Volume 96, Issue 8, 2018
October 2018
- Identifier:
- nela.2018_096_08
- Title:
- Volume 96, Issue 8, 2018
- Issue Name:
- October 2018
- Date Issued:
- 2018-10-01
- year:
- 2018
- month:
- October
- Season:
- Autumn
- PDF filename:
- NL_96.08_2018_Oct_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 096
- issue:
- 08
- number:
- 096.08
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
Publis hed by the Nebr a s k a Ga m e a nd Pa r k s C o m m is s ion si nc e 1926
NEBRASKAland
October 2018
A bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) tree with leaf at Indian Cave State Park in autumn.
Photo by Jon Farrar.
NebraskalandMagazine.com
$4.95
INSIDE
Trail Rides at Halsey ● Fall Color
The Nebraska Table – Autumn ● Raising Big Walleye
GoPro Hunt ● Goose Banding
NEBRASKAland Magazine
Volume 96
●
No. 8
No
●
October
b 2018
8
F EAT U R ES . . .
18 The Final Hurrah
B A S .P
E F
J
H
24 Time Well Spent – What to Do in October
Y MY EILER
HOTOS BY RIC OWLER AND USTIN
AAG
BY RENAE BLUM
Table – Part 3 – Autumn
26 TheB RNebraska
S
32 Calling Wildlife
S
P
J G
36 Ride to Support 4-H
S
P
J
N
-W
42 How to Raise Big Walleye
B C P
44 GoPro Hunt
Y YAN PARKS
TORY AND HOTOS BY ULIE
TORY AND HOTOS BY ENNY
EISER
GUYEN
HEATLEY
Y ARA ESEK
BY JAKE JADLOWSKI
18
●
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E ...
From Our Readers – Letters, Comments, Etc. .......... 4
Mixed Bag – Threatened and Endangered Species,
Travel to Sarpy County, Picking Corn, and more............... 6
Page 49 – Hunting and Gathering Ain't ...................... 51
Junior Journal – Fall Notes for Kids ........................ 55
In the Field – Banding Canada Geese ....................... 56
Portraits from the Past – Readers' Photos ............. 58
The Last Stop – Mule Deer Study............................ 62
42
●
44
●
O N TH E W EB . . .
To see additional NEBRASKAland content
including photos, videos and articles, visit
Magazine.OutdoorNebraska.gov/digital.
Cover: The process of Canada goose banding allows
researchers to monitor changes in survival, abundance and
movement. Story on page 56. Photo by Jeff Kurrus.
NEBRASKAland (VOL. 96 / NO. 8 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.
2 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
24
●
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 3
Instagram Featured Photo
Cory Loomis (@coryloomisphotography) of
Bloomfield, Nebraska, took this image of the
Milky Way over Niobrara State Park. Follow us
(@nebraskaland) and tag us in your photos
to be featured in an upcoming issue.
Visitor Letters
I always look through NEBRASKAland
when I first get it, and was surprised
to find both my favorite author and the
visitor on the same page, 53. The cicada
is in the early stages of development as
the wings were pretty well started as
they were just nibs, but show signs of
the wings to follow. The cicada is on the
upper right of the page.
Leo Turner
Lisco, Nebraska
Statement of ownership and monthly circulation of
NEBRASKAland Magazine
Owner and publisher: Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission
Editor: Jeff Kurrus
Headquarters of Publisher and Publication:
2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68503
Stockholders, Bondholders, Mortgage and
Security Holders: None
Average number of copies
of each issue during
preceding 12 months
Single issue
nearest to
filing date
A. Total Copies Printed
(net press run) ........................ 19,862 ........... 20,583
B. Paid Circulation
1. Mail subscriptions ............... 16,557 ........... 17,333
3. Single-copy sales ................. 2,110 ............. 2,110
C. Total Paid Circulation.............. 18,676 ........... 19,452
D. Free Distribution
by Mail ......................................... 244 ................ 244
D. Free Distribution
Outside the Mail .......................... 406 ................ 406
E. Total Free Distribution ................. 675 ................ 660
F. Total Distribution...................... 19,351 ........... 20,126
G. Copies Not Distributed ................ 511 ................ 457
H. Total ........................................ 19,862 ........... 20,583
I. Percent Paid and/or
Requested Circulation ................97% ............... 97%
Send your comments to:
Jeff Kurrus, Editor
NEBRASKAland Magazine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or e-mail Jeff.Kurrus@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address
and telephone number. Letters may be
condensed and edited. Photographs are also
welcome.
4 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
CONSERVATION OFFICERS
ADMINISTRATION (Lincoln)
Craig Stover (Administrator)
Duane Arp (Asst. Administrator)
Jeff Clauson (Asst. Administrator)
MAGAZINE STAFF
John Welsh of Ceresco shared this
picture of his Vizla, Lilly, while hiking near
their home.
John Schuerman of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, took this photo
of a fawn hiding in the grass
at Duane Smith's farm near
Nebraska City, Nebraska.
ADMINISTRATION
Director Jim Douglas
Deputy Director Tim McCoy
Commissioners
Chairman - Dick Bell, Omaha
Vice Chairman - Robert Allen, Eustis
2nd Vice Chairman - Dan Kreitman, Wahoo
Rick Brandt, Roca
Pat Berggren, Broken Bow
Jim Ernst, Columbus
Norris Marshall, Kearney
Doug Zingula, Sidney
Scott Cassels, Omaha
Any program that receives federal funding from the National Park
Service, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service prohibits unlawful
discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, marital
status, national origin, age, disability or political affiliation. Any person
who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program,
activity, facility, or service, should contact the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-0641, the Equal Opportunity
Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-2024, TTY/TDD 402-471-4693;
United States Fish Wildlife Service, Civil Rights Coordinator, 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; Director, Equal Opportunity
Program, U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street NW, Mail Code 0008, Washington, D.C. 20240-0001.
Communications Director Christy Firestone
Editor Jeff Kurrus
Art Director Tim Reigert
Associate Editor Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Regional Editors Eric Fowler, Julie Geiser,
Justin Haag
Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg
Regular Contributors Renae Blum,
Chris Helzer, Ryan Sparks, Gerry Steinauer
Photo Librarian Jaclyn Cruikshank Vogt
Circulation Donna Robinson
For address changes and questions about
your subscription, e-mail donna.robinson@
nebraska.gov or call 800-632-5263
Advertising Sales Manager
For advertising information contact
Shane G. Gilster, 402-742-0125
Email: shanegilster@gmail.com
NEBRASKAland Magazine Copyright 2018, all rights reserved.
NEBRASKAland is available in audio 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
CO
COM
C
OM
OMMIS
MIS
SSIO
S ON O
SI
OFFICES
FF
FFI
FICES
C S
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
Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium
21502 W. Highway 31 Gretna, NE 68028
Phone 402-332-3901
Omaha Office
8495 Frederick Street, Omaha, NE 68124
Phone 402-595-2144
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
NORTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Jim Zimmerman (District Supt.)
308-641-6138
Kelsey Glodowski
(Box Butte, S 1/2 Sheridan, Grant)
308-763-8226
Sean McKeehan
(Kimball, Banner, Scotts Bluff)
308-279-9133
Dan Kling (Sioux, Dawes)
308-430-0572
Kyler Prochaska
(E 1/2 Dawes, N 1/2 Sheridan, W 1/2 Cherry) 308-430-3984
Terry Brentzel (Deuel, Garden, Grant) 308-458-7650
402-389-0444
Frank Miller (Cherry, Hooker)
NORTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Tom Zimmer (District Supt.)
402-641-9590
402-760-0712
Dale Davis (Keya Paha, Brown, Rock)
402-340-3981
Jonathan Andreasen (Holt, Boyd)
402-719-6226
Kyle Gaston (Dodge, Colfax)
Greg Hesse
(Greeley, Wheeler, Boone, S 1/2 Antelope)
402-843-6567
Mitch Johnson (Knox, Antelope, Pierce) 402-613-8612
402-762-5022
Jeff Jones (Knox, Cedar)
Jon Reeves
(S 1/2 Thurston, Burt, Washington)
402-889-8508
Andrew Heyer (Pierce, Madison, Stanton) 402-613-2241
Cory Krause
(Cuming, Wayne, Stanton, Dodge)
402-380-6410
Steve Oberg
(Colfax, Platte, Madison, Stanton, Nance)
402-910-3366
Owen Johnson
(Dixon, Dakota, N 1/2 Thurston)
402-266-1759
308-730-7050
Doug Pollard (Loup, Garfield, Valley)
SOUTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Roger Thompson (District Supt.)
308-530-3097
308-202-0819
Matt Brandt (Sherman, Howard)
308-380-7331
Tim Williams (Hall, Hamilton, Merrick)
Pat George
(Harlan, Franklin, Phelps)
308-920-2762
Matt Andrews
(Gosper, Furnas, Frontier, Red Willow)
308-746-2418
Brian Piernicky
(Red Willow, Frontier, Hayes, Hitchcock)
308-340-6627
John Lee (Hitchcock, Dundy, Chase, Hayes) 308-414-1432
308-289-0427
Nicholas Fix (Keith, Perkins)
308-289-1169
Bryce Streger (Keith, Arthur)
308-760-0145
Sean Schultz (Keith)
Brandon O’Neal
(Lincoln, McPherson, Logan)
308-530-3157
Alex Hasenauer
(Lincoln, McPherson, Logan)
308-660-4671
Mike Thome (Dawson)
308-529-8146
Ray Dierking (Custer, Thomas, Blaine) 308-870-0322
Taylor Dixon
(Dawson, N 1/2 Gosper, N 1/2 Phelps)
308-217-2108
Eric Javins
(Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, Webster)
402-902-2017
SOUTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Levi Krause (District Supt.)
402-949-0593
402-619-1355
Rich Berggren (Douglas)
402-616-5961
Dan Evasco (Sarpy)
402-210-0888
Heath Packett (Cass)
402-209-1506
Russell Mort (Otoe, Johnson)
William Krause
(Nemaha, Richardson, Pawnee)
402-274-8063
Matt Taylor (Thayer, Fillmore, Jefferson) 402-200-9597
402-806-0915
Matt Seitz (Gage, Saline)
402-890-6463
Dina Barta (Lancaster)
402-937-3422
Dudley Sorensen (Lancaster, York)
402-613-2312
Travis Shepler (Lancaster)
402-314-9641
Trevor Stahlecker (Lancaster)
402-890-7140
Stacey Lewton (Lancaster, Seward)
402-443-6392
Mike Luben (Saunders, Butler, Polk)
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 5
Nebraska's
Threatened and
Endangered
Species
By Eric Fowler
now healthy and growing populations
in most rivers across the state thanks to a reintroduction
program that began in 1986. The otter would join the bald
eagle as the only species to be removed from the list.
Listing proposals drawn up by Commission staff have
been reviewed by species experts independent of the
Commission, and the public is now being asked to weigh
in at hearings in each of the eight Nebraska Game and
Parks Board of Commissioners districts across the state this
year and in 2019. Hearings have been held in Ogallala and
Valentine. The next will be at the Commission’s Oct. 26
meeting in Kearney. Following those meetings, a final public
hearing will be scheduled, at which time the Commission
will take action on the proposals.
For more information on the listing process and the
species for which changes are proposed and the listing
process, go to OutdoorNebraska.gov/ListingAction/. ■
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Work has begun to update Nebraska’s
list of threatened and endangered species,
and if approved as proposed, four smallbodied fish, one bird and one reptile would be
added to the list and one mammal removed.
