Volume 89, Issue 9, 2011
November 2011
- Identifier:
- nela.2011_089_09
- Title:
- Volume 89, Issue 9, 2011
- Issue Name:
- November 2011
- Date Issued:
- 2011-11-01
- year:
- 2011
- month:
- November
- Season:
- Autumn
- PDF filename:
- NL_89.09_2011_Nov_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 089
- issue:
- 09
- number:
- 089.09
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
A pattern of oak leaves in a Sarpy County woodland foreshadows winter’s upcoming appearance.
Photo by Chris Helzer.
Volume 89, Number 9, November 2011
12 Wood Lake – The Sportsman’s Gateway
During the late-1800s and early decades of the 1900s,
sportsmen from across the state and from faraway cities
came to the lake country of eastern Cherry County to hunt
and fish. The shortest route to them was from the little town
of Wood Lake. BY JON FARRAR
20 The Overlook
Contributor Lisa Knopp takes a look at some of the
historical scenes that might have been viewed throughout
history from atop a Nebraska City bluff. BY LISA KNOPP
24 Focus on Pheasants
Efforts being made on a special focus area in southwestern
Nebraska are paying great dividends in the local pheasant
population.
BY DOUG CARROLL, PHOTOS BY JEFF KURRUS AND DOUG CARROLL
30 Ice is Nice
Photographing ice can be a challenging, lifelong ambition,
or simply a great way to avoid cabin fever. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY
CHRIS HELZER
34 A Few Quiet Days at Cedar Canyon
Fall comes peacefully to the pine-studded cliffs of Cedar
Canyon. PHOTOS AND TEXT BY MICHAEL FORSBERG
30
●
40 “b-b-b-b-Big!”
Four new state record big-game animals were harvested in
Nebraska last year, including one of the largest typical
whitetails ever taken in North America. BY ERIC FOWLER
42 Sharing the Outdoors
A Norfolk man and his twin sons prove that you don’t have
to find a lot of ducks to have a successful morning together
in the great outdoors. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY DOUG STEINKE
Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mixed Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Portraits from the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Page 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
The Last Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
20
●
12
●
42
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Cover: Wayne Hahn of Aurora pheasant hunts in southern Hamilton
County. Photo by Chris Helzer.
NEBRASKAland (VOL. 89 / NO. 9, 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.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 3
The Next Generation
My name is Jack Sonnenberg and
I was born in Oshkosh and went to
school in Broadwater. I moved to
Florida in
1972 and
still try to
make an
annual trip
back to the
Lisco area
for duck and
goose
hunting. My
daughter
lives in
Rusty and Ande
Alliance and
her son, Rusty Girard, is a sniper in his
Navy Seal unit and has just returned
from deployment in Afghanistan. He
took his 21/2 year old niece, Ande
Girard, for her first dove hunt last
September. It’s nice to see the next
generation of Nebraska hunters
enjoying our outdoors.
I am a longtime subscriber of
NEBRASKAland. I always enjoy the
photography and personal interest
stories.
Jack Sonnenberg
Belleair, Florida
Sunbathing Turtle
I took this picture of a turtle at E.T.
Mahoney State Park in late-August and
I feel that it is an amazing picture. I’m
not sure if you are interested or not, but
I thought of your magazine. We were in
paddle boats, so we were able to get
fairly close without any issues. I think
it was enjoying the sun!
Jeanne Pelikan
via e-mail
Photographing the Moon
A few months ago, Chris Helzer
wrote a short piece for the Mixed Bag
in NEBRASKAland Magazine about
star photography: camera settings, tips
for composing a picture, etc. I would
love to see a similar piece about taking
pictures of the moon, whether full or
half or even quarter. Any time I have
tried to take pictures of the moon, I end
up with a picture that is way too bright.
Any ideas from someone on the
NEBRASKAland staff about camera
settings and tips would be great!
Thanks a lot and thanks for all your
great work with the magazine!
Craig Zimmer
via e-mail
Missing Address
The web address for Nebraska
Wildlife Rehabilitation was
mistakenly omitted from last month’s
“The Last Stop.” Please visit
www.nebraskawildliferehab.org to find
out more about this organization.
Prairie Chicken History
This is a true little story that relates
to your article (“A History of Grouse
Hunting”) of the near demise of prairie
chickens in the August-September issue
of NEBRASKAland. It was written for
the column I write “Flora and Fauna”
for a monthly newsletter which is
published by our retirement
community, Pacific Springs Village.
The article points out how prairie
chickens were almost made extinct
by commercial hunters, just as the
passenger pigeons. This was before and
around the turn of the last century.
Well, this reminded me of some of
the tales my father told us kids about
the 18 months he spent in Omaha more
than 100 years ago.
My dad was in his twenties, single
and a skilled tool-and-die-maker
machinest. He was filled with
adventure and his skills were much
sought after in those boom years, so he
never doubted that he could find work
no matter where he was.
In 1906, he decided to see what the
west coast was like and headed for San
Francisco. It was April and all through
passengers to San Francisco were halted
at Omaha – the great earthquake had
hit the city. Dad decided he might as
well stay in Omaha and went to work
for the Union Pacific shops.
Dad’s stories about Omaha were
always great to us kids, as he told about
Indians wrapped in blankets roaming
the streets, cowboys and the wild
mustangs fresh off the praries in
corrals, and prairie chickens.
I’m guessing Dad lived in a rooming
house and his tales of prairie chicken
dinners still make my mouth water. He
would go on to great lengths describing
how succulent and delicious those birds
were. Apparently they had them for
dinner several times a week, thanks to
the commercial hunters who furnished
the supply. This is the connection I felt
when reading the story in
NEBRASKAland. Enough laws were
passed and enforced that saved the
prairie chickens from extinction.
Now their biggest threat is loss of
habitat.
Hah – yes, what goes around comes
around – who would have thought that
some 50 years later I would be making
Omaha my home?! My big regret is my
Dad never got to see Omaha again – he
died a month before I was transferred
here in 1958.
Bob Pierson
Omaha, Nebraska
NEBRASKAland Visitor Letters
This one must have been so obvious
that it stumped most readers. We only
had nine readers that sent e-mails and
letters for last issue’s visitor, an Asian
long-horned beetle that was on page 8
(see page 11 for the winner, rules and
this issue’s hint).
We should have included page 4 in
the “not on page...” category – so as to
4 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
exclude the Polyphemus moths. Thanks
to Jim Steele for pointing this out.
It’s the Asian Long-horned Beetle on
page 8.
I’ve hunted pheasants in Nebraska
for 50 years and, until I read the article
about them in the October issue of the
NEBRASKAland, knew nothing about
the super-sensitive pads on their feet.
Amazing!
G.E. Dave Fuller
Via e-mail
The big, beautiful Asian Longhorned
beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)
caught the eye of many readers in last
month’s issue, as several contacted the
Nebraska Department of Agriculture
to report suspicious beetles seen in the
state. Fortunately, all the reported
beetles were determined to be the
common cottonwood borer
(Plectrodera scalator). This large,
native beetle is similar in size and
color to ALB. However, it is primarily
white with black markings, while the
ALB is black with white markings.
The white coloration on a cottonwood
borer is actually caused by dense
white hairs, and
the black-white
coloration
pattern on each beetle is
unique. The cottonwood
borer can be found throughout
Nebraska and, as the name
suggests, infests cottonwood
trees.
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State
Entomologist, Nebraska Department of
Agriculture. Visitor image by USFS.
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
Craig Stover (Adm.) Lincoln
Phone (402)
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).
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 5
PHOTO BY PASQUALE MINGARELLI
Here is a list of
upcoming outdoor
events across Nebraska.
For more information about these and
other events, visit the calendar page at
www.OutdoorNebraska.org.
October 29
Keystone Trail
Pasquale Mingarelli
Perhaps you’re a cyclist feeling the
need for speed. You’re looking to get in
a solid workout where the path ahead is
open so you can ride hard and fast into
the wind. If so, then the Keystone Trail
is for you.
This 24-mile long trail was constructed
in 1987. It starts out innocently in
Democracy Park in the Keystone
subdivision of northwest Omaha. From
there it heads into commercial and light
industrial areas, as well as other
residential areas and a golf course.
But for the die-hard biker, the fun
begin south of Harrison Street. There
the trail opens up when it enters
Papillion and heads toward Bellevue.
There are no tight curves and hills to
work through – it’s just flat and straight
as it rides along corn and soybean
fields with an ever-present wind for an
added workout.
The Keystone, like other trails in the
Omaha area, is part of a partnership
between the Papio-Missouri River
NRD and the communities where the
trail runs through. You don’t, however,
necessarily have to be a cycling
enthusiast to enjoy it – plenty of
runners, walkers, moms with strollers
and casual bikers also use the trail.
Fall Festival at Wildcat Hills
Pumpkin roll competitions, pumpkin
carving contest, fall crafts and much
more. Wildcat Hills Nature Center.
Call (308) 436-3777
November 7
Ticket Sale for Annual Historical
Christmas Dinner
Fort Robinson State Park.
Call (308) 665-2900
November 11
Growing Up Wild, Project WILD Event
An early childhood education
program that builds on children’s
sense of wonder about nature.
9 a.m. to noon. Educational Service
Unit #1 211 10th Street, Wakefield,
Nebraska.
To register, contact: jrose@esu1.org.
November 20
See You Out There ... But Where?
Fort Robinson Annual Longhorn and
Buffalo Sale
The sale is held at the Crawford
Livestock Market. Anyone interested
can contact Fort Robinson State
Park prior to the sale for more
information or to request a catalog.
Fort Robinson State Park
Call (308) 665-2900
ngpc.fort.robinson@nebraska.gov
November 24
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Thanksgiving Day Buffet – Eugene T.
Mahoney State Park
Come out and enjoy a great buffet
on Thanksgiving at the Lodge
Steakhouse. Contact the park office
for menu and pricing information. A
park entry permit is required.
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park
Call (402) 944-2523
ngpc.mahoney@nebraska.gov
November 12-20
Do you know where this Nebraska photograph was taken?
See answer at the bottom of page 11.
6 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Deer November Firearm Season –
All Firearm Deer Units
Contact Kit Hams
402-471-5442
kit.hams@nebraska.gov
Does Only
Jeff Kurrus
It doesn’t take much to get permission
to hunt in this state. Trust me, I’ve been
told “no” enough times to know what
I’m talking about. The times I haven’t
been told no are usually when I’m not
greedy. I ask one question: “Can I
shoot does?” Then I follow that by
saying that I don’t want to hunt
during firearm season, and that I would
be ecstatic with having the opportunity
to hunt during the bow or muzzleloader
seasons. With this technique, I have
acquired multiple places to hunt.
And where do I find these magical
spots? I ride roads, see deer and then
knock on doors. I still get told “no” a
lot, but I have found through the years
that not asking for the world right out
the chute lands me a lot more keys to
the gate.
