Controlled burns to remove tree and brush piles will end as the snow melts. Prescribed burns then will begin this spring on some Nebraska Game and Parks Commission wildlife management areas, state parks and state recreation areas where weather allows.

Burning allows habitat managers to positively affect more acres. Those burns not completed this spring will be attempted this summer, fall or winter as weather allows.

Burned acres often become more attractive to wildlife species, and for some species, the effect is immediate. The long-term effects on wildlife habitat are much better if prescribed burning is used as a management tool than if habitat is not burned.

Historically, wildlife habitats were shaped by wildfires that occurred throughout the year. Burns help set back undesirable plants that invade native woodlands and prairies, as well as other grass and wooded areas. Eastern red cedar trees, honey locust, buckbrush, sumac, dogwood and other undesirable deciduous trees and shrubs can be managed with the help of burns.

Used in conjunction with grazing, prescribed burning also can set back smooth brome and Kentucky bluegrass, increase diversity in grasslands and improve habitat for wildlife.

Prescribed fire planned at Fort Robinson

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is planning a 600-acre prescribed burn at Fort Robinson State Park that, if weather conditions permit, could happen as early as Monday, March 3.

The burning will occur west and north of the 22,000-acre park’s water towers. The goal is to remove thatch and improve grazing conditions for the park’s captive bison and longhorns, as well as wildlife species such as pronghorn and mule deer.

Fort Robinson is one of several Game and Parks wildlife management areas, state parks and state recreation areas that have prescribed fires planned.

Historically, wildlife habitats were shaped by wildfires that occurred throughout the year. Prescribed burning is used to increase the diversity of native plants while setting back undesirable species that invade native woodlands and prairies.

Milford, Pound winners in regional NASP event

Milford won the high school championships in each of the bull’s-eye and 3D divisions at the Nebraska National Archery in the Schools Regional Tournament on Feb. 22 at Milford.

Lincoln’s Pound Middle School also won the bull’s-eye and 3D competitions in its division.

Archers represented 21 schools from Nebraska and one from South Dakota.

NASP is an in-school curriculum covering target archery for students in grades 4-12. The state tournament will be held March 14-15 in Lincoln.

The high scorers in the bull’s-eye competition were Chason Bell of Lincoln Scott Middle School at 288 and Ayla Salistean of Milford at 283. Salistean also had the girls’ best 3D score at 278 and Heath Bacon of Milford led the boys with 284.

Bull’s-eye

Elementary Girls – 1. Tessa Collins, Bellevue Cornerstone Christian, 274; 2. Sofia Hunt, Lincoln Blessed Sacrament, 237; 3. Olivia Wandzilak, Blessed Sacrament, 225; 4. Emma Crudden, Cornerstone Christian, 216; 5. Matti Welsh, Cornerstone Christian, 203

Elementary Boys – 1. Hunter Therkildsen, Cornerstone Christian, 279; 2. Trey Munneke, Dakota Christian (SD), 246; 3. Tilon Scott, Tri-City Homeschool, 243; 4. Damien Bartoo, Cornerstone Christian, 242; 5. Deacon Peltier, Cornerstone Christian, 230

Middle School Girls – 1. Anna Diessner, Tri-City Homeschool, 281; 2. Melanie Elsasser, Lincoln Pound Middle School, 271; 3. Leela West, Cornerstone Christian, 268; 4. Macie Carter, Milford, 264; 5. Ady Heder, Cornerstone Christian, 263

Middle School Boys – 1. Chason Bell, Lincoln Scott Middle School, 288; 2. Eli Collins, Cornerstone Christian, 280; 3. Blake Neumayer, Pound MS, 276; 4. Jace Volz, Blessed Sacrament, 275* (tie broken); 5. Camdon Roker, Pound MS, 275*

High School Girls – 1. Ayla Salistean, Milford, 283; 2. Christina Hancock, Milford, 281; 3. Maddie Hoyle, Lincoln Southwest, 279* (tie broken); 4. Natalie Nutzman, Milford, 279*; 5. Emory Likes, Omaha Concordia, 279*