Proposed as threatened - McCown’s longspur, timber
rattlesnake, flathead chub and plains minnow
Proposed as endangered - sicklefin chub and western
silvery minnow
Proposed for delisting - North American river otter
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission last updated
the state’s list of threatened and endangered species in 2000.
These 30 species have shown documented population and
range declines, most often from habitat loss, and are in the
greatest need for conservation. Listing under the Nebraska
Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act provides
protection for the species and allows plans to be developed to
prevent them from being extirpated from Nebraska.
River otters were common in Nebraska but extirpated by
1920 due to unregulated harvest and habitat loss. There are
NEBRASKAland
P H O T O
C O N T E S T
FOR COMPLETE CONTEST RULES AND ENTRY, GO TO...
Magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/photocontest
6 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 7
Travelogue
Travelogue Sponsor
Travel to Sarpy County
Sarpy County
By Erin Lenz, Nebraska Tourism Commission
F
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEBRASKA TOURISM COMMISSION
all in Nebraska is a grand sight
to behold. With colors of red,
orange and yellow everywhere
you look, pumpkin patches
nearby and seasonal food and
drink ready for you to taste, Sarpy
County is the perfect destination for
your fall vacation.
Explore
Discover beautiful fall colors
everywhere you look when you explore
one of the many parks, recreation areas
and nature trails Sarpy County has to
offer. Take a hike through nearly 2,000
acres of forest, prairie and wetlands at
Fontenelle Forest and don’t forget to
say hello to the rescued birds located in
the Raptor Woodland Refuge.
Also check out Schramm Park State
Recreation Area, a hidden gem perfect
for hikers, bikers and runners. Whether
you choose to hike its 1.5 mile loop
made for casual hikers or the 3 miles of
trails through wooded bluffs, both offer
stunning views of fall foliage this time
of year.
Other notable trails include Mopac
Trailhead and Nature Center, Lewis
and Clark Interpretive Trail and Walnut
Creek Lake/Recreation Area.
Do
Nothing says fall more than hayrack
rides, pumpkins and haunted houses.
Luckily, there are multiple destinations
in Sarpy County that offer these fall
experiences.
Get lost in a corn maze, take a
hayrack ride, snack on kettle corn
and visit the pie barn all at Vala’s
Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard.
Pick your perfect pumpkin at Vala’s
or at Bellevue Berry Farm & Pumpkin
Ranch where you can also taste their
famous BBQ, take haunted walks
through the woods and enjoy one of 30
private campfires.
Spend your nights getting scared at
Haunted Hollow, a haunted theme park,
or at the many haunted attractions at
Scary Acres.
8 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Vala's Pumpkin Patch & Apple Orchard offers entertainment for all ages.
Eat & Drink
There’s a craft beer for everyone
in Sarpy County. Head over to the
Nebraska Brewing Company’s brewery
and taproom for a tour or go to their
brewpub for a sit down meal and a pint
of their Cardinal Pale Ale. Try one of
Lucky Bucket Brewing Co.’s seasonal
lineups, Oktoberfest.
Started by a couple of home brewers,
Kros Strain Brewing Company has a
wide variety of brews, including Fairy
Nectar, an Indian Pale Ale with notes
of tropical goodness.
Not much of a beer drinker? Sip a
glass of wine and enjoy the vineyard
views at Soaring Wings Vineyard, or
take a tour of Cut Spike Distillery and
try one of their single malt whiskeys or
head to Patriarch Distillers for vodka
and bourbon.
No trip to Sarpy County is complete
without trying one of Stella’s world
famous hamburgers, voted Omaha’s
Best Burger seven years in a row.
While you’re there, take the Stellanator
challenge – a food challenge of epic
proportions.
Stay
With all that there is to do in this
area, you’re going to want to stay a
couple of days to see it all. Book a
room at one of the many hotel options
available including Candlewood Suites,
Comfort Suites, Courtyard by Marriott,
Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and
Suites, Holiday Inn and more.
If you’re looking for more unique
accommodations, check out the
glamping tents at Falconwood Park.
Not only will you get to camp in style,
but amenities like sand volleyball, fire
pits and badminton are available.
Shop
The holiday season is right around
the corner and it’s never too early to get
a jumpstart on your shopping. Whether
you’re treating yourself to the perfect
outfit or buying a gift for a loved one,
Sarpy County has you covered. Shop
for premier brands at outlet prices
at the Nebraska Crossing Outlets in
Gretna. Nike, Kate Spade, Columbia
and Fossil are among the wide variety
of brands to shop for at this mall.
Trying to find something for the
outdoorsy person in your life? La Vista
is also home to a Cabela’s where all
of your hunting, fishing and camping
needs will be met. ■
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 9
Downsized Decoy
Spreads
A Brief History
What It Really Means to
Be a Cornhusker
By Patricia C. Gaster, History
Nebraska (Nebraska State
Historical Society)
N
ebraska farmers used to pickk corn
coorrn
rn
by hand after a fall frost when
enn
the corn was ripe and dry enough.
ugh
ghh.
gh.
Even in territorial days, devices were
weeree
on the market to lighten the labor and reduce
ducce the
tthhe
discomfort of cracked and bleeding hands.
Probably the first device in general use in Nebraska
brasska
ka was
was
ece
the husking peg. This originally was a small, round piece
of hardwood, about six inches in length and sharpened at
one end. It was held in the hollow of the right hand, and
a loop of buckskin or soft leather was attached to the peg
and passed over the middle finger to hold it in place. The
sharpened end of the peg was thrust through the husks at
the tip end of the ear, enabling the operator to husk the ear
quickly and easily.
The next great development, at least in Nebraska, was the
invention in the early 1890s of the corn husker by William
F. Lillie (1852-1921) of Rockford in Gage County. Lillie
originally developed the device to help his father-in-law,
Harvesting with a McCormick-Deering 15-30 tractor
(manufactured 1923-29) and a one-row corn picker. Ads claimed
the picker “increases your husking capacity six to ten times”
over manual husking. History Nebraska RG3358-12s
perfected his device “after much thought, labor and expense.
A poor man, he attempted to manufacture them and create a
market under great difficulties. He succeeded in every way
except financially. A grateful posterity will see that he is
given the credit he deserves.” According to historian James
C. Olson, the Lillie corn husker was still being used in
Nebraska as late as the 1920s.
That was the decade when mechanical corn harvesters
began coming into general use. It was this machine that
transformed the whole process of picking corn, making
Lillie’s device obsolete. ■
By Jarrod Spilger
Several years ago, I purchased a half-dozen goose decoys
at a local sporting goods store’s clearance sale. These were
no ordinary decoys, though, but rather the oversized shells
waterfowlers used to refer to as “747s.” I’ve since utilized
my “Super Six” to lure in numerous Canada geese.
Many of the fields I hunt can only be accessed by foot,
making a trailer full of decoys unnecessary and a large
spread impossible. Instead, I pack in the Super Six and rely
on their oversized stature, along with calling, to grab the
attention of passing honkers. It doesn’t always work, but it
works often enough.
A small spread is effective because it’s something
different. As the season progresses, Canada geese get
suspicious of huge spreads of a hundred decoys or more.
However, a small spread of, say, six to 18 decoys looks like
a small flock that’s just landed in a field to feed.
If using less than 12 decoys, they should be slightly
oversized so they get noticed. When using 12 to 18 decoys,
they can be standard sized or slightly smaller for the sake of
mobility.
While my 747s are effective, they’re bulky. This season
I’m trying a dozen of Greenhead Gear’s hybrid 3-D
silhouettes. They aren’t completely flat like a traditional
silhouette, plus they have flocked heads and motion stakes
that store in the decoy body for easy transport. Best of all,
same ad?
they’re compact and lightweight.
Try downsizing your spread this season. It may be just the
ticket for fooling wary, decoy-wise geese. ■
A Lillie corn husker in the Nebraska History Museum
collections. History Nebraska 1581-1
10 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
PHOTO BY JARROD SPILGER
who had lost his right thumb, to husk corn. It worked so
well that the inventor decided to apply for a patent and put it
on the market.
Worn on the right hand, the point was used to penetrate
the husk top, making it easier to remove the complete husk.
A leather pad protected the palm of the user’s hand. The
Prairie Farmer said on Oct. 24, 1896: “The Lillie Corn
husker has been in successful use for the past three years
and wherever it has been introduced, it has effectually
supplanted every other kind of corn husker where husking is
done by hand.”
Buffalo County historian Samuel Bassett noted that Lillie
W. F. Lillie demonstrating the use of his corn husker. History
Nebraska RG2411-3234
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 11
12 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 13
Hunting Prairie Grouse
By Julie Geiser
Knowing where to find prairie grouse takes experience,
keen observation skills and learning what the birds need
during the early and late hunting seasons. Much of the
prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse range lies in the
Sandhills, which can mean walking up and down hills
hoping to find birds.
To avoid hours of walking, look for shin- to knee-high
grasses and forbs (broad-leaved weeds) that birds use for
cover from predators and weather and for food. Birds feed
early in the morning and mid-to-late afternoon; doing some
PHOTO BY JULIE GEISER
14 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
preseason scouting to locate food sources will acclimate
hunters to an area and get them into shape.
Early in the season, birds will feed on insects such as
grasshoppers and crickets along with wild plums, chokecherries and grain crops. Later in the season, look for rose hips,
poison ivy fruit, grain crops and dried seed forbs. On colder
days, birds will warm themselves on southern-facing hillsides, and early in the hunting season, so will insects.
Mid-day, grouse can be found loafing along the higher
hill ridges. On warm days, birds will loaf under wild plum,
chokecherry and poison ivy shrubs to keep cool or they’ll sit
where there is a breeze out of the sun. On cold winter days,
birds will warm in the sun and out of heavy winds, many
times just below a hilltop or pockets where there is sunlight
and little wind.
Wind can be useful; walk directly into the wind to
approach birds, especially when using a dog so it can pick
up the bird’s scent. On very windy days, birds will sit tighter
and will fly into the wind, giving shooters a brief shot.
Also, record your hunting conditions on each trip. Mark
good habitat locations with GPS so you can find them again.
Study where you down a bird, look at the food and cover
sources, and make note the time of day and year, weather
conditions and contents of the bird's crop.
Putting all this together will help a hunter beat the odds
and bag more birds. ■
DIY Rod Cases
by Jerry Kane
Contact the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission at 402-471-0641 or
visit OutdoorNebraska.org for more
information.
Visit HuntSafeNebraska.org for a
list of hunter education classes and
BoatSafeNebraska.org for a list of
boating safety classes.