Playground Donations Needed
Branched Oak State Recreation Area
near Lincoln is trying to raise funds for
two new playground areas – one in its
Middle Oak Creek Campground area,
the other in South Shore Campground.
Branched Oak SRA welcomes more
than a million visitors a year, and its
1,800-acre lake is the largest reservoir
within 100 miles of the state’s two most
populated cities. For more information
or to make a donation, contact
tom.morrison@nebraska.gov.
Double-up for Ducks
Emily Tyner
Since 1934, the Federal Migratory
Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp,
commonly known as the federal duck
stamp, has added more than 5.3 million
acres of waterfowl habitat to the
National Wildlife Refuge System,
including Waterfowl Production Areas
in Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin. While
the federal duck stamp is a proven
conservation tool, its buying power has
not kept pace with inflation. The cost
of the stamp has not increased since
1991, marking the longest period in the
program’s history without a price
increase. Simply put, $15 is not what it
used to be.
To preserve the conservation legacy
of the federal duck stamp, it is essential
that duck hunters and all who enjoy
wetlands and waterfowl show Congress
that they care about conservation
issues. For these reasons, Ducks
Unlimited is asking duck hunters and
other waterfowl enthusiasts to “double
up for the ducks” by purchasing two
federal duck stamps this year.
The purpose of this campaign is to
prove that hunters are leaders in
wildlife conservation and are willing to
pay more for the duck stamp in order
to conserve waterfowl habitat.
For more than 77 years, waterfowl
hunters have been using the federal
duck stamp as a way to conserve
habitat, expand hunting access and
sustain America’s rich hunting heritage.
Ducks Unlimited urges all sportsmen to
“double up for the ducks” this hunting
season because it will not only be an
investment in the future of their sport,
but will also send a powerful message
to Congress.
Silhouette Championships
Rachael Schoenrock of Cortland hit
38 of 40 targets to win the 2011
Nebraska High School Silhouette
Championships at Pressey Wildlife
Management Area south of Broken
Bow on Sept. 24.
Schoenrock, a high school junior,
was the state runner-up last year, when
she earned high girl shooter honors.
In .22-caliber rifle silhouette shooting,
each competitor fires 40 shots at small
metal targets. Each shoots 10 shots at
targets that are 43, 66, 72 and 109
yards in distance.
Wear Orange
Wearing hunter orange
while upland bird hunting
isn’t required by law,
but I can think of no time
where not wearing it is a
good idea. Stay safe this
season, so you and your
friends can stay alive to
hunt another year.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 9
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Lance Lang of Minden shows his
love for bird dogs on his message
plate, which is pictured here with
his son, Alex, and their black Lab,
Star, following a successful grouse
hunt in 2009.
If you have a unique outdoor
message plate you would like to
share, or know someone who
does, 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.
8 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
PHOTO BY RICK RASMUSSEN
“No Trespassing” signs don’t mean you can’t at least ask to hunt, but you need to ask
politely and be able to accept “No” for an answer.
Avoiding Deer Collisions
10 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
• Be aware of posted deer crossing
signs. These are placed in active deer
crossing areas.
• Remember that deer are most active
between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• Use high beam headlamps as much
as possible at night to illuminate the
areas from which deer will enter
roadways.
• Keep in mind that deer generally
travel in herds – if you see one, there is
a strong possibility others are nearby.
• Do not rely on car-mounted deer
whistles.
• If a deer collision seems inevitable,
attempting to swerve out of the way
could cause you to lose control of your
vehicle or place you in the path of an
oncoming vehicle.
Documenting Nebraska’s
History
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Data from State Farm, one of the
nation’s biggest auto insurers, indicates
that November, the heart of the deer
migration and mating season, is the
month during which deer-vehicle
encounters are most likely.
More than 18 percent of all such
mishaps take place during November,
and a deer-vehicle collision is three
times more likely to occur on a day in
November than on any day between
February 1st and August 31st. October
is the second most likely month for a
crash involving a deer and a vehicle.
December is third.
Here are some tips on how to reduce
the odds you hitting a deer:
He loves the outdoors. He took his first steps this
past year to being the trapper that I once was and
still remember being.
Nick was getting into trapping. His father didn’t
have a lot of experience in the sport and they
were seeking out some advice. We had several
conversations about traps and the type of sets to
use to catch his first furbearers. Beaver had moved
onto their property and built several dams on the
creek that runs through it. They had several traps
obtained from Grandpa, and I lent them a few more
to get started. With Nick’s enthusiasm (and Dad’s
driving) they experienced a tremendous first year.
The little I did to help them out (the traps, stretchers,
and demonstrations on how to skin and finish the
fur) wasn’t much and I got much more in return.
Listening to Nick’s father explain about getting up at
six to go check the traps before school (he likes to
sleep late), watching Nick explain what he caught
and how he did, it was priceless. Looking into his
eyes brought back many fond
memories.
Nick ended up catching 1 raccon,
2 beaver, 2 mink and 26 muskrats
this past season. Quite an
accomplishment for a young, firsttime trapper! His mother told my
wife that he wants to be a game
warden some day. It can be a very
rewarding job sometimes.
– Duane Arp,
Conservation Officer, Gretna
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
I became a Conservation Officer in January of
1982. Prior to that I was always enjoying the
outdoors. From spending long nights fishing the
area sandpits around my hometown of Kearney to
excursions to the nearest reservoirs, whether it be
Harlan, Johnson Lake or Sherman. Hunting seasons
along the Platte River for ducks and geese, pheasant
hunting south of town near the waterfowl production
areas – they are all pursuits I vividly remember taking
part in with my brother and friends.
However, the one outdoor sport I still most rekindle
is trapping. I Remember the first initial investment of
hard-earned money (scooping snow and mowing
yards) to purchase my first traps, stretchers, waders
etc. so I would have all the necessities required to
be a “trapper.” I also recall the first muskrat, raccoon,
mink that I caught – especially the first skunk!
This all started before I was able to drive – my
father did his part in taking turns driving us out to
the trapline, and my older sister was “made” to taxi
us when Dad couldn’t.
These memories all came tumbling back to me this
past fall.
As a Conservation Officer, we spend many hours
giving programs, talking to youth and explaining the
duties of our profession – the “how” and “why” of
things we do within the Law Enforcement Division.
It’s part of the job that I truly enjoy.
There is a nine-year-old boy that was in one of
these programs. He reminds me very much of me.
Kimberly Stuhr
Over the past two summers
archeologists scoured nearly 10,000 acres
of land on both sides of the Platte River
from Louisville to South Bend. The
crew from the Archeology Laboratory
of South Dakota’s Augustana College
discovered arrowheads, bone
fragments, and prehistoric pottery – just
a sampling of the oft-forgotten clues to
our past.
Nebraska has been blessed with a
rich history of archeological remains.
Terry Steinacher, Historic Preservation
Archaeologist with the Nebraska State
Historical Society, said, “Archeological
remains are present throughout the
state. Projectile points found in western
Nebraska suggest that people lived
here as long as 12,000 years ago.” He
says, “Some people think that all of
the artifacts that are out there have
already been found. In actuality, only
about one percent of Nebraska has been
surveyed.”
A lot remains to be discovered about
the people who, for thousands of years,
lived and traveled through this part of
the country. Archeologist Jason Kruse
says, “One piece at a time,
archeological discoveries allow us to
reconstruct the lives of those who lived
before us. Each site is like a one-of-akind manuscript with a unique story to
tell.”
Beginning in the 1830s, Americans
and Europeans traveled westward by
the thousands. Trappers, traders, soldiers,
Milo Signup
Landowners in parts of southwest
Nebraska have until December 1 to
enroll their milo acres in an incentive
program to enhance pheasant hunting
in the area.
The Milo Stubble Management
Program is offered in portions of
northwest Hitchcock, southeast Hayes
and northwest Red Willow counties.
Landowners receive payments for tall
milo stubble and pheasant-friendly
managed milo stubble acres enrolled,
and they receive an additional payment
if those acres allow public walk-in
hunting access. Each landowner may
enroll up to 320 acres for two years.
The goals of the program are to
increase and improve pheasant habitat,
increase bird populations and provide
additional public hunting access on
private land.
Interested landowners should call
Andy Houser at 308-345-4163, or T.J.
Walker or Justin Haahr at 308-535-8025.
NEBRASKAland Visitor
Winner and Hint
Last issue’s winner of
the NEBRASKAland
Visitor drawing was
Bill Bolte of Central
City, Nebraska, who found the Asian
long-horned beetle on page 8.
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 5.
The Johnson Lake outlet in Gosper County.
Part of the Job
mail carriers, writers,
artists, and
emigrants crossed
through what is now
Nebraska. Sites in
the eastern part
of the state have
provided
archeologists with
the greatest amount
of information
regarding early
interactions between
historic tribes and
Euro-Americans.
Today, the countless
untold stories that
remain in and around
the Lower Platte River Corridor are
threatened by Omaha’s expanding
boundaries.
In an effort to document history that
still rests in the area, the Nebraska
Historical Society, with funding from
the National Park Service and private
donations, commissioned a Cultural
Resources Inventory – a professional
study designed to locate and evaluate
evidence of cultural resources present
within a defined geographic area. Any
artifact that is found does not leave the
site; they are documented with GPS
coordinates, photos and notes.
The archeological crew inventoried
flint flakes, prehistoric campsites,
cache pits and a rock face containing
historical graffiti. Perhaps the most
significant discovery was the remnants
of two hearths at different depths.
Radiocarbon dating returned dates for
the hearths of approximately 2,100 years
before present (yr BP) and 7,200 yr BP.
Eventually the survey results will be
included in a report. General data will be
available to the public, but the location
of any site that has been identified and
recorded at the state historical society
is confidential and available only to
professional archeologists, researchers
and land-use planners.
Over the years, excavations throughout
Nebraska have revealed aspects of life
and culture not recorded in our history
books. Kruse believes that each bit of
rock or charcoal that they find is our
history. He says, “While an individual
find may seem minor, each discovery
contributes to the history of the people
who came before us. It is important
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 11
WOOD LAKE
THE SPORTSMAN’S GATEWAY
By Jon Farrar
During the late-1800s and early decades of the 1900s,
sportsmen from across the state and from faraway
cities came to the lake country of eastern Cherry
County to hunt and fish.The shortest route
to them was from the little town of Wood Lake.
portsmen began penetrating the
Sandhills’ interior during the
1880s. As agriculture swept
westward across Nebraska and
neighboring states, formerly
abundant game animals grew
increasingly scarce, and competition
for them more intense. By the 1890s,
hunters and anglers were coming in
droves to the pristine Sandhills
grasslands. The region remained much
S
as it had always been because ranching
was infinitely more compatible
sustaining native wildlife than farming.
The port-of-entry for sportsmen going
to the lake country of eastern Cherry
County was the village of Wood Lake.
