,” said Scott Navratil of Frontier
Taxidermy in Denton. “Don’t drive
around with it in your truck for days on
end showing your buddies.”
Like most taxidermists, Westlund and
Navratil are happy to do this work for
their customers and include the service
in the cost of a mount.
Many hunters who are comfortable
with a knife will hang and partially
cape their deer themselves, skinning it
to the base of the skull before taking
the head (antlers and hide still
attached) to the taxidermist. That’s
perfectly acceptable, Westlund said,
as long as they leave enough cape
attached. Hanging the deer by its hind
legs can make this job somewhat
easier, but the closer you get to the
skull, the more work it takes to get the
hide off, so a sharp knife and patience
is a must. Never hang a deer by its
neck if you plan on having it mounted.
And never wash the body cavity with
water.
Few hunters are skilled enough to
remove the hide from the skull – a
delicate, time-consuming job that
includes trimming around the eyes,
nose and antler bases and making a
T- or Y-shaped cut between the antler
bases and down the neck that allows
the skull to be removed. For that
reason, Westlund said he and other
taxidermists would rather do that part
of the job themselves. “We know how
they like to have things done and,
honestly, we have so much experience
in it that cutting holes in the face isn’t a
problem,” Westlund said. “If someone
doesn’t know how [to remove the cape
from the skull], don’t even try it. In
the long run what it does [if done
incorrectly] is hurt the quality of
mount.”
That said, some hunters may find
themselves in a position where they
must cape an animal, especially
backcountry elk hunters. Westlund said
there are countless tutorials online – at
the very least, read those. Better yet,
practice on the next buck you harvest if
you think you’ll ever head to elk camp.
He’s even had hunters stop in for a
quick lesson before their hunt. “That’s
just part of being prepared for the hunt
itself,” he said.
If you’re a long way from your
taxidermist, make sure your cape is
cool throughout the trip home, and if
you have access to a freezer, use it.
Westlund, being concerned about such
things, takes his own chest freezer on
western hunts and plugs it in at the motel
where he’s staying. A cooler with ice
will work just as well. “It’s a great idea
to put ice on and around those capes as
long as it doesn’t sit in water,” said
Westlund, noting that water accelerates
bacteria growth and slippage. Bag the
cape separately to help keep it dry.
If you fail in any of these steps, most
taxidermists should be able to find
another cape, but it will come at a
price. It’s much better to be prepared
and know what you’re going to do next
if you manage to take a trophy. For
someone hunting whitetails from home,
that might only mean knowing what
taxidermist you will use. Friends
or family who have mounts may
• Cool it. If possible, get the
deer to the taxidermist as
quickly as possible.
• Don’t hang the animal by
the neck.
• Don’t cut the ribcage.
• Don’t make a finishing shot
to the neck or cut the throat.
• Leave all hide from the end
of the sternum
up.
• If you cape it
yourself, be
careful not to
cut holes in the
hide.
recommend their taxidermist, or you
can stop in any taxidermy shop you
pass by and check out their work.
Either is better than spending a day
thumbing through the yellow pages and
calling for prices while your deer’s cape
is spoiling in the back of your truck.
“Plan ahead,” Westlund said.
“Nobody expects to shoot a trophy and
when they do, sometimes they’re in
scramble mode.” ■
• Birds that are cleanly killed, with little
damage to wings and plumage, are best
for mounting. Do not wring a bird’s neck.
• Gently dab any blood from feathers.
• Carry birds by the feet back to your
vehicle. Placing them in a game vest
could damage feathers.
• Don’t draw the bird.
• Get the bird to your taxidermist as soon as
possible. If you can’t get there right away, freeze
the bird. To prepare it for freezing, gently smooth
all feathers into place, tuck its head to its chest or
back, and then carefully place the bird in a plastic
bag. Placing the bird in a nylon stocking before bagging it will
help protect and keep feathers in place.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 45
Shuffling Geography
Secluded Summer Getaways
What’s in a name? Interesting possibilities.
Escape the hustle and bustle by visiting one of these state recreation areas.
By Roger Welsch
By Erica Hengelfelt
T
46 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
Olive Creek
State Recreation Area
Outside of Lincoln and just off U.S. Highway 77 is
Olive Creek State Recreation Area (SRA), a surprisingly
underutilized location for solo and family camping. “It’s a
very rustic, primitive area with great shaded nooks for
camping,” said Stryker. Just a short drive from the city, this
secluded spot boasts 175 acres of water for fishing, scattered
picnic areas and several primitive campsites perfect for a
relaxing weekend. Though there are no clear-cut hiking trails,
small paths are beaten around the lake and neighboring
wilderness. And thanks to the lake’s five mph speed limit,
loud boats and personal watercraft will not disrupt your stay.