October 1
Prairie Blacksmith Convention Fort
Atkinson State Historical Park (SHP),
Fort Calhoun
October 1-31
Paddlefish Snagging season in
specific area of Missouri River
October 2
Waterfowl Hunting Workshop
Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor
Education Center, Lincoln
October 13, 20
Hallowfest Ponca SP, Ponca
October 13, 20, 27
Halloween Campsite Decorating
Contest Indian Cave SP, Shubert
October 13-28
Firearm Antelope Hunting season in
specific units
October 15
Crow Hunting season opens statewide
October 20
Jack-O-Lantern Junk and Craft
Market, Trick or Treat by the Buses,
Pink Pumpkin Walk Indian Cave SP,
October 27-28
DeSoto October Muzzleloader Deer
Hunting season
October 29
Dark Goose Hunting season opens
in East, Platte River, Panhandle and
Niobrara Units
October 4
Wild Game Cooking Nebraska Game
Shubert
and Parks Outdoor Education Center,
Lincoln
Pumpkin Carvers Festival
Calamus SRA, Burwell
October 6
Dark Goose Hunting season opens in
October 20-21
Youth Waterfowl Hunting
North Central Unit
season in Zone 3
More Open Fields Acres
Light and White-fronted Goose
Hunting season opens statewide
Youth Pheasant, Quail and
Partridge Hunting
By Eric Fowler
All Season Hunting Workshop
Mormon Island State Recreation Area
(SRA), Doniphan
October 30
Dove Hunting (all species) season
closes
season statewide
October 23
Deer Hunting Workshop
Duck and Coot Hunting seasons open Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor
October 6-7
Youth Waterfowl Hunting season in
Zone 1
Education Center, Lincoln
October 24
Deer Hunting Workshop Chadron
State College, Chadron
Living History Weekend – Heritage
Days Fort Atkinson SHP, Fort Calhoun
October 25
Duck and Coot Hunting seasons
October 9
Upland Bird Hunting Workshop
October 26
Nebraska Game and Parks Outdoor
Education Center, Lincoln
open in Zone 3
Nebraska Game and Parks
Board of Commissioners
meeting, Kearney
October 12
October 26-28
Trick or Treat at the Town Indian Cave Camp and Treat
State Park (SP), Shubert
Red Willow Reservoir SRA, McCook
October 13
Halloween Campsite Decorating
Contest Fremont Lakes SRA, Fremont
October 27
Pheasant, Quail and Partridge
Hunting seasons open statewide
Howl in the Hills Night Hike Wildcat
Trunk and Treat Fort Atkinson SHP,
Hills SRA, Gering
Fort Calhoun
Duck and Coot Hunting seasons open Trunk or Treat
in Zone 1
Calamus SRA, Burwell
October 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
Haunted Hollow Indian Cave SP,
Halloween at the Hollow
Shubert
16 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Ash Hollow SHP, Lewellen
October 31
Bull Elk Hunting
archery and firearm seasons close
Antlerless Elk Hunting private land
and public land seasons close
Eurasian Collared-dove Only
Hunting season opens
Raccoon and Virginia Opossum
Hunting seasons close
Bullfrog season closes
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
in Zones 2 and 4
A record 300,000 acres of private land is open to public hunting and fishing
through the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Open Fields and Waters
program this year, bringing the amount of land open to public access to about one
million acres.
The program pays landowners to allow access for hunting, fishing and trapping,
and provides incentives for habitat improvements to benefit fish and wildlife.
As of Sept. 5, there were 280,000 acres of land enrolled for the 2018-19
program year, including grasslands enrolled in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve
Program for upland game hunting and other grasslands and woodlands in which
hunters can pursue deer, turkeys and other game. An additional 20,000 to 30,000
acres of tall wheat stubble, also good for pheasant hunting, was expected, which
will put the total acres up considerably from the 257,000 enrolled in 2017-18.
Funding for the program comes from hunting, fishing and fur-harvest
permits, habitat stamps, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Voluntary Public Access and
Habitat Incentives Program, excise taxes paid on
firearms and ammunition through the PittmanRobertson Act and conservation groups such as
National Wild Turkey Federation and Pheasants
Forever and Quail Forever.
The Commission’s Public Access Atlas details
land enrolled in the Open Fields and Waters
program, as well as all other public lands open to
hunting and fishing. Printed copies are available
at Commission offices and permit vendors,
as well as online at OutdoorNebraska.org/
PublicAccessAtlas. ■
NEBRASKAland
Visitor
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
By Justin Haag
Slamming car doors, shifting cargo, stumbling feet. Each has been unkind to my
fishing rods more times than I care to admit. After a fly rod somehow broke while
riding freely in my truck bed this spring, it was time to take action to keep it from
happening again. Of course, many excellent rod cases are available from retailers.
After some research, though, I found a
simple design created from a favorite
inexpensive building material – PVC pipe.
Not only is two-inch PVC likely able to
withstand your abuse, it can simply be cut
to whatever length your rod’s sections are.
After cutting to length, just add end caps
– one affixed with PVC glue and one not.
Some use screw-in caps, but I found the
slip-on variety to be adequate. Foam glued
inside each end cap will absorb shock
from the rod moving back and forth.
Finally, consider some finishing
touches. A plain white case will protect just as well as one with a fancy paint job
but might not suit your tastes. I aimed for a natural look. To do so, I scraped the
pipe with a coarse rasp and gave it some sanding to simulate wood grain. A coat
or two of wood stain finished the job. Maybe you want to add handles and a strap
to ensure the end cap doesn’t get lost.
As long as the case protects the rod, it’s beautiful in my book. ■
Last issue’s winner of
the Visitor drawing was
Tom Ourada of Plattsmouth,
who found the cicada shell on page 53.
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 critter found
in Nebraska. We will then gather the
correct entries and draw one to win a
NEBRASKAland 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 13, 17, or 55.
Cicada Shell
The cicada spends most of its
life underground, feeding on
tree roots. When it is ready to
mature, it crawls out of the ground
and up a tree. What happens
next is amazing! The shell, or
exoskeleton, of the cicada will split
down its head and back, and the
cicada starts to wiggle, eventually
pulling its entire body out of
its own shell. This extraction is
actually the end of a hormone
driven process, called molting. An
insect’s exoskeleton is rigid and
doesn’t expand as the insect grows.
When an insect has outgrown its
exoskeleton, it will separate
ate
from that exoskeleton
and grow a new one
underneath. The insect’s
body swells causing the
old exoskeleton to split,
and the insect crawls out,
t leaving
the old exoskeleton behind. Its
new exoskeleton is pale and soft,
but will darken and
harden over the next
several hours.
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter,
State Entomologist, Nebraska
Department of Agriculture.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 17
The Final Hurrah
Fall Color in Nebraska
Amy Seiler, Community Forestry Specialist - Nebraska Forest Service
When temperatures begin to cool, it is fall that offers the last
hurrah, the finale of the growing season. As with all great concerts
or performances, the finale is a culmination of all the good things
that have been enjoyed throughout the performance. It’s like a
fireworks show, a grand display of color. The landscape is complete
and seedheads on perennials and grasses are radiant, backlit by early
morning or late evening light. During these evenings, blossoms stay on
the plants longer and don’t wither in the heat of the day, and the cool
nighttime temperatures trigger the chlorophyll to exit the leaves of
trees, shrubs and perennials … and the display of color begins.
Above: The sun rises over the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri rivers at Niobrara State Park in Knox County.
Opposite: Sand bluestem seedheads glow in the afternoon sun in a Sandhills draw in Cherry County.
Photos by Eric Fowler
18 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 19
Above: Fall colors abound at Indian Cave
State Park in Richardson County. The park sits
on the western side of the Missouri River in
southeastern Nebraska.
Photo by Eric Fowler
Left: A mountain bluebird lands on a sunflower
stalk near Cherry Creek Pond at Fort Robinson
State Park in Dawes County.
Photo by Justin Haag
Right: The distinct color of American bittersweet
berries indicates the coming of fall at Ponderosa
Wildlife Management Area in Dawes County.
Photo by Justin Haag
20 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 21
Above: White-tailed deer run across a
wheat field south of Chadron in Dawes
County.
Photo by Justin Haag
Left: Fall is signaled by the changing
colors of leaves in the Nebraska
National Forest near Chadron.
Photo by Justin Haag
Right: Fall color paints the woodlands
in the upland portion of Niobrara
Confluence Wildlife Management Area
in Knox County.
Photo by Eric Fowler
22 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 23
Time Well Spent
HUNTING AT YANKEE HILL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA. PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
What to Do in October
By Renae Blum
B
reathe deep and take in the crisp fall air, the excitement of Halloween and new
hunting seasons. October is here, and there are multiple ways to enjoy this peaceful
month. Read on for some ideas. To learn about fun park events coming up this month,
visit Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov. ■
Halloween at a State Park
Opening of Pheasant Season
Various locations
Enjoy the fun of Halloween in a uniquely beautiful setting,
where there’s plenty to do after you’ve gathered the last
pieces of candy. Various state parks are offering events
filled with fun family activities: campground decorating
contests, haunted hayrack rides, pumpkin carving contests,
crafts, face painting, and of course, trick-or-treating. Find
events online at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov.
Oct. 6-7
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
This two-day celebration of 19th-century Nebraska
history includes hands-on learning demonstrations,
children’s games, traditional foods and music. Enjoy
c
exploring the fort as living history interpreters demonstrate military and
civilian life. Other activities include a farmers market, tractor show, pie
eating and mustache/beard competitions, old-fashioned apple pressing
and cider tasting. Learn more at wcheritagedays.org.
24 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Statewide
Enjoy Fall Color
Throughout the month
Statewide
October’s cooling temperatures and shortening
days trigger an explosion of color in Nebraska’s
trees, shrubs, vines and grasses. For a great
viewing experience, Game and Parks’ Greg Wagner
recommends searching out areas with a variety of
tree species. Places with high elevation or water are
good places to start. They also offer incredible views
and picturesque reflections.
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
The waiting is over: a new pheasant season is upon us. Some of
Outdoor Education Specialist Aaron Hershberger’s strategies for a new
season include starting early in the day, using teamwork, taking breaks,
avoiding making any commotion, and of course, having fun – all while
wearing hunter orange to remain safe. Learn about other open hunting
seasons at OutdoorNebraska.gov/huntingseasons.
JULIE ASHTON, A VOLUNTEER REENACTOR AT FORT ATKINSON SHP. PHOTO BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
Heritage Days
Oct. 27
VIRGINIA CREEPER IN DAWES COUNTY. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
MINI-LODGE DECORATED FOR PONCA STATE PARK’S HALLOWFEST. PHOTO BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
Various dates
Learn to Hunt Workshops
Various Dates
Various locations
For those new to hunting, looking for a refresher, or are simply
interested in expanding their hunting knowledge, these free introductory
workshops are for you. Five Learn to Hunt workshops will take place
in October, individually covering topics such as deer, upland bird,
waterfowl and all-season hunting. We will review hunting strategies,
equipment, techniques and ways to get started. Learn more and sign up
at OutdoorNebraska.gov/workshops.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 25
The
Nebraska
Table
Venison steak
tartare
served
with a
farm-fresh
raw egg
yolk.
Part 3 – Autumn
By Ryan Sparks
How did you become interested in hunting and
cooking wild game?
My husband, Rick, introduced me to wild game years
ago when we first met in California. He hunted in Nebraska
every year and would usually fly home with a deer or
two every season and some ducks as well – whatever his
cousins could send with him. He did all the typical recipes:
Manwiches, burgers, wrap-it-in-bacon steaks … When I
discovered his freezer full of game, all that changed.
I was still in college at the time and that’s what I did
during my spare time – I taught myself how to cook with
wild game. We cooked on the weekends together when I
was home, and during the week, I’d take some meat with me
and experiment at my apartment near UCLA. We created
our Food for Hunters website to chronicle our experiments.
The Daily Bruin, the university newspaper, even wrote a
26 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
story on me. One of their
journalists sat behind me
in class and saw that I was
working on the website
instead of – ahem – paying
attention. The paper
contacted me, and I invited
them over for dinner to
have venison steaks with
boysenberry sauce and
blue cheese. They loved it,
and the evening provided them with a unique story. Hunting
is a completely foreign concept to most people in the big city.
How did you learn to hunt and cook? What would
you say to someone interested in learning to hunt?