To put the timing of this influx of
sportsmen in perspective, consider that
in 1880 the U.S. Department of the
Army established Fort Niobrara in
northeastern Cherry County because
Like most Sandhills towns, Wood Lake’s population peaked about 1920 when free government land was nearly all gone.
Sioux Indians on the Spotted Tail
Agency (later called the Rosebud
Agency) seemed on the verge of revolt
in response to the invasion of the Black
Hills by gold seekers. Cherry County
was not formally organized until
March 1883. Only seven years earlier,
the Sioux had cut down Custer’s troops
at the Little Bighorn.
Blink at 65 miles an hour while
driving U.S. Highway 20 between
Ainsworth and Valentine and you will
likely miss Wood Lake. The once
thriving town is down to 63 residents
Being the closest town to the
sportsman’s Mecca was a mixed
blessing – good for local businesses but
often a nusiance for ranchers who hosted
sportsmen whether they were invited or
not. The Stockman, September 30, 1927.
12 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
according to the 2010 census. There is
a good café on the highway and a post
office. A hundred years ago Wood
Lake’s streets were filled with cattle,
cattlemen, and hunters and anglers
from eastern Nebraska and larger cities
such as Des Moines, Chicago and New
York. At its peak in the 1920s, Wood
Lake had three banks, two or more livery
barns, lumber and hardware stores,
cafés, four general mercantile stores,
a meat market, shoe repair, pool halls
where “all kinds of Temperance
Drinks” were available during
Prohibition, saloons before and after
Prohibition, churches, an automobile
dealer, blacksmith shop, hotel and
more. The decline of Wood Lake is
more complex than the withering of
small towns across Nebraska during the
last five decades. It was tied to the
nature of the Sandhills landscape.
The Chicago & North Western
Railroad reached eastern Cherry
County in 1882. Because the deep
Niobrara Valley southeast of Valentine
needed to be bridged, construction
paused. The railroad built a section
house near a small lake and stores
sprouted to provide for railroad workers,
freighters hauling goods from the
railhead to Fort Niobrara to the
northwest, and settlers moving west to
claim land. Thus Wood Lake was born.
Until highways penetrated the interior
of the Sandhills in the 1940s and
1950s, Wood Lake was the biggest
cattle shipping point in Cherry County,
at one time the largest on the North
Western line. And it was the preferred
shopping town for ranchers living as
far as 50 miles back in the hills.
A topographic map reveals why
Wood Lake was ideally situated for
shipping cattle out of eastern Cherry
County. Towering, grass-capped sand
dunes are oriented roughly northwest to
southeast in the Sandhills region, one
after another and separated by broad
valleys. The shortest and easiest route
to drive cattle to a railhead was through
Wood Lake is located 25 miles southeast
of Valentine on U.S. Highway 20.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 13
west one-half of Dewey Lake,” Omaha
World-Herald outdoor writer Sandy
Griswold wrote in 1915. “If the Dewey
Lake Club carries out the plans it now
has in its mind’s eye, it will certainly
be a peer among peers. Planned
improvements included commodious
and up-to-date club houses, boat houses,
garages and all modern accessories.”
Within a year of its establishment,
the Dewey Lake Club had grown to
25 members. By 1920 it held deed to
about 2,200 acres, and leased the
exclusive hunting and fishing rights on
an additional 15,000 acres. Though
ownership or lease, the Dewey Lake
Club had access to ten lakes and
controlled the entire shoreline of
several others.
Similarly, the Red Deer Hunting Club,
composed of Lincoln businessmen,
established on Red Deer Lake in 1905;
and the Elkhorn Hunting Club,
composed of Council Bluffs men,
bought land on South Marsh Lake in
1917. Some wealthy sportsmen, such
as the Woods brothers of Lincoln,
purchased and operated working ranches
but used grouse and duck hunting to
entertain guests who could advance
their other business ventures. Brandeis
eventually left the Hackberry Club and
purchased a large ranch to the west.
But not all hunting clubs were
composed of well-to-do eastern
hunters. There were clubs comprised of
sportsmen from smaller towns such as
Valentine, Wood Lake, Long Pine,
Clearwater, Seneca, Litchfield, Mason
City and Fremont. In addition, local
families operated hunting and fishing
resorts with cabins, boats, meals and
supplies. Charles Auhl had resorts on
Dads and Pelican lakes; and there was
the Ballard resort on the west end of
Dads Lake, the Peterson Club on
Hackberry Lake, Daniel’s and
Wendler’s resorts on Rat and Beaver
lakes, the Marsh Lake Fishing and
Hunting Resort on North Marsh Lake,
the Treptow Hunting Lodge north of
Brownlee and others.
Ice fishing had become popular by
the 1920s, making the lakes of eastern
Cherry County not just a destination
for sportsmen from ice-out to freeze-
up, but year-round. In its January 22,
1926 edition, The Stockman reported
fishermen were “parked promiscuously
about on the ice off Dewey Lake. Some
of the ‘nimrods’ seated themselves on
the running board of their jitney while
others paced about wating for a hungry
perch to strike.”
“There is but little doubt, I will say
in answer to innumerable inquiries, but
one of the best countries in the world
for feathered game, and for fish, of all
kinds, is that lying adjacent to the
Elkhorn road [Chicago & North
Western Railroad] traversing the state
northwestward,” Sandy Griswold wrote
in the August 12, 1894 edition of the
Omaha Daily Bee. “In many of the
localities chicken, quail, plover, geese,
ducks, yellow legs, crane and the sand
piper family, as well as many varieties
of fish, can be found in a single day’s
hunt. The season for chicken shooting
is now drawing near and all the country
between Norfolk and Chadron is
overrun with these royal birds.... At
almost any of the stations good chicken
Construction of what would be U.S. Highway 83 south from Valentine (the solid blue line) ground to a halt during World War II.
those valleys east to Wood Lake. Even
though Valentine was a larger town,
even in the early-1900s, driving cattle
north meant crossing dune ridge after
dune ridge, as well as the Niobrara.
Sportsmen followed the same valleys
to the lake country of eastern Cherry
County. Hunters and anglers coming
from the south, from North Platte,
usually went no farther than needed
to find fowl or fish, and that was
Diamond Bar Lake in southwestern
McPherson County. Anglers from
Thedford, Seneca and other towns
along the Burlington Northern rail line
that sliced diagonally across the Sandhills
went no deeper into Cherry County
than Rat and Beaver lakes south of
where the Valentine National Wildlife
Refuge is located today. But sportsmen
from the east jumped off at Wood Lake.
“The principal waterfowl breeding
ground in Nebraska is the sandhill
14 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
region with its numerous lakes,” wrote
Harry Oberholser and W.L. McAtee,
researchers who studied waterfowl and
plants used by waterfowl in the Sandhills
in 1915. “This area has long been
famous as a resort for water birds when
migrating; consequently, it has offered
great inducements as a hunting ground
and has attracted thousands of hunters
from all parts of the country, some
coming from points as far distant as
New York and San Francisco. … In
the central eastern portion of Cherry
County lies a group of about 65 lakes
covering an area about 35 miles square.
Visiting sportsmen have built clubhouses
on many of the lakes for their
convenience when hunting.”
From 1900 until the mid-1930s,
the number of hunting clubs in the
Sandhills region numbered at least 20,
more if loosely organized groups of
hunters are counted, hunters who might
have lodged in a rancher’s calving
shack near a lake. Nearly all were in
eastern Cherry County. One of the best
known clubs was located on the north
side of Hackberry Lake where the
Valentine refuge headquarters are
today – the Hackberry Club
incorporated in 1914. By 1919 it
controlled 1,500 acres of land by deed,
encompassing the western half of
Hackberry Lake and the eastern half of
Watts Lake. Two successful Omaha
businessmen were at the core of the
Hackberry Club – George Brandeis,
president of J.L. Brandeis & Sons
Department Store, and Nelson B.
Updike, president of Updike Grain
Corporation.
Perhaps the largest and most elaborate
hunting club in the region, though,
was the Dewey Lake Club, principally
composed of hunters from Omaha.
“The club organized a little over a year
ago with sixteen stockholders and 380
acres of land by purchase, taking in the
Before the coming of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, every large lake had private hunting-fishing clubhouses and resorts.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 15
and in 1930 land encompassing Willow
Lake and Ballards Marsh, all in eastern
Cherry County.
Several lumber and hardware stores in Wood Lake competed for the sportsman’s
dollars, but none quite so successfully as the O’Halloran Lumber Company. It
sponsored an annual big fish contest. The Stockman, September 13, 1929.
shooting, coupled with first-class
accommodations, can be obtained,
and in numerous localities plover and
wild fowl are always to be found in
abundance in season. ... The best
accommodations can be had at many
of the ranches and farmhouses where
parties do not care to camp out. Many
of the Elkhorn’s agents are the best
posted as to game and are always ready
to introduce sportsmen to reliable
persons who will give the necessary
information and assistance to insure the
best of sport.”
Nor did the desirability of eastern
Cherry County’s lakes escape the
attention of the state game and fish
16 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
department. Not long after the
Nebraska Game and Fish Commission
was organized in 1901, officials began
pushing to set aside some of the larger
lakes in eastern Cherry County for
public use. W.J. O’Brien, Deputy Fish
Commissioner, made an impassioned
plea in the Commission’s Biennial
Report for the Two Years Ending
December 31, 1912. To fund the
purchases, he asked that money derived
from the sale of hunting and fishing
licenses be used to support Commission
activities, rather than going into the
state school fund. In 1925, the
Commission purchased land on the
north side of Rat and Beaver lakes,
It was inevitable the lakes of eastern
Cherry County would become the
premier destination for sportsmen, and
the village of Wood Lake was not only
at their doorstep, it was the stepping
stone to reach them.
Under the headline “Wood Lake Has
Many Visitors,” The Stockman reported
in its September 23, 1927 edition:
“Wednesday and Thursday we could
almost truthfully say that the east was
moving west. Friday was the opening
of the duck season which was the cause
for the amount of cars which passed
through our village on their way to the
lakes in pursuit of the native duck. As
high as six and ten foreign cars were in
our streets all the time loading supplies,
inquiring the road and asking for other
information. The season opened well
and was well celebrated by the number
of explosions throughout the country.”
Ranchers were the principal customers
for Wood Lake business, but the
sportsmen traffic was a profitable
sideline. Most businesses benefitted
from both, even the undertaker who, as
proprietor of the G.W. O’Halloran
Lumber Company, sold coffins and
provided for the departed on the second
floor of his building; while on the first
floor he sold hardware and household
goods, ranch supplies and sporting
equipment. Lausen and McDaniel,
another Wood Lake lumber and
hardware business, competed with
O’Halloran. A September 25, 1925
advertisement in The Stockman
claimed Lausen and McDaniel was:
“Headquarters for Guns and
Ammunition” and “Sporting Goods of
All Kinds.” Of the two stores, though,
O’Halloran went the extra mile to draw
the sportsman’s trade. During the
mid-1920s, for example, O’Halloran
sponsored an annual big fish contest.