Olive Creek State Recreation Area
Summit Lake
State Recreation Area
Summit Lake SRA is nestled into the hilly cornfields and
farmland near Tekamah, and a four mile drive out of town
brings you straight to the forefront of outdoor fun. Trees
line the edges of the lake itself, which is used for a variety
of summertime activities. “This spot has an actual swimming
beach and playgrounds,” Stryker says, making it a wonderful
camping location for families with children. A short hiking
trail weaves around the lake and through the trees. Visitors
to Summit Lake claim it has some of best fishing in the
area, and users are able to use a fish-cleaning station near the
lake.
Summit State Recreation Area
Cottonwood Lake
State Recreation Area
Cottonwood Lake SRA in Merriman offers a similar
camping experience with a vastly different landscape.
Instead of surrounding trees or farmland, here you will find
sandhill geography and accompanying wildlife. Stryker notes
that the area is very well maintained, even going as far as to
label the recreation area “pristine.” Swimming, fishing and
power boats are allowed in the lake. Arthur Bowring Ranch
State Historical Park, a museum that offers an inside look
into early Nebraska ranch life, is just a short jaunt from the
campsite. This plethora of recreational activities makes a trip
to Cottonwood Lake a well-rounded getaway. ■
PHOTO BY JON FARRAR
Roger Welsch is an
author, humorist and
folklorist who has
appeared in
NEBRASKAland
Magazine since 1977.
To see and read his
first article, go to
NebrakalandMagazine.com and click
on “Nebland Flashback.”
Midsummer is the perfect time of year to enjoy the seclusion and natural scenery in some of Nebraska’s
best state recreation areas. Whether you are camping alone or with the entire family, Michelle Stryker of
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission suggests the following locations for NEBRASKAland readers
in search of secluded and peaceful regional campsites.
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
thought of it before.
I’m a desserts kind of guy, so
“Thurston For A Cherry Custer(d)” is
another natural.
Two more conjoined counties and we
have a “Butler Cuming?” If you ring
the bell, he’ll bring your slippers and a
martini and we’ll all feel rich.
Let’s redeem our reputation and
promote virtue by combining two of
our most alluring counties into a
“Morrill Hooker.”
Is the scenery in our state beautiful?
Why not make it clear with the new
combined county of “Knox-for-aLoup!”
Are our high school athletes
formidable? Every game is a
“Rock-‘Em, Pierce-‘Em, Bare Nuckolls
Deuel.”
Where is the home of ‘champeen’
poker players? Why, where we all are
smart enough to Dodge Scotts Bluff!
Are we the tidy kind who tend to our
homes and gardens? Well, come to
Nebraska and take a look at our new
county, Clay Rock Garden, and see for
yourself.
Fair and balanced? Sure, when
backed into a corner we wouldn’t be
reluctant to Sioux Arthur, but we’re just
as friendly when we’re called on to
Grant Thomas A Boone.
I’m sure that’s just a start in
condensing and compacting Nebraska
counties so I welcome suggestions
and contributions from the fertile
imaginations of NEBRASKAland readers.
Let me know what you come up with
and we can help our state senators get a
running start on their next session! ■
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
hings seem to be on the move
in the United States and
Nebraska. What we have come
to think of as the permanent
lines and boundaries of
geography are suddenly in flux. For
example, Texas is at this moment
mounting a move to secede from the
Union and around here people are
gathering signatures on petitions and
building a fund to help that effort
along. I just hope ZZ Top is touring up
north of the Oklahoma-Texas border
when we start building that wall.
And in the Nebraska Legislature
there has been talk about reorganizing
our state by combining some counties
to cut down on administrative costs.
Once again, I am prepared to put
my mind to the issue and help sort out
the problems in such a way that we
will not only save money, but also
make this place I love a lot more
interesting.
I don’t think we should just throw
away some treasured and traditional
county names, except maybe to reflect
some earlier bad choices. Over the
years I’ve poked a lot of fun at friends
in Texas because they have wound up
having the Alamo as the most cherished
shrine to their history, a place where
they were beaten so badly they were
wiped out to a man. We should avoid
that kind of embarrassment in
Nebraska, so the decision is made:
Broken Bow will henceforth be the
county seat of Crazy Horse County.
There. We fixed that.
Then I suggest we make things more
interesting by combining some of our
current county names as follows:
Furnas and Gage could be combined
to become “Furnas Gage County” –
Thermostat County being too clumsy a
name and probably too obscure for
people whose imaginations are not as
perverse as mine.