Just do it. People get so worked up about cooking because
they’re afraid of messing up. Screwing up a recipe is
little loss. If you burn dinner, there are grocery stores and
restaurants to remedy that. Then try again later. To me,
cooking is a creative outlet. Some recipes work out and
others don’t. It’s not a big deal. As far as where to start,
check out my book Hunting for Food for instructions and
tips on hunting a wide variety of game. There are also some
great websites out there dedicated to wild game cooking:
Hank Shaw’s Hunter Angler Gardener Cook blog was a
great resource when I was learning how to cook game.
What are the advantages of hunting your own food?
As long as you don’t overdo the butter, oil and cream
cheese, wild game is healthier than store-bought meat.
It’s lean. The animal also lived a free-range, natural life.
And depending on your situation, if you have easy access
to hunting near your home, it can be cheaper to fill your
PHOTO BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
T
he first cool days of autumn bring a nagging urge to
be outdoors – a primal upwelling to hear the crunch
of leaves underfoot, stare up at migrating flocks and
breathe the sweet smell of harvest. Every fall I look forward
to days spent hunting deer and quail, Cornhusker football
games, trips to the pumpkin patch and rich meals of wild
game. Like many Nebraskans who also love wild game, I
often look for inspiration from Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley,
who is our third “Nebraska Table” feature in this fourseason series. Jenny’s culinary talents frequently grace the
pages of NEBRASKAland, but I followed her work long
before her time at the magazine through her website,
foodforhunters.com. As a college student, I remember
looking for wild game recipes outside the “wrap-in-bacon
and smother-with cheese” category. Her recipes taught me
preparations and techniques I still use today. Having learned
so much from Jenny, it was a pleasure to interview her and
learn her thoughts on hunting and cooking wild game.
freezer. On top of that, since you’re doing the dispatching,
cleaning and butchering yourself, you have complete control
over the whole process. I see the meme “Wild game doesn’t
get recalled” circulate on Facebook every hunting season.
It’s true.
kinds of soups with the legs of game birds. And wild turkey
legs, when ground, make delicious, healthy burgers and
meatballs, but remember to take out the pin bones.
What is the biggest misconception about hunting and
eating wild game?
What is your favorite animal to hunt and cook with?
Deer and elk are versatile. They can substitute beef in
virtually all recipes, taking into account differences in
cooking time. And if you shoot a young animal and take
care of it in the field, most people can’t tell the difference.
What are types of preparations that many hunters
overlook?
There are many hunters who think that certain parts of an
animal are inedible. Anything can be edible as long as you
take the time to cook it correctly. Some of my favorite recipes
were made from the quarters and legs of an animal, rather
than the loins and breasts. I’ve taken bone-in-shanks from a
deer and braised them until they almost fall off the bone to
make Italian osso buco and also Persian-style braised venison
shank. The bones can be used to make broth and if you can
crosscut them, deer marrow is very good. I’ve also made all
I think most people’s perception of hunting and wild game
is changing. If given the opportunity, I think most people are
fascinated by it. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about wild
game with different groups in the last few years, and rarely
do I meet someone who will completely turn up their nose.
Different people can have different opinions about trophy
hunting and all that, but food and cooking is a common
experience. People love to eat and try new things, more so
now in this Instagram era. In my experience, cooking wild
game has been a great way to open up bigger conversations
about hunting.
And it’s all about presentation, as my mother – who is an
amazing cook – taught me. If your food, plating and photos
look good, you’ll win people over. Wild game doesn’t always
have to be wrapped in bacon or drowned in canned brown
sauce, which has its place, but as a food photographer and
recipe developer, my goal is to convince as many people
as I can that eating and cooking wild game is a worthwhile
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 27
How has your experience hunting, fishing, and
cooking wild game in Nebraska influenced your
perception or understanding of the state?
It’s made me appreciate the state’s bounty, and how
important conservation is in maintaining this bounty. I come
from Southern California, where their idea of “conservation”
is more hands off and fairly anti-hunting, all the while turning
a blind eye to how much urban development and our very
existence affects wildlife. Speaking from personal experience
– when you spend your whole life living among buildings and
concrete, your idea of the countryside, of the forest, and all
the creatures that live in it are more fantasy than reality. This
realization has changed the way I look at our wild places, and
I have hunting to thank for it. Rick and I would’ve never been
able to sustain Food for Hunters back in SoCal. Living in
Nebraska now, we always have a freezer full of game.
I’m thankful for all our biologists who are so passionate
in what they do, all the like-minded hunters and anglers who
buy their hunting and fishing permits every year to support
conservation, and our Nebraska landowners who are stewards
of the earth and water upon which our wildlife depend.
28 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Oyster mushrooms grow wild in Nebraska. You can also
buy them from a grocery store, but the wild variety has a
much fuller flavor. Oyster mushrooms grow in clusters on
living and dead trees, stumps, logs and buried roots. They
can be found in great quantity September through October.
Venison Steak Tartare
Yield: 4 appetizers
½ pound venison loin or roast (never inside straps)
Kosher salt
Half a shallot, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon juniper berries, toasted and ground
Himalayan sea salt, to taste
Coarse ground pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped and to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Grated zest of half a lemon
Woodland violet flowers for garnish, optional
2 egg yolks, from a reliable source
Capers
French bread, sliced, buttered and toasted
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Yield: 2-4
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 large poblano chile, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 ounces oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
8 soft corn tortillas
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1 thinly sliced avocado
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add
the onion and poblano, and sauté until the onion is tender
and a bit golden, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and spices
and sauté for another minute. Stir in the mushrooms, then
season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are
tender and crispy (5 to 8 minutes). Remove from the heat
and stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust
the seasonings as desired.
In a small skillet, heat corn tortillas
until fragrant and pliable. To assemble,
layer the onion, poblano and mushroom
mixture in each tortilla. Garnish with
thinly sliced avocado and cilantro.
– Abigael Birrell
1. Trim off any silver skin and fat on venison. Cover
liberally with the kosher salt and set in the freezer for 20-30
minutes to firm up. Meanwhile, soak minced shallot in red
wine vinegar. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling
the meat. When venison is firm, rinse salt off the venison
and pat dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife, finely
dice the meat. Transfer meat to a bowl and keep cold. (Never
use tenderloin/inside straps for this recipe due to possible
contamination from the gut.)
2. Drain shallots and combine with minced meat, ground
juniper berries, Himalayan sea salt to taste, coarse ground
pepper, chopped parsley, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire
sauce. Taste for seasoning.
3. Divide meat into two serving bowls and make a
depression in each. Lay an egg yolk into
each bowl and garnish with lemon zest
– edible flowers are purely decorative.
Serve with capers and thinly sliced,
buttered, toasted French bread. Try this
dish with sliced/diced avocados.
– Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
PHOTOS BY RYAN SPARKS
You will find Jenny’s recipe for venison steak tartare in
the following recipes. To me, this is the essence of venison
in its purest form. Don’t be intimidated – as someone who
has used the recipe, I can assure you it’s easy to prepare
and unbelievably delicious. You will also find a recipe for
foraged oyster mushroom tacos by former executive chef at
Lincoln’s Hub Café Abigael Birrel, candied garden squash
rings by my grandmother and lifelong cook Jane Sparks,
and Sander’s Farm bobwhite quail by chef and owner of
The Grey Plume in Omaha Clayton Chapman. I hope these
recipes inspire you to get outside and explore Nebraska’s
autumn flavors. ■
Foraged Oyster Mushroom Tacos
PHOTO BY JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY
experience. I do this by cooking game in as many ways as I
can think of so that different people can connect with it.
What I do find interesting is how wild game is perceived
in different countries. For example, eating game is so often
considered “redneck” or “backwoods” in the United States.
But across the pond in the U.K., a wild game dinner is
an elevated experience. Hunting is the sport of gentry in
Britain, whereas here, it is the sport of the common man,
and it’s interesting how that is reflected in the food.
Rick and I visited Scotland in June, and we ate as much
local game and seafood as we could find: red deer that
was hunted on a nearby estate; wild salmon, cod, haddock,
hake and lobster caught off the Scottish coast; and fresh
scallops and oysters harvested the same morning from
a local saltwater bay loch … we even came home with
a few new recipes to try. I can’t think of a better way to
truly experience – take in a new place – than to consume
an animal that spent its life living and breathing in that
space, eating the grass that grew wild on its native soil,
and drinking from the streams that bubbled from deep
underneath that same earth. That animal is an embodiment
of its environment, and the connection of being able to hunt
and prepare a meal with its meat is magical. You just don’t
get that experience with factory meat.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 29
Candied Garden Squash Rings
brush them with the sauce and sprinkle with the lemon zest
before you serve. You can also put a little sauce on the plate
if you like.
Simple and sweet, candied acorn squash pairs
exceptionally well with traditional holiday fixings like
gravy, cranberry sauce and roast turkey. Feel free to
substitute the brown sugar mixture with honey or maple
syrup.
Small’s Fruit Farm Fall Apple
2 apples
1 oz George Paul white wine vinegar
1 oz Sander’s Farm dark honey
2 oz whole unsalted butter
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
.25 oz fresh chives or parsley, minced
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Yield: 4 sides
2 acorn squash
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ butter or margarine
2 tablespoons water
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Wash apples and cut into quarters, leaving skin on.
Remove the core of the apple and cut the apple into wedges
about .25-inch thick. In a saute pan, add your butter and
allow the butter to foam. Once butter is foamed, add your
apples and cook until they are crisp on the outside and
tender on the inside. Add the honey and vinegar and season
to taste with salt and pepper. When you are ready to serve
the apples, add the chives or parsley.
PHOTO BY RYAN SPARKS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash lengthwise into
1-inch slices, discarding the seeds. Arrange the slices in
a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Season with salt
and pepper. Cover and bake until almost tender, about 40
minutes. In a saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter
and water. Cook over medium heat until
bubbling. Spoon the brown sugar mixture
over the squash and continue baking,
uncovered, until the squash is tender
and the sugar has caramelized, about 15
minutes. Enjoy!
– Jane Sparks
Sander’s Farm Bobwhite Quail
To me, quail is the perfect fall bird. It is versatile, stands
up well to winter spices, and is able to take on many of the
flavors you pair it with. For our ingredients, Dave and Lori
Sanders own Sander’s Country Meats, just east of Lincoln,
and they raise quail, rabbits, and bees, and cure a wide
variety of local meats for chefs in the area. The bobwhite
species in this recipe is the quail indigenous to Nebraska and
we felt a perfect fit for the fall. In addition, Small’s Fruit
Farm is in Mondamin, Iowa, overlooking the Missouri River
Valley. Jim Small and his family have been growing fruit
on this land for decades and specialize in apples. We did
not use a specific type of apple for this recipe because we
felt any local apple would work. Also, Shadowbrook Farm,
just east of Lincoln, is a breath of fresh air for us during the
late fall and winter months as produce becomes scarce in
our harsh winters. Last, the coffee represented in this dish
comes from Sumatra, Indonesia. We bring all of our FairTrade Organic coffee into the restaurant raw and roast here
on site. We thought this was a great way to bridge the end of
summer and fall flavors. The recipe serves four, but is easily
adjustable for more or fewer guests. Enjoy!
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30 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
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oz whole unsalted butter
• 3Kosher
salt and black pepper to taste
• .5 oz George
red wine vinegar
• .5 oz Sander’sPaul
Farm
• 1 lemon for zest dark honey•
Place whole quail in a container large enough to hold
them. Pour pre-made coffee over the quail and allow to
sit for as long as possible. You can let the quail set for a
minimum of an hour or up to 24.
Once the quail have marinated to your desired amount
of time, pull the quail out of the coffee and pat them dry.
You can save the coffee marinating liquid for the sauce.
Season the quail with salt, pepper and ground coffee. Heat
a medium size pan over medium heat, add the cooking oil.