Also among the Wood Lake business
profiting from the sportsman’s trade
were the freight, livery and dray
services. Through the second decade
of the 1900s, two such businesses –
Howe & Montagne and H.A. Lyons –
The Lake View Hotel and its cafe, located south of the railroad tracks opposite the depot, was open for business night and day
to accommodate travelers arriving by train at odd hours. It housed sportsmen, ranchers and traveling salesmen.
ran display ads in the local newspaper
noting: “Special Attention to Hunting
and Fishing Parties.” As early as
September 1911, L.E. Brown was
advertising his “Auto Livery” that also
provided “Special Attention to Hunting
and Fishing Parties.”
One name reappears again and again
during the early-1900s as seeing to the
needs of hunters and anglers – Ulysses
Grant Welker. In 1901 he established
Welker Livery Barn and Service at
Wood Lake. As a sideline, Welker
transported and guided hunters and
fishermen. If you were a party of hunters
from Omaha planning and setting up a
tent camp on Ballards Marsh to hunt
ducks, Welker was the man who would
freight you and your gear from Wood
Lake, even if it required two or three
four-horse teams pulling freight wagons.
When the Red Deer Hunting Club
ordered new Mullin’s duck boats and had
them shipped directly from the factory
to Wood Lake, it was Welker who
freighted them to the lodge, and Welker
who freighted coal and other supplies
to many of the lodges and resorts. In
addition to the freighting business, he
owned the eastern half of Dewey Lake,
where he operated his own resort.
Welker was also a middleman in land
transactions for men like George
Brandeis who wanted to buy hunting
grounds in eastern Cherry County.
The Lake View Hotel, located
immediately south of the depot
(where the county yards are today),
accommodated not only traveling
salesmen and ranchers staying in town
overnight, but sportsmen coming and
going. There were two westbound and
two eastbound passenger trains daily in
the 1920s; and occasionally passenger
Roads were so poor most sportsmen took the Chicago & North Western to Wood Lake.
In the 1920s, there were two eastbound and two westbound passenger trains daily.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 17
cars were added to freight trains if
needed. Because of the sometimes late
hours when trains arrived or departed,
guests could check into the Lake View
night or day, and travelers could get
lunches at all hours in its café.
“There is one other old timer who
must not, nor shall not, be overlooked,”
Sandy Griswold wrote in the January 1,
1925 edition of the Omaha World-
and those who provided for them,
seemed to frequently cross paths on the
streets of Wood Lake.
In addition to the trade that sportsmen
spread on Wood Lake businesses, all of
the resorts and clubs employed local
people to cook and generally look after
things. And it was not unusual for clubs
and resorts to host parties and dances.
The Stockman of February 3, 1928, for
example, noted: “A number of Wood
Lake young people attended the dance
at the Peterson Club on Hackberry
Lake Saturday.”
traveling between towns and the lake
country. There was great interest in a
major north-south highway through the
interior of the Sandhills region. Both
Ainsworth and Valentine were competing
to be on the north end of it. As a result,
apparently, Ainsworth did everything
possible to discourage travel westward
on what today is U.S. Highway 20 to
Valentine, including directing sportsmen
to the lake country of eastern Cherry
County on routes bypassing Wood Lake.
It was rumored Ainsworth businessmen
were telling hunters and anglers to take
shortcuts via roads south of town.
Travelers were reported lost, sometimes
eight or nine miles from the road that
would take them west to the lakes.
The Stockman editor addressed this
rumor in its July 20, 1928 edition:
“They all say that business men of
Ainsworth directed them to go that
way, because of a shorter distance.
When they discover that roads are
graded from Wood Lake to the lakes
they believe that Ainsworth has it in for
them and wishes to get them lost. Most
all of them return through Wood Lake.
It does not seem to me that people
could be so narrow as to give a stranger
a ride over such roads, because they
might not be able to sell them the last
pint of gas or the last pound of butter
or maybe a five cent [fishing] hook.”
Ainsworth denied the rumor, and within
a few days sent a delegation to meet
with the Wood Lake Community Club
to convince them of its fallacy.
The sportsmen traffic figured into
demands for better roads, better
maintenance of existing roads and
fewer gates on heavily used interior
roads in the 1920s. By 1928, there was
a call for the state to assume building
and maintaining a better roadway
between Wood Lake and Valentine. At
the time there was a poorly maintained
route known as the Blue Pole Highway,
so called as blue stripes were painted
on posts and poles every so often so
drivers unfamiliar with the route would
not be lost. Everyone, it seems, was
buying an automobile during the 1920s.
An amusing sidelight to the great
road debate of the late-1920s definitely
revolved around auto-bound sportsmen
Wood Lake began to lose its advantage
as the gateway to the lake country of
eastern Cherry County in the 1930s.
The first blow was the drought of that
decade. While Cherry County fared
better than most Nebraska counties, its
precipitation approaching normal most
years, the lakes withered, fish died and
fisherman and waterfowl hunters no
longer came in droves. Travel was
expensive and few people could afford
to unless it was a necessity. Then, in
1935, the Valentine National Wildlife
Refuge was established, encompassing
almost all of the best lakes for duck
hunting and fishing. Resorts and private
hunting-fishing clubs vanished. Tens of
thousands of acres of uplands were
Several Wood Lake livery stables catered to the needs of hunters and anglers, renting
wagons and teams, delivering them to local resorts or ranches, or freighting all
required to set up a tent camp. The Wood Lake Steamer, September 8, 1911.
Herald, “and that is Neal Provost, an
experienced ranch and cattle man, and
all round good sportsman, the original
caretaker of the Brandeis Club on
Hackberry and the proprietor of that
cozy old hunters’ hostelry, the Lake
View house at Wood Lake, and which
is presided over in a most generous and
charming manner by the very estimable
Mrs. Provost. It is a legendary old
tavern, with its mine of old tales of the
heavenly days of the past, and it is a
delight to even stop there for a day or
two en route to or from the archipelago
of wonderful lakes to the southwest,
some twenty or thirty miles.”
Provost, like Welker, was a man who
wore many hats. In addition to owning
the Lake View Hotel at one time and
being the caretaker for the Hackberry
Club, he ran his own hunting and
fishing resort on the Marsh lakes. Men
coming to the Sandhills to hunt or fish,
18 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Hunters in a wagon sold by Uck, Lausen & Company of Wood Lake. In addition to selling hardware, wagons and machinery,
they also offered a complete line of harnesses and saddles, household and kitchen furniture, lumber and fenceposts.
closed to grouse hunting. Several
refuge lakes were open to fishermen
once they recovered from the drought
and were restocked with game fish, but
the refuge would not be open to grouse
hunting until 1965, and three of its
lakes to waterfowl hunting until 1977.
But the real killer was improved
roads. Road construction accelerated
during the depression of the 1930s as
federal money became available to
states in “make-work projects.”
U.S. Highway 20 from Ainsworth to
Valentine was graded and oiled. A new
and better bridge, Bryan Bridge, was
completed over the Niobrara River
southeast of Valentine in 1932.
And, of course, there were politics
involved in road construction. Samuel
Roy McKelvie, the long-time editor of
Nebraska Farmer magazine, had served
as Nebraska’s governor for two terms,
1919-1923. In 1931, he bought a
3,000-acre ranch 15 miles south of
Valentine and named it the By-the-Way
Ranch after his Nebraska Farmer
column. It has been written that
McKelvie’s endorsement of a candidate
for governor, the candidate who won,
subsequently played a role in
construction of what is today
U.S. Highway 83 south out of
Valentine. The road was graded and
oiled prior to World War II to within
one mile of McKelvie’s ranch and then
stopped. When World War II broke out,
money, materials and manpower
essentially vanished for domestic
roadwork. What would be U.S.
Highway 83 had been completed to
about the middle of the Valentine
National Wildlife Refuge. Sportsmen
could, via Valentine, reach the lake
country entirely on improved and oiled
roads from the north; but yet in the late1950s, the road north out of Thedford was
graded and graveled for about eight or
ten miles and then devolved into a
web-work of interior trail roads north
to the Valentine refuge.
Cattle were already being trucked
during the 1930s, and by the mid-1940s
the days of driving herds of cattle out
of the Sandhills interior east through
valleys to Wood Lake to be shipped
were over. Stock trucks, called
“straight semis” at the time, could carry
30 or 35 head of yearling cattle and
began carrying livestock from ranch
to rail lines, and even to feeders in
northeastern Nebraska, Iowa and
Illinois. As highways improved, passenger
travel by rail was replaced by travel by
automobile. Chicago & North Western
passenger trains were discontinued in
1958, and the last freight train passed
through Wood Lake in 1992. Since the
1960s, Wood Lake has suffered the fate
of many small Nebraska towns – people
were willing to drive farther for lower
prices, fresher produce, bigger stores
offering larger selections and more
conveniences. Valentine and Ainsworth
prospered, small towns like Wood Lake
withered.
Editor’s Note: A full-length version
of this article, with more information
and historical quotes, can be found at:
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/
nebland/articles/articles hunting.asp.■
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 19
The Overlook
By Lisa Knopp
In her essay “The Overlook,” NEBRASKAland contributor Lisa Knopp takes a look at
some of the historical scenes that might have been viewed throughout history from
atop a Nebraska City bluff.
’d had a good, though hot, hike over the Meadow Trail
at the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive
Center near Nebraska City. I’d seen some of the same
flora and fauna that Lewis and Clark had seen when they
camped in the area in 1804: Monarch butterflies drifted
above the switchgrass, goldenrod and milkweed. Turkey
vultures drifted high overhead on an updraft. On the trail
was a wild turkey that had been torn to pieces. The tracks of
white-tailed deer were pressed into the trails.
After my meadow stroll, I followed the River Overlook
Trail through the woods to the edge of the cliff. I had long
I
admired this bluff above the Missouri whenever I passed it
on Highway 2. To commemorate the bicentennial of the
expedition of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery
in 2004, the National Park Service built an interpretive
center devoted to the Corps’ scientific discoveries atop the
bluff. A brilliant placement. Through an opening in the trees
190 feet above the river, I could see the chain of dark,
wrinkled loess hills in the far distance; between the hills and
the river a wide floodplain, and the fast, glinting river. On
the Iowa shore, three people fished. At the bottom of the
wooded bluff on which I stood were railroad tracks.
As I sat at the overlook and watched the river, I
imagined what a drastically different landscape I
would have seen from this vantage point in earlier
times. Assuming, of course, that it actually existed
in these time periods, from the overlook ...
... during the Pleistocene Epoch, approximately
2.5 million to 12,000 thousand years ago, I would
have seen the advance and retreat of the great
continental ice sheets. Later the river cut a valley
through gravels, sands and other debris that the
glaciers left behind.
