Mountain lion observed on video in Scottsbluff

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has confirmed a mountain lion was observed on video crossing a yard on the west side of Scottsbluff in the early morning on Nov. 19.

The video was taken from a doorbell camera. Mountain lions that are found within city limits will be euthanized if it can safely be done, in accordance with the Commission’s Mountain Lion Response Plan. If people in the community observe a mountain lion they should immediately contact the Scottsbluff Police Department.

Due to their secretive nature, mountain lions rarely interact with humans. In the rare instance that a person does encounter a mountain lion, they should not approach the animal, leave the animal an avenue of escape, back away slowly to an area of safety like a house or a car, and fight back in case of an attack.

For more information on mountain lions in Nebraska, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/mountainlions.

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will release rooster pheasants on 16 wildlife management areas prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The 16 areas are: Powder Creek, (Dixon County), Oak Valley (Madison County), Wilkinson (Platte County), George Syas (Nance County), Sherman Reservoir (Sherman County), Pressey (Custer County), Cornhusker (Hall County), Kirkpatrick Basin North (York County), Peru Bottoms (Nemaha County), Randall W. Schilling (Cass), Branched Oak (Lancaster County), Yankee Hill (Lancaster County), Arrowhead (Gage County), Hickory Ridge (Johnson County), Twin Oaks (Johnson County), and Rakes Creek (Cass County).

To view a map of the pheasant release sites, visit OutdoorNebraska.org/upland and click on the “pheasant releases” tab.

The pheasants will be released to enhance hunting opportunities over the Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) holiday weekend and encourage families to spend time together in the field. Non-toxic shot is required at Kirkpatrick Basin North, Peru Bottoms, Randall W. Schilling, and Wilkinson, but otherwise all usual regulations apply.

Nebraska’s pheasant, quail, and prairie grouse seasons run through Jan. 31, 2021. Permits and applicable stamps may be purchased at OutdoorNebraska.org. For more information on these and other publicly accessible lands throughout Nebraska, visit
OutdoorNebraska.org/PublicAccessAtlas or contact Game and Parks at 402-471-0641.

Sustainable ranching: A landowner’s journey to using prescribed fire

By Renae Blum
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Looking at the numbers, and seeing the state of his pastures, Jim Jenkins knew it was time for a change.

The Callaway rancher turned to prescribed fire after his efforts to remove eastern redcedar trees from his land mechanically proved too costly and ineffective at stopping the spread. However, using prescribed fire on a larger scale was unfamiliar.

“It was complex and I was a bit scared of it, because I’d just never been around burning,” Jenkins said.

The learning curve to use prescribed fire can be intimidating for landowners, said Brian Teeter, a prescribed fire coordinator with Pheasants Forever. Yet, every year, conservation professionals across the state help many landowners through the process. In recent years, Jenkins became one of them.

Jenkins knew the local Natural Resources Conservation Service office provided help for landowners looking to burn, and so several years ago, he sat down with Lisa Clarke McMillan, a soil conservationist at the agency, and signed up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The program provides incentive payments for brush management, deferred grazing and prescribed burning.

McMillan helped him develop a burn plan and visited his ranch to lay out where the burn would take place. Then, with McMillan’s guidance, Jenkins began prepping for the burn, creating a firebreak and cutting and strategically placing trees to facilitate a better burn.

“I would tell anybody that it’s important that you talk to people like Lisa,” Jenkins said. “If you can spend some time with them, it’s really helpful because they’ve been through literally hundreds of burns.”

Last fall, at McMillan’s recommendation, Jenkins attended a prescribed fire workshop led by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Pheasants Forever, where he learned the basics of prescribed fire, including techniques, equipment and common terms.

At the workshop, Jenkins also networked with other landowners and resource professionals. Teeter was one of them and offered Jenkins the use of a trailer of equipment for his burn. He also got Jenkins in touch with several prescribed burn associations, groups of landowners who team up to conduct prescribed burns in their communities.

Last spring, using his new connections, Jenkins went to a couple of prescribed burns.

“I was impressed at how relatively easy the burn goes,” he said. “Once you have all the preparation work done and you’ve got a good crew and you’ve got the right conditions, the burn itself is almost anticlimactic.”

Jenkins hoped to conduct his burn in late February or early March, but ultimately decided to wait for better weather conditions and to finish more prep work. He’s looking forward to holding his first burn next spring.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “I don’t drink, but I might consider having some champagne or something.”

It takes time and effort to learn how to use prescribed fire, Jenkins said. However, “if you’re willing to invest the time, there are plenty of people out there willing to help you,” he said.

A number of organizations throughout the state assist landowners in implementing prescribed fire, including Game and Parks, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, The Nature Conservancy, the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. They do it because prescribed fire is beneficial: It offers a boost to pasture productivity, is a valuable conservation tool, improves wildlife habitat, reduces wildfire risk and eliminates invasive species.

“If somebody wants to get a fire on the ground in the state right now, it’s a high priority of most every land management or conservation organization in the state,” Teeter said. “They’re never alone.”

 

Nebraskland photo contest to be featured in later edition

LINCOLN, Neb. – The 2020 Nebraskaland Magazine photo contest, originally slated to run in the January 2021 edition of the outdoors magazine, is now expected to be featured in March.

The decision to delay the print date was made after a recent change to Instagram’s hashtag search feature limited the number of viewable contest entries. The social media platform plans to restore hashtag searches, but has yet to set a date for the function to return.

The contest deadline for submissions remains Nov. 22, 2020. Contest categories include wildlife, scenic, recreation and flora. All photos must be taken in Nebraska and must be submitted on Instagram using the hashtag #Nebraskland2020.

First-, second-, and third-place prizes will be awarded in all categories, and submissions will be judged by Nebraskaland staff.

Complete contest rules may be found online at magazine.outdoornebraska.org/photocontest.

Trenton man injured in Swanson Reservoir boating accident

LINCOLN, Neb. – A 46-year-old Trenton man was hospitalized with injuries following a boating accident Nov. 19 on Swanson Reservoir in Hitchcock County.

Sometime in the afternoon, the victim, the sole occupant other than a dog, apparently was ejected from his boat. The running boat began circling. Another boater rescued the man from the water and took him to the boat ramp to be treated by emergency personnel.

The victim, who sustained injuries from the propeller, was flown by helicopter to CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney.

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission conservation officers secured the boat and dog. Game and Parks is investigating the incident.