Once oil is hot, add the quail to the pan and begin to sear
them until they become golden brown. Once one side of the
bird is golden brown, continue to rotate the quail until all
sides are browned evenly. Once quail are browned, place
them on a baking sheet, add one thyme sprig on top of each
bird and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the internal
temperature of the thigh reaches 160 degrees.
In the pan that you seared the quail in, add the 3 oz of
butter and 4 thyme sprigs. Once butter is hot, add the coffee
marinating liquid to the pan and reduce until the sauce is
thick like ketchup or coats the back of a spoon. Add vinegar
and honey, remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt
and pepper, set aside. Once the birds come out of the oven,
PHOTO BY RYAN SPARKS
Yield: 4
4 bobwhite quail
8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cups pre-made coffee, can still be warm
2 oz fresh ground coffee, finely ground
3 oz neutral cooking oil
Shadowbrook Farm’s Butternut Squash
1 large or two small butternut squash
.25 oz fresh cinnamon, toast and ground
2 oz Sander’s Farm dark honey
.25 oz coffee grounds, finely ground
3 fresh thyme sprigs
3 oz neutral cooking oil
2 oz whole unsalted butter
Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Cut the bulb of the butter nut away from the neck. Scrap
the seeds out of the bulb and peel the neck of the butternut.
Cut the neck down the middle lengthwise and then cut into
.25-inch slices. Sprinkle the inside of the bulb with the
coffee grounds, cinnamon, 1 oz of butter in each, salt and
pepper. Wrap the bulbs in aluminum foil and bake in a 350
degree oven until they are completely tender; this should
take about 1-1.5 hours.
Using the neck of the butternut, add them and the cooking
oil to a sauté pan or sauce pot on medium heat. Season with
salt and pepper and cook until tender. If the squash starts to
develop any color, you can add little bits of water in stages
to help the cooking process. The goal is to have very tender
squash without any browning.
Once both types of squash are cooked, scrape the flesh
out of the bulb of the butternut and mix with the softened
sautéed neck. Make sure you put the butter and liquid from
the roasted squash into the puree as well, discard the thyme
sprigs. If you would like a very smooth puree of butternut,
put this mixture into the blender with the honey and blend
until smooth. If you would like the squash more rustic, mash
with a fork in a mixing bowl and mix in the honey. Season
to taste with salt and pepper.
To assemble, divide the butternut
squash mash/puree among your four
plates evenly. Spoon apples on top and
place one quail on top of the apples. If
you have any of the coffee sauce left, you
can put some on the plate.
– Clayton Chapman
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 31
Calling Wildlife
A Duck Caller’s Journey
Story and photos by Julie Geiser
W
hat started out as a
weekend woodworking
project has become a lifelong journey for Brent
Hoover of North Platte.
Hoover has a love of working with
his hands and creating different pieces
of art. As an outdoorsman, he has made
his own arrows, fly rods and many
other things that he uses while hunting
and fishing. Duck calls seemed like the
Hoover tests the sound on his deer call.
32 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
next new thing to try.
About seven years ago, Hoover set
out one weekend to make duck calls
in his garage for his grandson and a
couple hunting buddies. As Hoover
turned the pieces of wood on his lathe,
he realized this project was going to
take much more than a weekend. “I
thought I was going to walk in on
a Saturday and be done,” Hoover
said. “It took two months to even get
something that sounded like a duck
and two years to get a sound that I was
satisfied with. There was no Disney
ending to this project.”
Hoover kept a notebook on his
setbacks and progress. “It was a long
process to figure out call making and
solving problems in the process,”
Hoover said. He found an online forum
that gave him access to many other call
makers around the United States. The
people on this site were quick to help
with stumbling blocks, and Hoover
felt blessed to find them. “If you had
problems with a call, the guys on the
site would give you some help and
encouragement. They don’t come right
out and tell you the precise increments
they use on their calls, but they let you
figure it out little by little so you as the
call maker can see how the smallest
changes and cuts make a difference in
a finished product and in the sounds
that are produced,” Hoover said.
Hoover made and traded calls with
other call makers. He began to attend
call-maker events across the country,
where he has made good friends and
learned tricks and techniques to make
his calls unique.
After experimenting with different
shapes and designs, Hoover has now
settled in to his own distinct style. In
addition to duck calls, he makes calls
for goose, deer, turkey, predator and
squirrel, too. The shape of his calls
all have a hidden pattern outlined in
the profile of each call’s wood barrel.
Duck calls have a hidden duck head,
and the goose, turkey and deer calls
have a profile in the wood.
The calls start with a precisely
selected piece or two of wood that will
look good together. Hoover has several
large bins of wood pieces from local to
Brent Hoover is a game call maker from North Platte. Shown here are many of the calls Hoover makes
including duck, goose, deer, turkey, squirrel and predator calls.
exotics including hedge, English and
claro walnut, locust, maple, poplar,
ash, black walnut, African blackwood,
curly koa and desert mesquite burl.
Some woods are dyed and hardened to
make unique-looking calls, while other
woods are plain but beautiful in their
own simple way.
Hoover starts a call by drilling a
hole into a small block of wood that is
about one and one-half inches thick by
six to eight inches long. Then he bores
out the tone channel, which lies under
the reed. Precise measurements differ
between call makers, but that is what
gives each call a different sound, the
volume produced and how much air
it takes to blow the call. “I tend to get
picky and want a certain sound for a
call, and I want my calls to be easy for
anyone to use,” he said. “Every small
detail in constructing a call affects the
outcome of each call.”
Hoover then uses the lathe to carve
the animal profile into the call. The
next step is dipping the call to protect
the wood from moisture.
Once the wood is turned down, each
call is soaked overnight in Brazilian
rosewood oil and wiped down to make
it water-resistant. Some of the woods
aren’t as oily as others, and those need
repeated soakings in the oil to make
them water-resistant.
Every call is unique in its look
and sound. Calls can be dressed up
with aluminum or brass rings, wood
etchings and hand paintings that
Hoover does himself. As I can attest to,
these calls are absolutely beautiful and
the sounds produced are true – sounds
that will call in the leeriest of wildlife.
“This year I changed more on the
duck calls. I wanted more of the highend pitch, so I changed the arc. The
calls blow really easy, but I wanted to
be able to reach out far with sound,”
said Hoover. “Experimenting is all
part of call making and the love of
creating.”
Calls are made according to what
the person buying them wants. Many
are custom-made and sentimental. “I’ll
make several different designs from
what customers tell me they want, then
they can pick and choose and make
changes to the call. Emails and texts
are a great way to send digital images,
and it doesn’t take long to get a custom
call put on paper,” Hoover said.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 33
Shown here is a deer call Hoover made that can make buck and doe grunts and doe
bleats.
Hoover chooses a piece of wood for a call from one of his bins of wood.
34 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
One customer used to cut and
remove cedar trees with his grandfather
and uncle. After the gentleman’s
grandfather passed away, the grandson
wanted a custom call made for his
uncle out of one of the last remaining
pieces of cedar that they had cut down
together. So, the call was made and
given to the uncle as a remembrance
piece of his dad that can be used and
handed down for years to come.
Hoover also wanted everything
going out of the shop to be 100 percent
handmade. “I decided I wanted to go
with wood throughout the call. It takes
a lot of extra time to do it this way, but
that’s the fun of doing it.” Hoover’s
calls are unlike some in the call-making
industry, as he constructs the “guts” of
the call from wood instead of buying it
in a kit, then he fine-tunes the reeds to
produce the sound he wants.
Hoover is always trying new things
and pushing the limits on what can
be done and what he can make, from
carved black walnut root goose calls
with a set of handmade black walnut
root guts and a carved brass band with
an oil finish and the hidden goose in the
profile of the call barrel, to a Russian
olive predator call with dual-voice, or
a painted glass hedge turkey pot call
with matching striker, a hidden turkey
feather in the profile of the call and an
oil finish. Each call is a piece of art and
adding his own artistic touches to the
calls makes them even more personal.
“It’s a God-given gift. I’ve been doing
art and working with my hands since I
was a kid,” Hoover recalled.
Hoover has sold calls to customers
in California, South Carolina, Florida,
Minnesota, and Louisiana, to name a
few. “It’s neat to meet the different
people from around the country. I still
really enjoy working with local people
and seeing them face to face. Some of
them stop by the shop just to see what
I’m working on, and that’s a great
deal,” Hoover said.
Every call Hoover makes also
includes his initials along with
“Colossians 3:23,” which is another
trademark of Hoover’s. “Whatever you
do, work at it with all your heart as
working for the Lord.” Hoover does
his call making according to that
scripture, which goes along with the
passion and reasoning behind every
call he makes. ■
Hoover turns down a small
piece of wood on his lathe
into a duck call. Using precise
measurements he cuts the
outline of a duck head into
the barrel of the call.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 35
RIDE TO SUPPORT 4-H
Fundraising trail ride in the Nebraska
National Forest at Halsey celebrates
20th anniversary.
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
H
ead, Heart, Hands and Health – since 1958, the
Nebraska 4-H Foundation has been supporting youth
through hands-on projects that encourage them to
stay active and engaged in their communities, and
prepare them for the future. With programs ranging from
animal science to business to the arts to science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the foundation’s
mission is to help provide the financial backing and
manpower needed to 4-H clubs across Nebraska, which
collectively serve about 143,000 young people annually.
Open to children ages 5-18, regardless of financial
background, Nebraska 4-H would not be possible without
volunteers and generous donations. In partnership with
Nebraska Extension, the foundation is supported by 12,000
volunteers and hosts key fundraising events throughout the year.
One such fundraiser is the State 4-H Camp Trail Ride
Lillyanne Lewis of Ord
rides her paint horse
during the 4-H Camp Trail
Ride in the Nebraska
National Forest.
Local ranchers provide panels to pen in horses for the 4-H Camp Trail Ride in Halsey. They also donate Nebraska certified weed-free
hay, which is required by law inside the Nebraska National Forest to prevent the introduction of invasive plants.
36 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 37
“This is a family event – people bring their kids and grandkids – with so much
fellowship around the campgrounds in the evenings. The whole weekend is special,
plus you can’t beat the scenery.”
— Gary Stauffer, 4-H Trail Ride Co-Chair
been vital to supporting the 4-H Camp, which also benefits
surrounding towns. Weddings, graduations, proms – the
camp operates as a community center for the region.”
And in turn, the trail ride could not be successful without
local help.
True to 4-H fashion, the weekend requires all hands on
deck. Whether it’s local ranchers who lend their panels
to pen in horses or donate Nebraska certified weed-free
hay – required by law in the forest; or all the volunteers
who keep the event running, who cook meals and spend
time mentoring young riders while out on the trail; or the
Nebraska Forest Service staff who agreed to maintain and
open up a small pasture – now called “Windmill 25” – to
serve as parking and trailhead ... the individuals who make
the 4-H Camp Trail Ride possible could not be faulted for
being short on heart.
Head and Health
Horses have long been a part of Nebraska’s landscape
and culture, and the state’s 4-H Horse Program aims to bring
along young riders who are responsible, self-disciplined,
thoughtful and caring. Many of the youth riders at Halsey are
current 4-H members, but this ride is also every bit as much
for the adults.
Pulling in Nebraskans from all corners of the state – both
city and rural, the forest’s central location sees an average
of 100 riders each year, and in some years, the foundation
may welcome as many as 150. Men, women, and children of
all ages – including toddlers who share the saddle with their
parents – have enjoyed Halsey. They come to explore the
forest’s miles of pine-shaded trails, open Sandhills country,
the camp atmosphere and friendships old and new.