The combination and friendly
invitation to come to Nebraska to
“Chase Brown Antelope and Buffalo”
is so obvious I can’t believe we haven’t
Cottonwood Lake State Recreation Area
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 47
ATTRACTIONS/EVENTS
GET YOUR HUNTING/FISHING PERMIT online today!
Don’t wait until tomorrow to go outside with the family.
Log on to www.OutdoorNebraska.org and click on
Purchase a Permit under Licenses and Fees.
WILDERNESS SURVIVAL CLASS - Start a fire with
the bow-drill method, build a survival shelter,
be introduced to primitive traps, cordage, flint
knapping, edible and medicinal plants, water
location and purification, and much more! Go to
www.greatplainstracker.com.
FOOD/GIFTS/HOME
HOMEBREWING/BEER AND WINEMAKING.
Fermenter’s Supply, 8410 K Plaza, Suite #10, Omaha, NE
68127. Phone orders only, (888) 655-2739. Advice line
(402) 593-9171. www.fermenterssupply.com.
BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS/VIDEOS
EXPLORE NEBRASKA art, history, culture and the
great outdoors with a subscription to Nebraska Life
Magazine. One year (six issues) for $21 or two years
(12 issues) just $38. Phone (800) 777-6159, write us at
206 W Norfolk Ave, Norfolk NE 68702-0819 or visit
www.NebraskaLife.com. Makes a great gift.
MAKES A WONDERFUL GIFT! – Published since
1926, NEBRASKAland Magazine has been a nationally
recognized, award-winning magazine of choice.
For those loved ones here and away, give the gift that
keeps giving year-round. Order a gift subscription today
– only $18 for one year (10 issues). Call 1-800-632-5263
or subscribe online at NebraskalandMagazine.com.
DOGS
PLUM CREEK KENNEL. German shorthairs, stud
service, puppies and started dogs. Training for all pointing breeds. Specialize in training the handler as well as
the dog. Wayne Clark, Percival, Iowa (near Omaha) (712)
529-4238, clarks1@iowatelecom.net.
DUCKDAWG RETRIEVERS - Raising exceptional
hunting yellow and black Labradors. Puppies raised in
our home. 30-month, written health guarantee. Stud
service: GRHRCH UN DuckDawg’s Eba Roll the Dice
and GRHRCH UH McMac Magic Eyes A’Smilin MH.
The first Grand Hunting Retriever Champions in
Nebraska. www.duckdawg.com Ron Green, DVM and
Libby Milroy, North Platte, NE (308) 534-3659.
PREMIER GUNDOGS TRAINING KENNEL, Inc:
Nebraska state licensed gundog training kennel specializing
in training programs for waterfowl and upland hunting
retrievers, spaniels, pointing Labradors and all gundog
GUIDES/OUTFITTERS
CANOE - KAYAK - TUBE RENTALS on the
beautiful Niobrara River with Dryland Aquatics at
Sparks, Nebraska. Your Niobrara River Specialist.
(800) 337-3119. www.drylandaquatics.com, info@
drylandaquatics.com.
pointing breeds. Dale-Kris Taylor (402) 787-2048
www.premiergundogs.com.
FLATLANDER KENNELS INC. Bayard, NE
Full-time retriever training facility for the serious hunter
or AKC and HRC hunt tester. Trainer of Nebraska's first
and only GRHRCH's! Super Retriever Series competitor
and a member of Avery's Team Waterdog. Training
available for all levels of hunt tests and gundogs. Chris
Jobman: (308) 249-0707, www.flatlanderkennels.com.
FISH/FISHING
FISH FOR SALE. Catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth
bass, perch, crappie, bluegill, walleye, rainbow trout,
grass carp, minnows. Pleasant Valley Fish Farm, 72645
U.S. Highway 83, McCook, NE 69001. (308) 345-6599.
NEBRASKA LAKE MANAGEMENT. Biological lake
surveys, fish stocking, rough fish control, lake aeration,
algae control, aquatic weed control. Rob Hofpar, Aquatic
Biologist, licensed, insured and qualified. (402) 784-6005
Valparaiso - (888) 850-2460 www.nelakes.net.
48 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
NIOBRARA RIVER CANOE, tube and kayak trips. We
specialize in trips through Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge
and Smith Falls State Park. www.niobrarasuper
tubes.com, 402-376-2956
OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT
IS PERFORMANCE IMPORTANT? For the finest
canoes and accessories look to Great Plains Canoe Co.,
205 Main, Springfield, NE 68059. Phone (402) 253-2000.
VACATIONS/RESORTS
THE OLDE MAIN STREET INN. A historic bed and
breakfast listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. Beautiful dining room with fireplace.