... I could have observed how the landscape
evolved as the climate changed from humid
subtropical forests to savannas and open grasslands.
Mammoths, mastodons, ground sloth, musk ox,
camels and other exotic animals roamed the area;
nomadic, spear-hurling hunters followed. In the
eighteenth century, the Otoe, Siouan people from
the Great Lakes, arrived in skin boats. They lived in
earth lodges, grew corn near the river and hunted
bison on the prairie.
... I could have watched the Corps of Discovery
pass by in their keelboat and pirogues. On July 18,
1804, they camped south of Nebraska City; on July
19, they camped a few miles upstream in Fremont
County, Iowa. “This is the most open country I ever
beheld,” Clark wrote on the 18th. Today Clark
would find old cottonwoods instead of groves of
saplings on the floodplain, fields of corn and beans,
“bound less” highways, a cluster of truck stops and,
on the west bank of the Missouri, a town of about
7,200 people.
... a few years after the Corps passed by, I could
have watched northbound keelboats loaded with
20 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
beads, rifles, knives, sugar, alcohol, cloth, tools and other
supplies and trade goods. On the return trip, the barges bore
bales of beaver pelts, which hatters fashioned into soft,
durable top hats, then the rage. When the fashion trends
shifted from beaver to silk hats a decade later, the fur traders
shifted to different prey: bison, whose hides were cut into
lap or bed covers, as well as the hides and pelts of fox, otter
and mink.
... in the 1830s, I could have watched Nebraska Citians –
some frightened, some curious – gather to watch boats with
water-churning paddlewheels and tall, smoke-belching,
steam-spouting smokestacks. Soon steamboats were common,
welcome sights on the Missouri. Some carried as many as
500 passengers and several hundred tons of cargo.
Day, a holiday that encourages people to plant trees, whether
they are appropriate for the local ecosystem or not. In his
“Fruit Address” to the Nebraska State Historical Society that
year, Morton declared his goal as nothing short of making
Nebraska our nation’s “best-timbered state.” While that goal
was never achieved, Nebraska City is certainly one of the
state’s “best-timbered” towns.
... I could have watched packet boats bound for Nebraska
City. Once they docked, workers unloaded the crates and
barrels of food, whiskey, tools, guns and ammunition and
loaded them onto bull-wagons. The wagons headed west on
the Overland Trail or south on the Santa Fe Trail, carrying
supplies to emigrants and military forts. Nebraska City grew
... I could have watched John Boulware ferrying troops
and supplies between old Fort Kearney (originally
established near the Nebraska City overlook in 1847) and a
reservation on the Iowa shore. In the 1860s and 1870s, two
steamboats, the Capitola Butt and the Lizzy Campbell,
shuttled people, cattle and wagons between East Port, Iowa,
and Nebraska City.
... I could have watched federal officials, territorial officials
and the chiefs of the four affiliated bands of the Pawnee
come to Nebraska City in 1857 to put their signature or
X on the Treaty of Table Rock. One of the officials at the
Treaty of Table Rock was J. Sterling Morton. What most
people remember him for is that in 1872, he founded Arbor
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 21
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
to support the freighters with boarding houses, saloons, boot
shops, warehouses, wagon shops, whip-makers, blacksmiths
and foundries. By 1860, the population of this wild, western
town had grown to 1,922. By 1870, it had more than tripled
to 6,050. A Nebraska State Historical Society photograph
from 1860 shows a muddy street crowded with covered
wagons and a couple dozen long-horned oxen. About a
dozen men and boys stand before or lean against the brick
storefronts as they watch the commotion in the street.
... I could have watched slaves, slave owners and
abolitionists crossing the Missouri. Abolitionists guided
slaves from Missouri through Kansas and to the Mayhew
Cabin, a station on the Underground Railroad that was located
in Nebraska City. There they hid fugitives in the cabin and,
as legend has it, in underground tunnels and a cave near
Table Creek until they could be concealed in cargo and
ferried across the river after dark.
... I could have watched billowing smoke rise above the
trees. On May 12, 1860, a fire started in Coleman’s butcher
shop. Since it was a windy day during a dry spring, the fire
spread quickly along Sixth Street and Main (now Central
Avenue) to houses and 38 businesses, including the post
office, the U.S. Land Office, all of Otoe County’s offices, a
bank, two drugstores, a hotel, a dentist’s office, three
saloons, a bowling alley, a stable, a barber shop and two
boot shops. The following year, Nebraska City organized its
first volunteer firefighters. In the 1870s and 1880s, the firedamaged buildings on Main and Sixth Streets were replaced
with the two-story brick buildings that now line those streets.
... I could have watched the train stop in East Port, where
22 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
the J.S. Joy, a railroad transfer boat, waited. After crossing
the Missouri, the train was reassembled in Nebraska City,
the passengers re-boarded, and continued their journey. The
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) Railroad put the
Joy out of business when it built a steel trestle bridge over
the Missouri in 1888.
... I could have watched workers piece together more than
100 flatboats, upon which they built a plank road and a
pedestrian path, also in 1888. This floating link was 24.5 feet
wide; with the cribwork approach on either side, it was more
than 2000 feet long. The cable-operated, V-shaped mid-section,
the apex of which pointed downstream, could be opened to
provide passage for boats and barges. A Nebraska State
Historical Society photo of the newly opened bridge shows
the roadway and pedestrian paths with short, evenly spaced
posts on either side but no railings. The grand opening was a
festive occasion. Women in long white dresses stand near the
tollbooth on the Nebraska side; three men raise a flag; a
parade of horse-drawn buggies and pedestrians cross the
bridge from East Port. In 1891, the CB&Q laid planks beside
the tracks so people could drive over the railroad bridge in
wagons and buggies, though not at the same time as the
train. This bridge served until 1930 when the Waubonsie
truss bridge, built by the Kansas City Bridge Company,
opened to non-railroad traffic. Each “invention” – ferry,
pontoon bridge, transfer bridge, railroad bridge, truck and
auto bridge – brought the two shores closer together and
made the river more passable.
... I could have watched people break the prairie, cut the
riverine forests, and drain the wetlands. With each passing
decade, I could have watched the number of bison, wolves,
bald eagles, pallid sturgeons, river otters, false map turtles,
bobcats, terns, plovers, regal fritillaries, western fringed
prairie orchids, and other native species decline and the
number of house sparrows, pheasants, Asian carp, purple
loosestrife, Eurasian mussels, rusty crayfish, Russian olives,
Bradford pears, buckthorn, gypsy moths, bluegrass, brown
snails, Tree-of-Heaven and other non-native species increase.
And, with each passing decade, there were more and more
people.
... I could have watched as the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (the Corps) turned the once wild river, whose
forces of erosion and deposition and seasonal variations in
flow continuously reshaped the channel and floodplain,
into a relatively controlled and predictable river. A plaque
at the overlook explains that in 1927, the Corps began
dredging the Lower Missouri – that stretch of river
between Sioux City, Iowa, and St. Louis – to create a
channel that was six feet deep and 200 feet wide. In 1945,
the Corps expanded the channel so that it was 300 feet
wide and nine feet deep, in order to control flooding and
make the Missouri safe for barges. In spite of these
measures, the river rose far over its banks in 1952, 1967,
1978, 1993 and the record-breaking flood of 2011.
... I could have watched the construction of the four-lane
Nebraska City Bridge that opened in 1986 and the demolition
of the old Waubonsie Bridge. The Nebraska City Bridge
carries tourists to the Apple Jack Festival, an annual
celebration of the apple harvest in September, my favorite
small-town festival; to tour Morton’s grandiose Arbor Lodge
and arboretum and the unassuming Mayhew cabin; to hike
and explore the exhibits at the Missouri River Basin Lewis
and Clark Interpretive Center or to sit at the overlook and
watch time and the river. And the bridge carries people to
jobs and shopping and home again as well as those just
passing through.
I take a last look at the murky, brown river, the hills
beyond and several millennia of river-shaping and rivershaped history. I follow the Limestone Bluff Trail through
the woods and emerge north of the interpretive center. There
I see an emblematic scene: a row of burr oak saplings, a
native tree; an earth lodge, like those that the Otoe once
lived in; in the distance, massive grain elevators and the tall
bridge girders. Cars and trucks zing past on Highway 2.
Suddenly, my attention is pulled in close: a turkey hen
crosses the path about ten feet in front of me; several gangly
chicks follow. They are not alarmed by my presence. They
linger, foraging in the native and introduced plants near the
trail, and then disappear into the woods. ■
Lisa Knopp is an award-winning American
essayist and author of introspective short stories,
essays and creative nonfiction. She teaches
creative nonfiction at UN-O and has been
contributing to NEBRASKAland since 1992.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 23
Focus on Pheasants
By Doug Carroll
Photos by Jeff Kurrus and Doug Carroll
“A
fter spending time in this area, I find it very difficult to see why a resident
of Nebraska would ever leave the state in pursuit of ringnecks. What we
have to offer in southwest Nebraska, in the form of opportunity for pheasant
hunters, is second to none.
– Jerrod Burke, Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioner
”
Commissioners Jerrod Burke, left, and Lynn Berggren, second from left, discuss their options with other members of their group
while hunting a large grass field near Trenton last fall.
nce upon a time, it seemed
unlikely that a country kid in
Nebraska could throw a rock
out his back door without
hitting a pheasant. During
the heyday of the state’s pheasant
populations back in the 1940s and
1950s, diverse agricultural operations
O
24 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
were the norm across most of the state,
each one often consisting of small fields
of grain and hay crops interspersed
with pasture and idle ground. These
were great conditions for pheasants,
providing good nesting, brood-rearing,
escape and winter feeding habitats all
within close proximity to each other.
For many varied reasons, those days
are long gone and despite occasional
comebacks, such as the early days of
the Conservation Reserve Program back
in the mid-1980s, chances are we will
never again see the number of pheasants
that we had 50 years ago.
That’s not to say, however, that the
Efforts made in the Southwest Focus on Pheasants Area showed great
results last year, and indications are this year will be even better.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
has given up on this popular, tasty game
bird. In response to continued declines
in statewide pheasant numbers, the
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s
Board of Commissioners has directed
staff to develop projects and activities
to address this problem, with the
specific goal of delivering tangible
benefits to the greatest possible number
of pheasant hunters while maximizing
educational opportunities for landowners
and other stakeholders regarding the
habitat needs of pheasants.
Although Commission biologists
were confident that they could increase
pheasant populations on a localized
level, they realized that NGPC actions
alone will not be sufficient to reverse
regional or statewide pheasant declines.
While weather events and fluctuations
in the distribution and abundance of
predators have no doubt influenced this
downward trend in pheasant numbers
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 25
The variety of habitats and interspersion of small grain fields in southwestern Nebraska provides great habitat that meets all of a
pheasant’s year-round needs.
across the state, there is little doubt that
land use changes have had more impact
on pheasant populations than any other
set of factors.