Top: Bruce Treffer of Cozad rides alongside his daughter, Sarah, who has been attending the 4-H Camp Trail Ride in Halsey since
she was one year old.
Bottom: Treffer’s son, Greg, leads his horse over small log obstacles. Greg has also been riding since he was a toddler.
in Halsey, which began in 1999 and will celebrate its 20th
anniversary this fall, Oct. 6-7.
Hands and Heart
When Nebraska Extension educators and friends of the
4-H Horse Program met in November 1998, they chose
the Nebraska National Forest at Halsey as the site for the
annual state 4-H Camp Trail Ride. Established in 1902 by
Charles E. Bessey, this man-made forest offered recreational
opportunities unlike anywhere else in the Great Plains, and
for Sandhills and corn country horse riders, the forest is a
pleasant change of scenery and terrain.
Originally, proceeds from the ride went to support
national trips for the Nebraska 4-H Horse Program, but
that has changed periodically depending on financial need.
Currently, funds are used to maintain the 4-H Camp in
Halsey and to provide “camperships” for young people to
attend other camps throughout the year.
Located within the national forest, the Halsey camp is
one of two 4-H centers in the state. It was dedicated in 1962,
and in addition to hosting youth functions, the camp is also
available to outside organizations and events; the Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission’s Becoming and OutdoorsWoman Weekend called the 4-H Camp in Halsey home for
many years.
Stuart Shepherd, executive director of the Nebraska 4-H
Foundation, said, “The funds raised from the trail ride have
38 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Horses are kept inside pens available at the Windmill 25 area in the national forest. It is also where all trail rides begin and end.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 39
And after 20 years, many of these riders have become
regulars, returning year after year – some coming back with
growing families.
“There’s at least one lady who comes every year, ever
since she was a 4-H youth in summer camp,” said Dewey
Teel, 4-H Trail Ride co-chair.
And those who don’t ride, the delicious Saturday night
steak dinner and live and silent auctions are enough to
convince many locals to enter the forest.
“Whether or not a person comes to ride, most like to see
that their money is going to something that is local to the
Sandhills region,” said Teel.
With large stands of forest and seemingly endless, wide
open spaces, 4-H trail ride guides have access to about 30 miles
of trails within 10-12 sections. Morning rides on Saturday and
Sunday are considered short at approximately 4-6 miles, while
the Saturday afternoon ride ranges between 10-12 miles.
“You can see for miles and miles in the Sandhills areas.
But when you get into the forest – even if you’re messing
around for only a minute or two – you can’t see very far and
you can get lost,” said Bruce Treffer, a 4-H Camp Trail Ride
charter committee member.
Additionally, if scheduling allows, riding clinics are
available in some years, taught by horse experts who want to
share their skills and knowledge. They may include exercises
such as opening and closing gates, learning how to ride over
natural obstacles and desensitizing activities.
Trail leaders recommend that first timers practice riding
out with others before coming to the trail ride, which can be
overwhelming to some horses.
“There’s an impact in seeing so many horses going out
that first time,” said Teel. But once here, to ride as part of a
large herd is a magnificent experience.
Then at the end of the day on
Saturday, after a full day’s ride and a
delicious evening meal of steak, baked
potato and green beans, a bonfire
at Windmill 25 completes the camp
atmosphere.
Join the Ride
“This isn’t a commercial trail ride,”
said Gary Stauffer, who has been 4-H
Trail Ride co-chair since its inception.
“The area is picturesque and unique,
but there aren’t many amenities, so
haul in what you’ll need.”
Top: A rider urges his horse through a “scary” curtain of wood chimes, a
desensitizing exercise that was part of a riding clinic available in 2014.
Left: Riders Bryan Bechtel (left) of Henderson, Kathy Potthoff of Lincoln, Terri
Licking (purple jacket) of Thedford and many others ride3 out of the trees and into
more open Sandhills country.
Staff recommends that participants drive into the Windmill 25 site with
4x4 vehicles. Port-a-johns will be provided, but those looking for a more
comfortable camping experience may look to The Forest Service’s Bessey
Recreation Complex and Campground, which offers water and electric
hookups.
For participants not hauling in RVs or live-in trailers, the Nebraska State
4-H Camp does offer cabins for a small fee, assigned on a first-come-firstserved basis. There are also motels available in the nearby towns of Halsey
and Thedford.
Also, riders should be prepared for any type of weather in October. Trail
riders have experienced weather from sunny and picture-perfect to rain and
wind to snow. One year, a blizzard blew through the area. Although attendance
took a hit, the trail ride has never been cancelled.
“Everyone still had a good time,” said Teel. “Gary just took us through
the trees and it was the prettiest drag we’ve ever had. There was snow
everywhere.”
If you’re still not convinced to come ride, perhaps Bruce Treffer’s thoughts
might persuade you:
“Horses and horse people ... when you gather people with common interests
and place them in the Sandhills – one of the largest, most unique pieces of
grassland there is in the country with a national forest in the middle of it, and
with the 4-H Camp nearby which provides a unique camp setting ... the whole
thing comes together. This has been the best place for us to meet, ride and
support 4-H. It has fit our mission so well, so we’ve never thought to move the
trail ride anywhere else. ” ■
To learn more about Halsey’s trail rides, visit extension.unl.edu/statewide/
centralsandhills/TrailRide.
40 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 41
How to Raise Big Walleye
A net full of 1.4-inch walleye
fry are collected after pond
draining at Calamus Fish
Hatchery.
New program offers improved survival rates, catch rates for walleye.
By Cara Pesek
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
especially in waters with established
largemouth bass populations.
But a new way of raising walleyes
for stocking is changing that, said Jim
Gleim, Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission’s assistant division
administrator for fish production. This
new method has resulted in greater
survival rates for stocked walleye, and
better walleye catch rates for anglers.
A walleye is caught on a crankbait from Lake McConaughy in Keith County.
42 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
The process is time-intensive and
involves feeding young walleye a
lot of minnows – about 3.5 pounds
of minnows for every pound of
walleye raised, Gleim estimated. It
took hatchery staff years to perfect
the process, which they began
experimenting with back in the 1990s,
and then revived and finessed in 2013.
This is how the process works:
During walleye spawn in April,
eggs are collected from Sherman
Reservoir, Merritt Reservoir and Lake
McConaughy. The eggs are incubated
at the hatcheries at North Platte and
at Calamus and hatch after about two
weeks. A week or so after hatching,
various lakes and reservoirs around the
state are stocked with fry. Some of the
fry remain in the hatcheries and are
stocked in other lakes and reservoirs in
early June, as 1.4-inch fingerlings.
A portion of those fingerlings remain
at the hatcheries for the summer and
into the fall. The walleye fingerlings
feed on zooplankton in hatchery
ponds, at least until that food source is
diminished and they need something
more substantial.
Enter the minnows. As the
fingerlings are feeding on zooplankton,
Game and Parks staff get ready for
the next step, stocking each of several
ponds with 50 pounds of fathead
minnows. These brood minnows spawn
and produce a huge crop of 1-inch
minnows, which become the feed for
the young walleye, starting in late June.
It takes the walleye about a month
to eat all those minnows. After
that, they are fed wholesale bought
fathead minnows every other week
until stocking. Between late July and
the first week of October, when the
walleye leave their hatchery ponds
for their news homes in lakes and
reservoirs across the state, they will
have grown to an average length of 8.1
inches.
In fisheries biologist lingo, these
large, minnow-fed walleye are known
as “advanced walleye.” Since the
advanced walleye program was revived
in 2013, biologists have stocked
21 lakes and reservoirs, mostly in
southeastern Nebraska, with advanced
walleye.
“We’re seeing a lot better survival,
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
F
or years, Game and Parks
biologists have stocked walleye
fingerlings in popular lakes and
reservoirs across the state. Results have
been mixed, with some waters yielding
major benefits and others seeing
poor survival. Southeastern Nebraska
reservoirs fall into the latter category,
where there has been limited success
in building robust walleye populations,
and that’s mainly because they’re
stocked larger, and they’re much
better able to avoid predation,” said
Game and Parks fisheries biologist
Tony Barada. “These fish are at
least two to three times more likely
to survive to age one and age two
compared to fingerling stockings, and
in many reservoirs here in southeastern
Nebraska we are creating walleye
fisheries where we would have
almost no chance if we only had the
capabilities of stocking 1-2 inch fish.”
Angler surveys at Pawnee Lake and
Lake Wanahoo have shown increased
catch rates since the advance walleye
stocking program was introduced.
Barada and his colleagues also used
an online approach developed by
University of Nebraska researchers
to gauge angler behavior and interest
associated with the stocking program.
They looked at mentions of walleye on
social media channels and other online
platforms and found an increase in the
number of mentions of walleye near
areas where the fish had been stocked.
Game and Parks staff have begun
raising advanced northern pike, muskie
and saugeye, using similar production
methods, Barada said. They are seeing
good survival rates and increased catch
rates for those species, too.
The advanced walleye program,
along with the advanced pike, muskie
and saugeye programs, are still
relatively new and haven’t been widely
publicized. While die-hard anglers
have kept track of the advanced fish
stockings, more casual anglers who
venture out on the water where these
species have been stocked may be in
for a pleasant surprise.
“People pull up to a lake and have no
idea that there’s walleye in it,” Barada
said. “We want to get the word out
about these opportunities.” ■
Walleye
Stocking
T
his fall, Game and Parks expects to
stock more than 30,000 advanced
walleye in lakes and reservoirs across
the state. Stockings are scheduled for
the following lakes and reservoirs:
Reservoir
• Swanson
Hills
• Buckskin
Creek Reservoir
• Powder
Skyview
• War Axe Lake
• Mormon Island West
• Sandy Channel #8
• Cottonmill Lake
• GI L.E.Ray Lake
• Branched Oak
• Wagon Train
• Yankee Hill
• Burchard Lake
• Czechland Lake
• Wildwood
• Lake Wanahoo
• Wehrspann Lake
• Prairie Queen
• Lawrence Youngman Lake
• Zorinsky Lake
• Walnut Creek
• Holmes Lake
•
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 43
GoPro
Hunt
By Jake Jadlowski
Preparation exceeds decoy set-ups
and camouflage when filming your
own hunts
A
Facebook and Instagram feeds and
I’m probably guilty of spending just
as much time on my phone as my
students.
In addition to picking up tips on
tactics and gear, the outdoor sector
of social media has sparked my
interest in filming and photography.
Capturing moments and experiences
on film ensures that the hunt never
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
s a high school teacher, I
routinely see all things bad
about social media. There
may be no quicker way to waste
one’s time. But as an outdoorsman,
social media provides a platform
to keep track of what hunters and
fishermen are doing all across
the country. Hunting and fishing
photos and videos dominate my
Jadlowski, the author, adjusts his decoys before a waterfowl hunt on the Platte River in Hall County, making sure he arrives early
enough to leave time to ready his GoPro cameras in an effort to record that day’s hunt.
PHOTO BY JAKE JADLOWSKI
A yellow Lab named Seven spends her birthday retrieving geese and doing what she
loves in southeastern Nebraska.
44 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
ends. But as I continue to pursue this
new world of cameras, I’ve quickly
learned that the professional photos
and videos I see online don’t happen
by accident. It’s a skill and art form
that is completely different from
decoy spreads and duck calling.
I’m also learning that it’s pretty
hard to effectively run a shotgun
and a video camera at the same
time. And since I’m not ready to
hang up my shotgun, I’ve been
searching for ways to film duck
hunts without compromising my
ability to actually hunt. Utilizing
GoPro action cameras has allowed
my hunting buddies and me to
satisfy both cravings.