Headquarters for General Nelson Miles, Wounded Knee
Incident, 1890-91. 115 Main Street, Chadron NE 69337
(308) 432-3380. www.chadron.com/oldemain.
DIAMOND B TROUT RESORT, Orchard, Nebraska.
Lodge, cabins, spring-fed lakes, playground equipment,
paddleboats. Great for families, groups, hunters. Book
your cabin now! Call for brochure (800) 974-3002.
www.diamondbtroutresort.com.
BIG BLUE RANCH & LODGE - Enjoy fishing, hunting,
hiking, birdwatching and ranch adventures on 2000+ acre
cattle ranch in southeastern Nebraska. Beautiful log
cabin, with fireplaces, kitchens & big covered porches,
overlooks 20-acre lake. www.bigblueranch.com (402)
730-3643.
PLANNING A VACATION? Why not spend it at a
Nebraska state park? With more than 80 state park and
recreation areas across Nebraska to choose from, you can
enjoy a campground or cabin and enjoy activities such as
fishing, swimming, camping and hiking. Call
(402) 471-1414 for reservations or go online at
www.OutdoorNebraska.org and follow the Parks link.
HUNTER & FISHERMAN PARADISE: Located on
Elwood Reservoir. 1,300+ acres of wildlife, trophy-size
fish – wipers, walleye, muskies, perch, catfish and crappie.
Nebraska’s best kept secret for hunting – duck, turkey,
deer and quail. Cabins, rooms, tent and camper-spot
campgrounds with full hook ups (30 amp, 50 amp). Call
(308) 440-4993 or visit www.elwoodcampground.com
WANTED – VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTORS. Interested
in making a difference? Get involved in teaching the next
generation of hunters. Contact Mike Streeter at
mike. streeter@nebraska.gov or call (402) 471-6134.
Classified Rates: 85¢ per word, minimum $15.
Closing: First business day six weeks before issue
date. Classified ads are accepted on a first-come,
first-served, space-available basis. Classified Ads,
NEBRASKAland Magazine, P.O. Box 30370,
Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Telephone (402) 471-5473.
Fax: (402) 471-1984. E-mail: ngpc.classifieds
@nebraska.gov. Ads are posted online at
NebraskalandMagazine.com at no additional charge.
HELP STOP POACHING!
Toreport
reportaagaviolation,
aviolation, call
To
call the
the
toll-free hotline at
1-800-742-7627
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 49
▲
In the early 1960s, Vern Johnson of Dorchester caught
several large catfish and carp in the West Blue River north of
Dorchester. The largest catfish was 38 pounds, but he caught
at least a dozen over 25 pounds in those years. Shown here
(inset) is a 34-pound catfish with our son, Dan, who happened
to also weigh 34 pounds at that time –April 1966.
The highlight of those fishing days was this carp he caught
April 29, 1964, because it broke the state record at the time.
His reign didn’t last long, however, because the record was
broken again a few months later.
– Sharon Johnson, Geneva, Nebraska
▲
This photo is of eight-year-old Nellie Hill (now
Nellie Hunt) with a seven-pound catfish that was
caught by her big sister, Carole. The family operated
a farmstead along the Middle Loup River north of
Arcadia in Valley County, which is where the catfish
was caught. The picture was taken in 1956.
– Crystal Hunt, Kearney, Nebraska
▲ The Knights lived south of Creston in Platte County. In the 1930s the Knight boys had a successful day of
catching carp. When spring rains flooded the draws, the carp would leave the creeks and would be seen
swimming in the meadows. They would produce a tell-tale V-wave or even show their backs.
From left to right are Charles, LeRoy, Harvey, James (their father), Mike Palmeter (friend) and Clarence.
Clarence was ever ready, for he carried a spear under his 1925 Chevrolet Coupe.
One Sunday while returning from church, Clarence saw a carp swimming in the ditch. He took his spear
and jabbed. The handle of the spear broke, and Clarence plunged into the water. He did get the carp.
When he arrived home, his mother was a bit surprised seeing Clarence in his muddy and wet church
clothes. But again, a mother raising six boys and one girl could expect anything!
– Raymond Mlinar, Greeley, Nebraska
Send contributions to: Portraits from the Past, NEBRASKAland Magazine, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Or e-mail to
tim.reigert@nebraska.gov. Photos should show people enjoying Nebraska outdoor activities, such as camping, boating, hunting or fishing,
and must have been taken before 1980. We will give priority to unusual photos or activities. When possible, please include a story about
the photograph and identify the people, places and approximate date it was taken. Photos will be returned.
50 NEBRASKALAND • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2011
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