What biologists decided they needed
to do was to channel much of their
efforts into one specific geographic
area to show (and learn) how tweaks to
modern farming practices (often through
incentives paid to landowners), as well
as better management of existing habitat,
could benefit both pheasants and
farmers. Thus was born the Southwest
Focus on Pheasant Initiative that started
in July of 2010.
A year and half later, some of the
early results of the Commission’s efforts
are in – and things are looking good.
Really good.
Eager to see how things were looking,
last December Commissioners Lynn
Berggren of Broken Bow and Jerrod
Burke of Curtis traveled down to the
Trenton area to hunt pheasants and visit
with area biologists and landowners.
After harvesting numerous birds and
seeing hundreds more, they headed
26 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
home suitably impressed:
“After spending time in this area,”
said Burke, “I find it very difficult to
see why a resident of Nebraska
would ever leave the state in pursuit
of ringnecks. What we have to offer
in southwest Nebraska, in the form of
opportunity for pheasant hunters, is
second to none.”
T.J. Walker, district wildlife manager
for the area, said Burke’s words may be
even more true this year.
“Last year was crazy, but I really
think there’s even more birds out there
this year. Things are looking really
good.”
The Southwest Focus on Pheasants
area, which includes northeast
Hitchcock, southeast Hayes and
northwest Red Willow counties, was
chosen largely because pheasant
populations have historically been strong
in southwest Nebraska, which has a
variety of habitats in close proximity to
each other and interspersed with a lot
of smaller grain fields. The area also has
a lot more nesting and brood–rearing
habitat than most of Nebraska.
“Interspersion of habitat is a huge
key,” said Walker. “You can tell in that
landscape down there that all of a
pheasant’s needs are being met –
nesting, brood-rearing and winter cover
is right next to each other.”
Biologists have been using a variety
of programs and incentives to further
improve the habitat in the focus area –
wheat farmers can receive extra money
if they leave their stubble higher and
don’t spray it, wheat and milo farmers
are paid to not till their stubble until the
following spring, and other programs
encourage landowners to enroll their
land into habitat programs or perform
habitat improvement projects.
Commission efforts also include
research projects in the area, such as a
nighttime banding project that has been
done this year and last (see sidebar on
pages 28-29) to help find out what kind
of habitat pheasants like to roost in,
how far they might travel, and what
kind of harvest success rate hunters are
having. A telemetry study involving
researchers from the University of
Nebraska Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit is also in the
works and will start next year. This
research will allow biologists to
determine how important each of the
interspersed habitat types are for nesting,
brood-rearing and winter cover.
“This will allow us to decide what
incentives to offer in other portions of
the state by figuring out which pieces of
the puzzle are missing and finding ways
to encourage landowners to help us put
the puzzle back together,” said Walker.
A big part of the program, of course,
involves increasing hunting opportunities
as well as bird numbers – what good
would more pheasants be if hunters
couldn’t get access to them? To that
end, special efforts have been made to
get area landowners entered into the
Commission’s Open Fields and Waters
and similar programs that give hunters
access to private land.
“The landowners of the area are
largely responsible for the pheasant
populations in the Hitchcock County
area,” said Walker, noting that many of
them have chosen to enroll land in
CRP, grow crops other than corn and
One of Burke’s Gordon setters leaps through the tall grass in search of pheasants.
soybeans, manage their rangelands
properly, and leave “odd pockets”
unfarmed and ungrazed.
“While many of these landowners
have made their agricultural decisions
based upon economic benefits, rather
than their effects on pheasants,” said
Walker, “most are buying into these
programs now and are proud of what’s
happening, as they should be. Some
have also realized the economic benefits
the program is providing to their local
businesses – one landowner saw license
plates from 14 different states in his
area during pheasant season last year.”
All in all, the future is looking bright
in this section of Big Red country.
Hopefully the success in this area can
be copied over to other parts of the
state in the years to come. ■
Logan Burke of Curtis prepares to take a shot as a rooster pheasant flushes nearby.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 27
Finding Needles After Dark
Text and Photos by Doug Carroll
N
ight blanketed the field of foxtail
and other weedy grasses that
formed a wide buffer between
an uncut milo field and a winding
creekbottom that worked its way east
across a section of southern Hitchcock
County farm ground.
The chilly late-October air was
relatively still for Nebraska, the seedladen foxtail heads barely swaying in a
light breeze. Above the foxtail little was
moving, save the occasional owl out on
a hunting foray. Things were a bit busier
at ground level, but not that much –
field mice and cottontails foraged for
food while trying not to become a meal
themselves.
Suddenly the night’s quiet darkness
was broken by a small glow and a low,
heavy beat off in the distance that
gradually became brighter and louder.
A pair of headlights appeared, pushing
their way through the tall grass. Bright
floodlights above the truck’s cab bathed
its path in additional light as a pair of
spotlight beams held by unseen hands
methodically swept back and forth
across the grass. Sitting on chairs
mounted to the front of the truck, just
outside the headlight beams, sat two
figures, each holding a “ginormous”
landing net, their eyes alert for
movement. An AC/DC song from the
1980s blared from the truck: “You,
shook me all night long … Yeah you,
shook me all night long…” What the
heck?
Such a scene played out many times
both last fall and again this year as
biologists and volunteers from the
Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission, Pheasants Forever and
various other cooperating entities
worked together on an important, albeit
unusual, project in the Southwest Focus
on Pheasants area: capturing and
banding rooster pheasants under the
cover of darkness. Now, before you
start equating this with finding a needle
in a haystack, know this: Last year 155
roosters were caught and banded over
13 nights of work, and as of mid-October
this year, almost 250 had been banded,
with the goal of 360 within reach before
the start of pheasant season.
So how are they doing it? Big nets,
fast feet and hands, bright lights, quick
eyes and loud music. Of course, it’s not
always AC/DC crashing through the
speakers – it’s actually a quite eclectic
mix of songs blaring across the weedy
fields.
Spotlighters and a pair of netters look for tell-tale movement in the grass ahead of the
truck as it slowly cruises roosting cover in southern Hitchcock County last year.
28 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Once the pheasant has been trapped by
the net, the workers have to carefully
untangle it without letting it escape.
Here’s how it works: Using GPS
navigational equipment, a five person
team runs transects back and forth
across suitable pheasant roosting areas
on public ground and private land they
have received permission to be on.
While the driver slowly moves across
the field, watching for potential
obstacles and keeping an eye on his
GPS equipment to make sure he’s not
covering the same ground more than
once, two spotters standing in the bed
of the truck sweep handheld spotlights
across the grass in front of the truck as
a pair of netters seated next to the
headlights ala Marlin Perkins/Jim
Fowler style also keep an eye out. (If
you’re too young to understand this
reference to the classic “Mutual of
Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” show, sorry –
you’ll just have to Google it.)
Somewhat disoriented by the noise/
light and unwilling to move in the dark
until the truck gets too close to their
particular roosting spot, pheasants
moving out ahead of the vehicle are
often betrayed by the movement of the
very grass stems they are trying to hide
in. Once that movement is noticed (windy
nights are obviously not conducive to
this project), the spotlighters jiggle their
beam across the escaping bird, alerting
the netters of its presence and trying to
confuse the bird long enough for the
netters to bail off the front of the truck
and rush in, their approach masked by
the bright lights and blaring music. Not
every grass movement results in a
captured rooster of course –
approximately every other caught bird is
a hen that is simply released, and even
at night pheasants can be amazing
escape artists, flushing before the netters
can get close or slipping underneath a
net held up by tough grass stems.
Occasionally the capture is made
before identification can be determined,
resulting in a very quick release if the
captive is black with a white stripe
running down its back.
Captured rooster pheasants are
brought back to the truck, where
information about the bird and the
habitat it was caught in is recorded: age
(juvenile or adult – aged by spur length
and plumage characteristics), GPS
location, habitat classification, wind,
Commission biologist Matt Steffl records a rooster’s
age and various information about its capture as it
is fitted with an aluminum identification band.
Andy Houser, a Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist based out of McCook,
releases a freshly banded pheasant near Trenton last year.
temperature, moisture
conditions, cloud cover, etc.
Within minutes of capture,
the birds are pulled out of
the landing net, fitted with
an aluminum leg band with
identification numbers and
released. The bands also
include a phone number for
hunters to call to report the
harvest. A typical banding
night begins at about 8:30
and continues to about
6:30 the next morning,
weather permitting.
The intent of the banding
project is to give biologists
an idea of the harvest and
success rate on both public
and private land in a given
area, as well as how much
hunting pressure it is receiving.
It also gives them some
information about how much or little
pheasants travel – most of the 31 birds
whose leg bands were returned last
year were harvested in the same field
where they were captured, although
one rooster was harvested two miles
from its banding location.
Other information the project has
revealed – and which hunters may be
very interested in knowing – is that
early in the season, before the weather
gets too bad, pheasants tend to roost in
sparser cover than biologists would
have guessed. They seem to like less
dense cover, which could be good
information to have when it comes
time to turn loose your hunting dogs on
opening morning.
So make sure you report any bands
you find on harvested pheasants this
fall – the information you supply just
might help put more birds in the bag in
future years. ■
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 29
On those pine-studded cliffs, bighorn sheep
graze upon grassy ledges and full-curled
rams clash in battle for the right to breed. In
the pines above, tight-fisted flocks of red
crossbills mob ponderosa pine to pry open
their cones and steal seeds.
Below in quiet corners, mountain
mahogany huddle around springs, their
feathered tendrils reaching to the sky while
Townsend’s solitaires, shy transients from
the boreal forest, call from gnarled junipers
in melancholy voice.
On blackened prairie, prescribed fire
reveals a summer’s worth of rodent highways
and a fall harvest of buffalo gourd. Then the
first snow falls and winter gently drops its
powder white veil on this special place here
in Nebraska’s western plains.
36 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Previous pages: In the Wildcat Hills, a bighorn
ram stands along the edge of the escarpment at
Cedar Canyon Wildlife Management Area.
Above left: A red crossbill leaps from its perch
in a ponderosa pine.
Above right: Bighorn rams and ewes rest on a
grassy ledge. In 2001, Cedar Canyon WMA
became the first bighorn sheep reintroduction
site in the Wildcat Hills.
Right: Canyon walls reflecting the first light of
dawn rise 600 to 800 feet above the surrounding
grassland. Overall, Cedar Canyon WMA protects
2,225 acres south of Gering.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 37
Above: A prescribed grassland burn in
late fall reveals buffalo gourd.
Left: The largest stands of mountain
mahogany (pictured) in Nebraska are
found in the Wildcat Hills.
Right: A bighorn ram contours a
canyon wall during a snowfall in early
December.
38 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
NOVEMBER
OCTOBER 2011
2008 • NEBRASKALAND 39
may never have seen
his record animal
had a customer not
called and told him
about it.