GoPro cameras have a number
of advantages over bigger and
more expensive point-and-shoot
cameras that make them ideal for
hunters. They are small, portable,
and versatile. GoPro has developed
an endless list of accessories, and
they are constantly upgrading the
technology and capability of their
cameras.
Older models come standard with
a waterproof hard case, which is
essential to waterfowl hunters. In
newer models, the camera itself is
waterproof. Mostly importantly,
you don’t have to point and shoot.
With a little bit of preparation,
GoPros can be strategically placed
to capture your hunt without
anybody needing to be behind the
camera. With that basic knowledge,
I figured GoPros would be a quick
and easy way to get some really
good footage of my buddies and me
filling our limits.
Well, I was wrong – about the
quick and easy part and the filling
the limits part! By learning the
hard way, which seems to be
standard operating procedure for
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 45
me, I quickly learned that despite
the versatility, accessories, and the
“hands-off” nature of the camera,
GoPros also have a number of
limitations. Through trial and error
over the last couple of years, this is
how we’ve attempted to overcome
those limitations and come up with
a system that works for us.
Mounting and
Placement of
Cameras
GoPros Outside
the Blind
Not surprisingly, that solution led
to another problem – the camera is
very ineffective if nobody is within
arm’s reach of the record button.
And since running out of the blind
PHOTOS BY JEFF KURRUS
It didn’t take long to figure
out that filming from the blind
produced less than desirable
footage with poor fields of view
and bad lighting. To make our
footage worth watching, we needed
to figure out a way to elevate the
camera or get it into the decoys
and away from the blind. We found
our solution in GoPro’s Sportsman
Mount. On one end, the Sportsman
Mount fastens to the back of the
GoPro hard case. On its other end,
this case is equipped with a c-clamp
that you can tighten around nearly
anything. In order to get a better
field of view and better lighting,
we started attaching our GoPros to
varying lengths of electrical conduit
that we stick into the ground or
into the water. It allows us to place
multiple cameras anywhere that we
want to maximize the chance of
filming something worth watching.
Jadlowski hunts from inside the blind during a duck hunt on the Platte River in Hall County.
The last task before Jadlowski enters the blind for the morning is making final
adjustments to his GoPro cameras.
46 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
to hit record isn’t a very good
option, we needed another solution.
Luckily, GoPro makes a camera
remote that connects wirelessly
to the camera (using the camera’s
internal wireless capability) that
allows us to hit record without ever
leaving the blind.
The remote is capable of
connecting to and controlling
multiple GoPros simultaneously.
However, the connectivity range
is limited, which is something
you need to keep in mind when
positioning the cameras. We’ve
also fashioned wrist straps using
small bungee cords so we don’t
have to fumble for the remote at the
same time we’re fumbling for the
duck call.
Also, make sure you stop
recording after the action ends
(another lesson learned the hard
way). Failing to do so kills the
remote battery and eats up a ton of
storage on the camera’s SD card.
Setting Field of
View
A major advantage of the
GoPro is that it doesn’t require a
cameraman. But since no one is
pointing and aiming the camera,
accurately positioning the camera
and setting the field of view is very
important. Poor positioning can
result in a lot of footage of nothing
but blue sky. Some GoPro models
have a back screen that allows you
to see the field of view, but those
get covered up with waterproof
backing and external batteries. So
instead of just guessing about what
we are aiming at, we started using
the GoPro App.
The GoPro App on your smart
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 47
PHOTOS BY JAKE JADLOWSKI
is probably going to last longer than
that. So we did some research to
find the best external battery option
for the GoPro Hero 4 models that
we use (other models would require
a different external battery).
We settled on an external battery
made by Re-Fuel that replaces the
backing of the waterproof case and
latches and seals to maintain the
waterproof nature of the case. It
gives us about eight extra hours of
film time, depending on how cold it
is, and allows us to film all day long.
This whole operation depends
on battery life. Because you’re
powering cameras, remotes and a
phone, as well as keeping a charge
on other external batteries, I have
one more tip we use all the time.
DeWalt makes a USB charging
adapter that slides on to all DeWalt
drill batteries. The adapter has
two USB ports that allows for the
charging of two devices at the same
time.
As long as you charge your drill
batteries before the hunt, you can
slide on the adapter and plug in the
USB end of all your charging cords
to create a mobile charging station
that allows you to keep filming as
long you’re willing to brave the
freezing temps.
Storage
When filming, there’s a lot of
extra footage and “false alarms”
that eat up storage space. Make
sure you have an extra SD card
for each camera you’re using. And
it’s always a good idea to dump all
your footage onto your computer to
free up space on the SD card before
the next hunt.
Unfortunately, we have jobs that
cut into our hunting and filming
careers. Hiring cameramen and
buying expensive cameras don’t
quite fit into our budgets. We don’t
know how to use high tech video
editing programs, not that we have
any, and we’re unlikely to land a
weekly slot on the Outdoor Network
anytime soon. I’m lucky if I get
more than a handful of “likes” on an
Instagram post.
But our GoPro system is good
enough for us and that’s who our
videos are for anyway. They capture
our finest moments and our worst
shooting. We get to enjoy them
together and give each other a hard
time. They help us critique our
concealment and our decoy spreads.
Sometimes we get to show them
off to friends and they get us fired
up when we’re missing freezing
temperatures and strong north
winds.
But most importantly, they
preserve the time that we get to
spend together in the blind. Try
sticking a couple of GoPros in
the mud this fall, your buddies
will get a kick out of it. If nothing
else, it might help prove to your
wives that, “Yes, we were actually
hunting that long!” ■
Jake Jadlowski
is a high school
history teacher
from Ralston.
This is his first
feature for
NEBRASKAland
Magazine.
Sunrise illuminates the decoys on the frozen Platte River during a late season goose hunt in Hall County.
phone connects to the camera via
the camera’s wireless network.
Through the app, you have full
control of the camera’s operation
and, most importantly, it previews
exactly what the camera is looking
at. Before the hunt, we quickly link
up our phones with the cameras and
are able to precisely set the field of
view.
When the remote battery dies,
the app also serves as a convenient
back up. Additionally, it allows
you to quickly review your
footage without leaving the blind
or plugging the SD card into a
computer.
In addition to filming waterfowl hunts, GoPros can be just as effective in filming turkey
and coyote hunts. Here, Keith Jadlowski is waiting to call coyotes in Boyd County.
48 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
This quickly became the most
glaring flaw in the camera. From
my experience, you can only get
about an hour of film time on
the internal battery – with colder
weather draining the battery even
faster. Unless your hunting spots
are a lot better than mine, your hunt
PHOTOS BY JAKE JADLOWSKI
Limited Battery
Life
A GoPro Hero 4 Black captures guns firing into a flock of late season mallards in Sarpy County.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 49
Hunting and Gathering Ain’t
What’s for Supper?
By Roger Welsch
W
50 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
where it is. He planted it!
I have on occasion during my own “hunting and gathering”
expeditions stumbled on places where there had once been
a pioneer farmstead, probably German, maybe a pair of
juniper tree “lightning rods” the only sign of where a house
once stood. And I would find now weedy plots of asparagus,
rhubarb (Peistengel), or hops, now perfectly at home on the
Great Plains, but once as much “immigrants” as those who
transplanted and nurtured them as a civilizing factor in the
Nebraska wilderness. Sorting out what came here when,
what’s wild, what’s invasive, what’s an escaped domestic,
what belongs and what doesn’t gets down to drawing some
pretty fine lines. Not that it matters. Newcomers don’t take
long to become old-timers when it comes to botany.
My ethnobotanist friend Randy Ledford snarls at invasive
species, and while I understand the beauty and importance
of maintaining old, maybe ancient, biota, I remind Randy
that, well, white guys like him and me are also an “invasive
species.” I think too of people who resent “immigrants”
when their own name, lineage and appearance reveals a
history of migration and a time when they too were cultural
“weeds,” planted out of place in a strange environment.
See that the Mexican Mayan lady standing in front of us in
the grocery line with the tomatillos (a variety of nightshade),
nopal (prickly pear pads), and huitlacoche (corn smut) in
her cart? You know, she may be far more appropriate to
this landscape than this grandson of a German-Russian
immigrant standing there with his honey crisp apples,
Velveeta American cheese, and the hot dog fixin’s.
Not to mention the groceries. ■
Roger Welsch is an author, humorist,
folklorist and a former essayist for
CBS News Sunday Morning. He is the
author of more than 40 books and has
been contributing to NEBRASKAland
Magazine since 1977.
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 51
NORTH WIND PICTURE ARCHIVES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
hen I give my mini-lecture about the Pawnee
return to Nebraska, I also share a bit of their
history here on this very spot on the Middle Loup
River near Dannebrog. I point out that “Loup”
is French for “wolf,” and probably refers to the
“Wolf Pawnee.” Or maybe the Loup Wolf Skidi Pawnee, a
delightful re-re-redundance, since all four words mean wolf.
So we are saying “the wolf wolf wolf wolf people.” That’s
a lot of wolfing. To this day the Pawnee hand signal for
themselves is two raised fingers like the peace sign, moved
forward slowly on the level … two wolf ears coming through
the grass.
But, I explain, the Pawnee however didn’t call the
beautiful, peaceful river here the “Loup” River. And still
don’t. They (and the Omaha, for that matter) call it “Plenty
Potatoes” because of the abundance of food that was
available along its banks, “potatoes” being a kind of general
word for “lots of good eats.” I explain to visitors that for
the Pawnee, who were camped right here where I sit at this
moment when the first Danes crossed the river April of 1871,
setting up camp here was for all the world like camping in
an aisle of a very large supermarket.
The “hunting” part of the hunting and gathering
description of Native societies applies, actually, only to the
hunting of wild game because they probably didn’t have to
do nearly as much searching for what they wanted as I have
to do when I go into the Acme Giganto Food Emporium
looking for something slightly out of the ordinary like caper
berries in wine sauce. (Well, slightly out of the ordinary for
you maybe.) The early occupants of this land knew what
was edible, what was in season when, what it looked like at
various stages of its growth, how it was best prepared, and
where it could be found. And for that matter, they also knew
where to find game most easily, and how to take it. And how
to prepare it for later use. While homesteaders starved or ate
maggoty or impossibly salty pork, the Indians over the hill
were enjoying dried buffalo and berries and taking of the
abundance that was available at any particular time of the
year.
In fact (I was told by Sicangu ethnobotanist Richard
FoolBull many years ago) it may only have been a matter of
remembering where the campers had planted it in the first
place. Or perhaps where their people had planted it many
generations earlier because they were smart and in many
cases they made a point of planting and maintaining “wild”
foods precisely for the purpose of later harvests. Like the
white oaks that distinguished the Dannebrog “island” when
the Danes first arrived and whose progeny still grace the
village park. Pre-invasion Natives no more had to go out
hunting for foodstuffs here on the Plenty Potatoes than a
modern Nebraska farmer has to go out prowling country
roads in a combine looking for corn to pick. He knows
52 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 53
junior journal
from NEBRASKAland‛s Trail Tales magazine for kids
interesting notes for readers of all ages
by Monica Macoubrie and Donna Schimonitz
Venomous vs. Poisonous
By Monica Macoubrie, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
I
once was on a hike in western
Nebraska when the trail leader
said we should be wary of poisonous
snakes. I did not know it then, but
there was no need to worry about
poisonous snakes – because I was
not going to touch or eat one.
Venomous creatures often are
described as poisonous; poisonous
creatures are sometimes called
venomous. Both types have special
toxins, and both can be considered
dangerous. The true difference
comes from how they deliver that
toxin to their prey.
VENOMOUS
Venomous animals bite, sting or
stab their prey to do damage. They
need a way in to deliver their toxins.
The bite of venomous snakes, such as
prairie rattlesnakes, sometimes injects
venom into the bloodstream of their
prey through specially adapted teeth.
Snakes are not the only venomous
animals out there. In fact, there are
venomous creatures in just about
every group of animals: mammals,
amphibians, fish, insects, arachnids
(spiders), snails, jellyfish and even a
few plants.
There are a few venomous plants
in the world. One in Nebraska is the
stinging nettle. It uses hollow hairs on
leaves and stems to inject its venom.
These hairs act like needles, injecting
chemicals into humans and animals
that walk past and producing a
stinging sensation.
POISONOUS
Poisonous is similar to venomous,
but instead of an animal biting,
stinging or stabbing to deliver its toxin,
the entire body, or large parts of it,
may contain a poisonous chemical.
The monarch butterfly is a
poisonous animal in Nebraska. It is
beautiful, and many people do not
think of a butterfly as dangerous.
Some animals, such as birds, could
definitely eat a monarch butterfly, but
they know that they are poisonous,
so they leave them alone. The bright
colors of this butterfly are a warning:
“I taste bad; don’t eat me.”
Plants can be poisonous. Poison
ivy, hemlock, nightshade and rhubarb
are Nebraska examples. Some plants,
such as rhubarb, can grow in your
garden and you can cook and eat the
stalks, but the leaves are very deadly
if eaten.
NATURE CALENDAR
Venomous or
Poisonous?
Identify in each photo if it
contains a venomous or
poisonous item.
rhubarb leaves
brown recluse spider
lawn mushrooms
rattlesnake
Swainson’s hawks gather to begin
migration: August through October
blister beetle
Listen for raccoon communication
at night: September – October
Answers, top to bottom: P, V, P, V, P.
Only the rhubarb stems are edible, not the leaves.
54 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
Goldenrod is flowering throughout
the state: early July through October
Photos by Justin Haag
Eastern Comma Butterfly by Getty Images
Adult eastern comma butterflies appear:
September or October
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 55
Banding Canada Geese
Process allows researchers to monitor changes in survival, abundance and movement over time.
By Tim Lyons and Mark Vrtiska
their database, which they then make
available to biologists. These details
provide a wealth of information that
Game and Parks and other state and
federal wildlife managers can use to
make management decisions.
Game and Parks uses the banding
and recovery data to better understand
and monitor changes in survival,
harvest, abundance and movement over
time. For example, over the past 20
years, harvest regulations in Nebraska
have liberalized, allowing for longer
hunting seasons and increased bag
limits. Banding and recovery data
show that through this time harvest has
increased and survival has decreased,
but generally stabilized following each
new regulatory change. More recently,
estimates of population size since
2010 show no evidence of substantial
declines. This suggests that current
harvest regulations are not adversely
affecting the population overall and
56 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
may even be helping restrict growth.
When bands are reported with
detailed information about where
they were recovered, it also provides
important information about
movements of geese, both into and out
of Nebraska. Currently, most geese in
Nebraska do not leave the state on their
fall migration. In fact, banding data
show that most geese from Nebraska
are harvested in Nebraska.
Decisions based on data and
evidence are the hallmark of wildlife
management in North America.
Banding programs help to provide that
data. But because it’s not until a band is
reported that it tells managers anything,
it’s really hunters and others who
report bands who are collecting the
data necessary to monitor changes in
abundance, set harvest regulations, and
ensure managers have the information
they need to make the most informed
decisions they can. ■
Estimated population size of Canada
geese in Nebraska 2010-2016 obtained
from banding data.
Estimated Population Size of
Canada Geese in Nebraska 2010-2016
230
190
150
110
70
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 57
MAP AND CHART INFORMATION COURTESY OF TIM LYONS
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
Leg bands used to mark Canada geese in Nebraska. As of 2017, all leg bands must be reported at reportband.gov.
Locations of band recoveries across North
America and within Nebraska from Canada
geese banded in Nebraska since 2011.
Estimated population size
(thousands)
period, geese are unable to fly and are
easily captured.
Biologists capture the geese by
herding them into a small corral. Once
captured, geese are aged (juvenile
or adult), their sex is determined,
and a metal band is attached to their
leg. This band contains a unique
combination of numbers that identifies
each individual goose. That number, as
well as information about each bird’s
age, sex and location of capture is
reported to the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), the federal agency in charge
of organizing and managing all birdbanding data in the United States.
However, that is only the start of the
data collection process, as a band must
be reported, most commonly by a hunter
after harvesting a banded bird, before
that band can tell us anything. When
a band is reported to USGS, scientists
there enter information about where and
when the band was encountered into
PHOTO BY JON FARRAR
C
anada geese are perhaps one
of the most easily recognized
birds in Nebraska. From record
lows in the 1960s, the goose
population in Nebraska has
rebounded, and geese are now common
throughout the state. This growth
has allowed increased recreational
opportunities for hunters and wildlifewatchers, but also created problems in
urban areas. Effectively managing the
goose population, whether to sustain
recreational opportunities or mitigate a
nuisance, requires data.
To collect that data, biologists
from the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission traverse the state to
capture and band Canada geese during
the last few weeks of June each year.
Adult geese are in the process of
replacing their feathers (a process
known as molting) from last year and
young geese born the current year are
growing their new feathers. During this
▲
During the mule deer season of 1954, Corky
Greenough shot this mule deer south of Cody,
Nebraska, on a tributary of the Niobrara River in
a conifer and plumb brush covered canyon. As I
remember we called this deer a 4x4 with brow tines.
After field dressing, Cork brought him home to the
Hibbs and Powell Ranch northwest of Cody and we
hung him in the calving barn to cool out and age.
Cork is admiring the buck with his son Doug.
Corky, his wife JoAnn and two sons, Doug and
Dale, lived and worked on the ranch with my wife,
Charlotte, our son, Bill, Jr., and me. We had about
450 head of Angus cows and heifer calves running
in 4,500 acres of pasture along that tributary. Corky
and JoAnn moved to Lusk, Wyoming, in the late
1990s. He passed away in March 2017.
Leonard Witherwax was a neighbor west of the
ranch. He borrowed my Remington 270. He also got
a mule deer near the same area a few days later.
I have many good memories of those days in the
50s when mule deer were still living in the Niobrara
area. There were no whitetail along the river back
then.
– W. C. Bill Hamilton, Ankeny, Iowa
▲
Here is a photo of a good group of
friends (and memories of the past), on
opening day of pheasant season, Nov.
1, 1980 at the Roland and Ruth Hatcliff
farm a few miles east of Pleasant Hill,
Nebraska. We started the morning
hunt with this group and two Labrador
retrievers. My dad Roland (pictured
in the photo) made a few passes with
the corn picker a few days before the
season opener. This was on about
60 acres of corn. We would walk the
field and flush the pheasants out.
Those that managed to get away (and
there were plenty) landed in two other
cornfields nearby. We would then walk
those fields and flush them again. I
believe we made about three passes
in each to those fields. We started at
sunrise and by 11 a.m., we had our
limit of 39 pheasant, 1 squirrel, and
7 quail. Those pheasants that we
harvested did not even make a dent
into the birds that were in the area
back then. Back then, it truly was
Pheasants Forever! After cleaning the
wild game, we visited the Pleasant Hill
tavern for stories and celebration.
– Al Hatcliff, Crete, 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. Text may be edited and photos adjusted
for reproduction. All photos will be returned.
58 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 59
Presented by
NEBRASKA SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL
Annual Fundraiser Set for January 2019
N
60 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
PHOTO COURTESY OF SAFARI CLUB INTERNATIONAL
ebraska Chapter Safari Club International is planning
books to hunting apparel and gear to jewelry, we will have
its annual fundraiser for Jan. 25 and 26, 2019, at the
a little bit for everyone. You can join in our raffle items and
Beardmore Event Center in Bellevue, Nebraska. All the
take a chance to win quality firearms and beautiful jewelry.
proceeds will fund outdoor education, youth and women
Friday night, in addition to our auction and meeting
hunting programs, conservation and hunters’ advocacy
Melissa Bachman, we will have a beer garden complete
agendas.
with Nebraska’s own Bohlzen Beer Band
This year, our featured guest is Melissa
sponsored
sp
by Gunderson’s Jewelers. On
Bachman, star of Winchester’s Deadly
Saturday
Sa
afternoon seminars will include
Passion. Ms. Bachman will speak at
Melissa
M
Bachman and the Women of SCI
our membership meeting, present an
who
w will host a wine and chocolate party
afternoon seminar on Jan. 26, and be part
along
al
with youth activities. Saturday
of our evening festivities both Jan. 25 and
evening
ev
will include live and silent
Jan. 26.
auctions,
au
as well as award presentations.
While we are excited and proud to
While membership is encouraged, we
bring Ms. Bachman to our state, we
happily
open our doors to non-members
ha
an encourage everyone to attend our
are equally excited to bring exhibitors
and
ev
from around the world. Historically,
event.
Please bring your friends and
ch
our event has brought in outfitters from
children
to enjoy a weekend with an
Colorado, Nebraska, and South Dakota
organization
or
that promotes youth hunting,
as well as individuals from South Africa,
outdoor
ou
education, conservation and
Zimbabwe, Argentina and New Zealand,
hunters’
hu
advocacy in Nebraska and
to name a few. This year we hope for
throughout
the world. ■
th
the same, as our Board of Directors is
working hard to bring in more exhibitors.
For more information, visit
Other items of interest will be our live
nebraskasafariclubint.com or call Mary L.
ne
Melissa Bachman
and silent auctions items. From hunts to
Middleton at 402-214-8270.
M
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 61
Mule Deer Study
P
art of being a
NEBRASKAland Magazine
writer includes documenting
interesting studies that go on
in our state that many people
don’t realize are taking place but
have an influence on wildlife and
wildlife management in our state.
Many of these studies are
partnerships between the Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission and
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
or other entities. One particular
study that started this February
involving a UNL student is focusing
on adult female and fawn mule deer
survival rates, their movements,
and habitat use in the southwestern
portion of the state.
Tracking collars were placed
on the does and fawns when they
were captured. These collars allow
researchers to track movements,
determine habitat use and help
identify cause-specific mortality.
The study sites include both
high and low-density mule
deer populations separated
geographically by short distances,
which will allow biologists to better
understand the differences in herd
dynamics.
Data will be analyzed throughout
the next two years with a final
conclusion slated to be complete
in December of 2020. Nebraska
Game and Parks will be able to use
this data to help guide future mule
deer management in southwestern
Nebraska. Furthermore, this study
will provide crucial population
information that will enhance
our ability to make harvest
recommendations based on up-todate scientific data. ■
GE T
PU M PED
Upland season is calling. It echoes from the shell pushed into the chamber
and pulses in the stock tucked firmly into your shoulder. Whether it’s pheasants,
quail or grouse, Nebraska has the mixed-bag opportunities you’re looking for.
Answer the call. Experience Nebraska upland hunting.
Julie Geiser
July 17, 2018
BIRD HUNT NEBRASKA
GROUSE: SEPT. 1, 2018 – JAN. 31, 2019
PHEASANT AND QUAIL: OCT. 27, 2018 – JAN. 31, 2019
Begin your adventure today and get your permit at BirdHuntNebraska.com
62 NEBRASKAland • OCTOBER 2018
OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 63
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