Mike Raymer and his record firearm
On their second
pronghorn: Gross – 87 / ; Net – 86 / ;
trip to the ranch,
Length of horn – Right 17 / , Left 16 / ;
Gibson, his son
Base – Right 7, Left 7; Prong –
Right 6, Left 6 / .
and the landowner
spotted the buck
feeding in a alfalfa pivot with four does. They dropped
Gibson off on the edge of the pivot, and he snuck from
one round bale to the next into range. “I got lucky,” he
said. “They were walking around the circle and when I
got to the last bale he was at 130 yards.”
Gibson’s record may not stand for long: his son
harvested one with his muzzleloader this year that
green scored higher.
By Eric Fowler
7
7
2
8
1
9
6
8
8
40 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
1
8
7
8
8
6
8
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
6
6
8
1
8
7
3
PHOTO COURTESY MARK DIDIER
Mason missed,
however, and his
gun jammed, costing
him another shot. After watching the deer walk into a cedar
forest behind their house, Mason called his parents and his
brother, Dillon. All dropped their chores and previous hunting
plans and headed back to the house, where they decided to try
something they’d had little success with before: a deer drive.
“It’s just a big cedar pocket,” Kevin said. “We never go back
there during the season unless we know something’s there or
it’s the last day of the season. Usually if we push it, it doesn’t
work – there are just so many fingers and it’s pretty thick.”
Kevin flushed the buck and four does from the thicket, but
had no idea how big it was when it offered him a shot at
150 yards. “You would think with that much horn you’d see
that easy, but this deer was running away from me,” he said.
At the shot, the mortally hit buck fell into a washout and
out of sight. Dillon found it first, and was simply stammering
“big” when his dad arrived.
As word of the buck spread, Petrzilka’s phone began ringing
off the hook with calls from long-lost friends and writers
from Nebraska newspapers and national magazines. He quit
returning calls after a while and soon found out what others
who have harvested record-book animals have learned: some
people think the only way to harvest such a trophy is to break
the law. Petrzilka endured accusations of trespassing,
spotlighting, running the deer down with his truck or dogs,
and even raising the deer in a pen for
four years after castrating it as a fawn
before shooting it.
Things have settled down, but could
pick up again when the deer is panel
scored at the B&C’s awards banquet in
2013, required for any potential top 10
entry in the club’s records. While the
original scorer and club officials
worked together to determine how to
score the buck, Spring said the panel
will have the final say on whether one
tine was scored as it should have been.
If they reverse the original decision, it
will change the buck’s score drastically.
No matter what happens, Kevin’s
deer will still be a trophy, the largest
next to the B&C buck Mason shot two
Donna, Kevin, Dillon and Mason Petrzilka in the pasture where Kevin harvested his
years ago. “We pass up a lot of bucks,”
state-record whitetail. Scoring highlights: Points - Right 9, Left 8; Gross - 219 / ; Net 202 / ;
Kevin said. “You’ve got to [if you want
Main beam - Right 26 / , Left 24 / ; Inside spread – 21 / ; Bases - Right 4 / , Left 5; G-2 to have trophy bucks].”
Right 12 / , Left 12 / .
here are more than 20 million whitetails in the
United States and lately hunters have been
harvesting around 2.6 million bucks annually. Yet
in records dating to 1830, only 7,653 whitetails harvested
throughout North America have met the minimum score of
160 inches to qualify for the typical whitetail category in the
Boone & Crockett Club’s (B&C) records program. Of those,
only 15 have scored 200 or greater, including one harvested
last November on a Saunders County farm that scored 2026/8.
“A quarter mile from the house, a 200-incher?” said Kevin
Petrzilka, owner of the farm and the seventh-largest whitetail
ever harvested. “Who would’ve ever thought?”
According to Justin Spring, head of B&C’s records program,
the last typical whitetail to score higher than Petrzilka’s was
harvested in 2003 in Saskatchewan, which is also home to the
current world record, a 2135/8-inch buck taken in 1993. You
have to go back to 1971 to find a U.S. typical buck bigger than
Petrzilka’s, which topped the previous Nebraska state record
of 1992/8 held by Vernon Verka of Morse Bluff since 1983.
Petrzilka harvested his deer on land that has been in his
family for generations. The area’s steep, hilly country –
laced by creeks, settled by Czech immigrants and known
locally as the Bohemian Alps – is full of deer. But no one in
the family had seen this one until the seventh day of last
year’s nine-day firearm season, when Kevin’s youngest
son, 17-year-old Mason, got a shot at it while sitting in a
ground blind overlooking a creekbottom.
Mark Didier and his record archery typical elk: Number of points
– Right 7, Left 6; Gross – 3622/8; Net – 3491/8; Length of main
beams – Right 532/8, Left 526/8; Inside spread – 453/8;
Circumference between first and second points – Right 75/8, Left
77/8; G-4 – Right 214/8, Left – 221/8.
evin Petrzilka’s record whitetail was the headline
act in a great 2010 for Nebraska big game
hunters, whose trophies set three other new
weapon-class marks in the Nebraska Big Game Trophy
Records program. Two of those records were pronghorns
– partly the result of regulations implemented in 2006
to increase the number of quality bucks in the state.
Four bucks scoring 85 inches or more have been
harvested in the past three years, matching the number
taken from 1953 to 2007. For more on the program, go
to OutdoorNebraska.org and search “Trophy.”
Pronghorn-Firearm, 866/8, Mike Raymer, Hay Springs
Pronghorn are notoriously hard to field score, and
Mike Raymer’s new firearm record was no exception.
Raymer had driven past the buck two or three times a
week while checking water in his stock tanks and kept
thinking the buck was just average. On the eve of the
rifle season, Raymer’s son, who had chased the buck
with his bow all season, convinced him to take one
more look. “The longer I looked at him, the bigger he
got,” he said. “I didn’t have any idea he was this good.”
Pronghorn-Muzzleloader, 852/8, Ken Gibson, Alliance
Ken Gibson gets a lot of pronghorn scouting done
while repairing center pivots in the Panhandle, but he
8
8
8
Elk-Archery, 3481/8, Mark Didier, Bridgeport
Until last year, only two hunters had entered archerykilled elk in Nebraska’s trophy records program, likely
due to hunters wanting to make the most out of a
once-in-a-lifetime permit and opting for rifles over
bows.
When Mark Didier drew his tag, he put topping the
archery record of 333 inches squarely in his sights. By
the time the season opened, he knew the whereabouts
of nearly every bull in the North Platte River valley near
his home. “I had 27 bulls named,” said Didier.
On opening morning, a bull eagerly responded to
Didier’s calls, but wouldn’t step out of the cornfield
to give him a shot. That evening, Didier spotted
the same bull and made an
aggressive approach, bugling as
he walked down a pivot road
toward the bull, and taking
cover in the edge of the
corn when the bull
stepped out at 48
yards. “The plan
worked to a ‘T,’” said
Didier.
Ken Gibson and his
record muzzleloader
pronghorn: Gross –
87; Net – 852/8; Length
of horn – Right 162/8,
Left 156/8; Base –
Right 71/8, Left 67/8;
Prong – Right 71/8, Left
65/8.
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 41
PHOTOS LEFT AND BELOW BY APRIL SCHENBECK
Saunders County
Whitetail a New Record
Sharing the Outdoors
“A moment later, a small flock of redheads banked off the surface of the water
without hesitation. Tom called ‘take ‘em’ to Garrett and Gavin.”
Text and photos by Doug Steinke
Tom Zimmer of Norfolk and his twin sons, Garrett and
Gavin, look over their collection of decoys during a trip up
to northern Nebraska to hunt waterfowl on the Missouri
River last fall.
very father who is a waterfowler wants to pass down
to his children his experience and knowledge of
waterfowling … or at least employ an extra pair of
hands to help with the decoy bags. Tom Zimmer of Norfolk,
and his two boys, Garrett and Gavin, have been sharing the
outdoors since the boys were able to walk. One of their true
passions is waterfowling on the Missouri River, the location
Tom’s father took him whenever he needed an extra body to
keep him company.
When Jeff Kurrus, associate editor of NEBRASKAland
called to see if I would accompany Tom and the boys on a
morning duck hunt in the Niobrara area to take photos, I
wondered whether the trip would produce enough birds to
make a story. I had just finished up a photo shoot in North
Dakota the preceding week, the week of the “Storm of the
Decade,” plus I knew from talking
to other waterfowling friends in the
Niobrara area that the hunting there
was growing more stagnate with
each passing morning. However,
what made this trip appealing was
that Nebraska Game and Parks
Commissioner Lynn Berggren and
myself would be following the
threesome in a boat of our own –
“boat paparazzi” if you will – as
part of a series on how easy it is
to duck hunt in Nebraska without
having a lot of equipment or leased
ground.
It was worth a go, so I grabbed
Commissioner Lynn Berggren
E
42 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
With sunrise fast approaching and flocks of ducks already flying overhead, the Zimmer family quickly and effeciently
sets out their decoy spread before tucking their boat into a nearby patch of cattails.
my camera equipment and chest waders and I was off to the
rendezvous point the next morning in the town of Niobrara
in northern Nebraska.
As we traveled across Chief Standing Bear Memorial
Bridge, shivers traveled down my spine. This was it … the
“Mighty MO.” There is no messing around with this river.
Growing up in central Nebraska in the 1970s and ’80s, I’d
heard stories of this famed waterfowling mecca while in
Don Dealey’s barber shop … a renowned hangout for the
old, wise waterfowlers in Holdrege (though it seemed these
guys never actually went waterfowling … they just liked to
talk about it a lot). “River rats” was the term they’d use to
describe river hunters, usually with almost the same disgust
reserved for talking about a real rat. From their stories I
formed a mental image of grizzled, bearded old guys with
barely anything to their name except a box of papered
Winchester shells, model 12s, boats made of scrap wood and
paper plates used to decoy the many snow geese that traveled
up and down the Missouri River system. “That big river can
chew a man and his boat to bits if he’s not careful,” they’d
say. While I’m sure there was probably one individual
waterfowler that matched my mental image, I have hunted
the river system many times since my clouded youth, and I
have yet to see anyone that matches the description of the
men in my dreams.
We met up with the Zimmers at the Springfield, South
Dakota boat dock just across the river (no grizzled beard,
no scrap wood boat – we were in good shape). There wasn’t
a bit of breeze or even a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful
day to be on the river for most people, but it was not the
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 43
best of conditions for duck hunting. We all said our, “Hey,
how are ya’s” and headed across the glassed surface of the
river to our intended location.
As our boats dodged through many cattail-lined chutes,
we saw scattered flocks of redheads, greenwing teal and
mallards cruising above the river. We happened upon a
widened channel and both boats slowed. Like clockwork,
the three Zimmers began checking wind direction and
preparing the decoys for deployment. Tom maneuvered the
boat as both boys unwound the decoys and began tossing
them into the water. Shooting time had started and we could
already hear a barrage of gunfire downriver. We tucked the
boats into the cattails and got ready for the first flocks to
decoy.
It didn’t take long before a flock of greenwing teal and
Tom, Gavin and Garrett Zimmer pose next to their duck boat after a successful morning hunt on the “Might Mo.”
One of the best things about hunting the upper Missouri River is the variety of ducks you might encounter.
Garrett Zimmer graciously offers to share some of his donuts
during a lull in the action.
44 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Despite the clear blue skies, the Zimmer family was still able
to entice several flocks of ducks into their decoys.
shovelers committed to the decoys. After decoying three
groups, we had several nice birds in hand, including a couple
of drake greenwings that were in spectacular color. Then the
bird traffic subsided rather abruptly. Another hour went by
and we remained tucked into our blinds until the call of
“doughnuts?” brought us all to our feet. One of the Zimmer
boys shared his breakfast fare, and we chatted about the
events of the day so far. The conversation turned to Gavin
and Garrett’s experiences hunting with their dad, the fun
they have outdoors even when it involves getting up in the
dark to make their way out in the cold and wait for a bird or
beast that may not even make an appearance. We agreed that
the anticipation of the hunt is frequently the sweetest part.
Our conversation was interrupted when someone urgently
announced “DUCKS!” and we scurried back into our blinds.
A moment later a small flock of redheads banked off the
surface of the water without hesitation. Tom called “take
‘em” to Garrett and Gavin. One of the trophies from that
flock was an amazing drake redhead that impressed both
Zimmer boys.
Another dead stretch of time was soon upon us. Trying to
provoke the waterfowl gods into sending a few more birds
our way, we set about preparing a true hunter’s breakfast
and the smell of bacon and eggs filled the air. It was still
only mid-morning, but we all suspected this hunt was coming
to an end. After eating we gave it another hour and then
decided to pack it in, motoring around reeling in decoys,
talking about future hunts and swapping tales about glory
days in the duck blind. Tom and his sons agreed the hunting
was worth the trip that morning. ■
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 45
ATTRACTIONS/EVENTS
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.
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 is 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.
"BECOMING AN OUTDOORS-WOMAN" Cookbook.
150 pages containing a variety of recipes, including traditional home cooking along with Dutch oven and wild
game. $9.75 plus $2.50 shipping. Proceeds will help fund
future projects sponsored by BO-W. Call (402) 471-5482,
or go online to www.NebraskaBOW.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, Union NE, 68455. (402) 263-5081,
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
46 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Nebraska. www.duckdawg.com Ron Green, DVM and
Libby Milroy, North Platte, NE (308) 534-3659.
GUIDES/OUTFITTERS
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
pointing breeds. Dale-Kris Taylor (402) 787-2048
www.premiergundogs.com.
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.
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.
FLATWATER GUNDOGS: Field Champion lines,
English Cocker Spaniel pups. Excellent hunting companions. 308-381-6593 or Hartman@kdsi.net
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.
GET YOUR FISHING PERMIT online today! Don’t
wait until tomorrow to enjoy Nebraska’s great outdoors
by going fishing with the family. To purchase a permit
from the comfort of your own home, go online to
www.OutdoorNebraska.org and click on Purchase a
Permit under Licenses and Fees.
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.
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.
RENTALS
RENT MY 24' MALLARD CAMPER for hunting or
vacation. Pick up in Gibbon. Sleeps 6, reasonable rates.
Call (308) 233-1945 or e-mail tllee1957@yahoo.com.
TAXIDERMY
BRING YOUR TROPHY BACK TO LIFE. Award winning master taxidermist, 20+ years experience. Call
today: 402-470-3880 or go to www.netaxidermy.com.
VISA and MasterCard.
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. Call Mike Streeter at (402)
471-6134, or e-mail mike.streeter@nebraska.gov.
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.
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POACHING!
To report a aviolation, call the
toll-free hotline at
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NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 47
▲
This is a photo of my uncle, Gill Spies, right,
and his friend, Don Kern. As you can see, they
were quite the trappers. The photo was taken in
1950 as you can see by the sign that reads
“Dec 1950.” They are pictured with some of the
many mink and muskrats that they caught.
They had somewhere around 1,000 traps or
more. They covered a lot of territory and had
permission to enter every creek and ditch. My
cousin also went with them a lot.
– Richard Ruff, Fremont, Nebraska
▲
Picture taken in fall 1941.
My grandfather Charlie,
and my dad, Lauren
Schwedhelm in Bancroft.
Dad always had a duck blind
on Logan Creek. When I
was old enough I would help
build the blind and loved to
sit with Dad and Grandpa.
– Kay Schwedhelm,
Bancroft, Nebraska
▲ I started hunting in 1949 – the year I got married and
moved to Colorado. I enjoyed it and never quit after I came
back to Lincoln. I’ve hunted 61 straight years now and got a
deer every time except twice. I feel like that’s a very good
average.
I also have caught two Master Angler-size largemouth bass
– one weighed five pounds, the other was seven pounds, 12
ounces. I enjoy Nebraska hunting and fishing very much.
I’m sending you a picture of a mule deer I shot around
Gothenberg in 1975.
– Fred Hansel, Lincoln, Nebraska
▲ After going through some of my mother’s (Marguerite McNees Wohlers)
old photos, I found this picture taken at Lisco of her uncle, Ralph Golden;
Tom Belieu; her grandfather, Isaac Robbins; and her uncle, Bert Robbins, after
a successful goose hunt. Their wives may have hunted with them. Ralph
Golden ran a barber shop in Lisco for many years and also made decoys
he rented and sold. I believe the photo was taken sometime in the 1920s.
– Eldon Wohlers, Crawford, 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.
48 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Perspective
A look at some deer hunting changes that have occurred the last 46 years.
By Jon Farrar
o put in perspective just how
good deer hunting in
Nebraska is today, I took a
look back at my own deer
hunting history. I turned 16 in
1963, the minimum legal age back
then to apply for a deer permit.
Today it is 10. I killed my first deer
that year – a buck with the largest
antlers of any whitetail I have ever
shot. I shot it on a “deer drive” the
last weekend of the firearm season,
on the run at about 50 yards, with
30-30 Winchester 94 lever action
rifle borrowed from my brother.
For purposes of comparing how it
was back then with how it is today,
however, I’m going to use 1965, the
year I was graduated from high
school. The changes during the last
46 years are striking.
This canceled 1965 firearm deer permit belonged to my uncle, Ralph Schmidt of Monroe.
Archery deer hunting in Nebraska
was in its infancy in 1965 –
statewide, 2,618 permits were issued and 532 deer killed, for of six units where does could be shot any day during the
a success of 20.3 percent. Archers were issued 15,609 permits season. In other units, does were either not legal at all, or
could be taken only on the last day or two of the season.
in 2010, and each allowed a hunter to take two deer. In
Here is the point I wanted to make: In the 1960s, there
1965, the firearm season was nine days long – November 6
were way more hunters wanting deer permits than there
through November 14. Hunters in farm country eagerly
were permits issued in almost all of the management units.
watched to see how much of the corn would be out by the
In those days, permits were “...disposed of in an impartial
time the season opened, convinced the smart, big bucks hid
manner on a first come, first served basis.” That was an
in the corn until the hunting season was over. Back then,
advantage for hunters living close to the game commission
the corn harvest really wasn’t in full swing until earlyoffice as applications could be hand delivered, while it
November. Today there are deer seasons of one sort or
might be two days before applications arrived by mail
another open from September 15 through January 18,
from out-of-state. Some hunters in my hometown designated
45 days of firearm hunting, a muzzleloader season, and
someone to be the “permit runner” that would rise in the
corn harvest often starts in September and is mostly
dark, make the 1½ -hour drive to Lincoln and be standing
finished by early November. Statewide, 23,196 permit
in line at the game commission door waiting for it to open
holders reported killing 16,979 deer in 1965. In 2010, a
on the first day permit applications were accepted. In the
total of 141,572 deer permits were issued, and hunters
days after, talk on the street often began with: “Did you get
checked in 88,034 deer.
your permit?”
In the 1960s I lived and hunted in Platte County, which
Compare that to today when you can get on your
was in the Elkhorn management unit at the time, so I’ll use
computer at home at 10 p.m., buy a deer-hunting permit,
it as an example of how deer hunting has changed. There is
and be in your deer stand at sunrise the next morning
no way to compare the number of permits issued or deer
legally hunting. Today, hunters can obtain permits to kill
killed in the Elkhorn unit in the 1960s to recent years as
management boundaries have changed, but in 1965, 109 deer two bucks per year and an unlimited number of does. The
opportunity to hunt deer in Nebraska has never been better.
were killed by rifle hunters and nine by archers in Platte
County, compared to 881 deer in 2010 by rifle, muzzleloader Tree stands are no longer two two-by-fours nailed across the
crotch of a cottonwood and topped by two one-by-six boards;
and archery hunters. In the Elkhorn unit, 1,245 permits were
and camouflaged clothing is no longer just for Marines.
issued for the 1965 firearm season and 75 percent of the
Don’t even get me started on how much warmer and drier
hunters bagged their deer. Slightly over 41 percent of the
hunting clothing is today that it was in the 1960s. ■
deer killed were bucks. In 1965, the Elkhorn unit was one
T
NOVEMBER 2011 • NEBRASKALAND 49
T
his is a rare photo. Not because of the setting or timing but because of the people I was
hunting with. Working as a freelance photographer, I’ve had the opportunity to hunt and
fish with many great people and in many inspiring locations across the Central Plains and
Front Range. I’m usually a welcome visitor and those people will go out of their way to
accommodate my photo ideas – I’ll even feel my head growing a little larger after these
trips from repeated compliments. But when I’m back home in Nebraska hunting with my main
“blindmates,” things are totally different. With these guys, there are no “big head” opportunities.
Instead, they begin these trips with a warning: “You better leave that camera in the bag – you’re
shooting your gun today.”
These guys want no publicity, no unwarranted attention and no “wasted
time” setting up or posing for photos. All they usually want to do is hunt. In
earlier years they cooperated when asked to pose for photos or hold their fire
until I had my fill of camera shots. But after countless missed opportunities to
fill their limit of birds while I captured photos, most of these men have lost
their patience with me.
However, one morning during early teal season this year, in a basin marsh
north of Holdrege, we were running way ahead of schedule. Precisely at dawn
that early Friday morning the cloud formations were perfect and I called out to
David Hoferer, “I’ve got an idea – crouch by that mojo duck.” He sloshed over
and Cory Steinke stood behind me to help highlight David a little more with
his headlamp. When the camera shutter clicked, I had a shot I had been looking for nearly two
years. And was still able to use my gun that day.
Doug Steinke
October 4, 2011
50 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2011
Position: 119 (50 views)