High School Boys – 1. Hayden Mitchell, Lincoln East, 287; 2. Vinnie Vander Velde, Tri-City Homeschool, 282; 3. James Wissenburg, Milford, 280; 4. Calvin Falldorf, Lincoln North Star, 278; 5. Aiden Jedlecki, Cornerstone Christian, 275

Team Awards

Middle School – 1. Pound MS, 3,136; 2. Cornerstone Christian, 3,099; 3. Milford, 2,701

High School – 1. Milford, 3,263; 2. Burwell, 2,713; 3. Dakota Christian, 2,708

3-D

Elementary Girls – 1. Tessa Collins, Cornerstone Christian, 247; 2. Sofia Hunt, Blessed Sacrament, 231; 3. Matti Welsh, Cornerstone Christian, 178; 4. Emma Crudden, Cornerstone Christian, 157; 5. Asher Munneke, Dakota Christian, 137

Elementary Boys – 1. Hunter Therkildsen, Cornerstone Christian, 260; 2. Trey Munneke, Dakota Christian, 250; 3. Damien Bartoo, Cornerstone Christian, 242; 4. James Ward, St. James, 185; 5. Kemper Marquart, Yorkshire Homeschool Archers, 177

Middle School Girls – 1. Macie Carter, Milford, 266; 2. Brooklyn Devall, Tri-City Homeschool, 260* (tie broken); 3. Jacey Wagoner, Cornerstone Christian, 260*; 4. Anna Diessner, Tri-City Homeschool, 258* (tie broken); 5. Audrey Weers, Pound MS, 258*

Middle School Boys – 1. Camdon Roker, Pound MS, 279; 2. Eli Collins, Cornerstone Christian, 272; 3. Noah Hoyle, Pound MS, 267; 4. Jace Volz, Blessed Sacrament, 260; 5. Blake Neumayer, Pound MS, 258

High School Girls – 1. Ayla Salistean, Milford, 278; 2. Emory Likes, Omaha Concordia, 276; 3. Gracie McDonald, Milford, 274; 4. Maddie Hoyle, Lincoln Southwest, 272; 5. Layla Elstun, Milford, 269

High School Boys – 1. Heath Bacon, Milford, 284; 2. James Wissenburg, Milford, 274; 3. Zephyr Mowinkel, Milford, 266; 4. Vinnie Vander Velde, Tri-City Homeschool, 264; 5. Aiden Jedlecki, Cornerstone Christian, 264

Team Awards

Elementary – 1. Cornerstone Christian, 1,261

Middle School – 1. Pound MS, 1,568; 2. Tri-City Homeschool, 1,488; 3. Milford, 1,460

High School – 1. Milford, 1,646; 2. Cornerstone Christian, 1,523; 3. Tri-City Homeschool, 1,459

NASP Nebraska Regional Academic Archer Team – Chase Bell, Scott MS; Ayla Salistean, Milford; Vinnie Vander Velde, Tri-City Homeschool; Anna Diessner, Tri-City Homeschool; James Wissenburg, Milford; Emory Likes, Omaha Concordia; Natalie Nutzman, Milford; Maddie Hoyle, Lincoln Southwest; Calvin Falldorf, Lincoln North Star; Blake Neumayer, Pound MS; Camdon Roker, Pound MS; Jace Volz, Blessed Sacrament School; Sydney Havlat, Milford; Tucker Sup, Lincoln Southeast; Aiden Jedlecki, Cornerstone Christian; Tessa Collins, Cornerstone Christian; Zach Wiekamp, Pound MS; Melanie Elsasser, Pound MS; Heath Bacon, Milford; Adeline Morrison, Cornerstone Christian; Presley Wade, Tri-City Homeschool; Kalei Swanson, Lincoln Southwest; Simon Ulmer, Pound MS; Leah Eaton, Tri-City Homeschool

 

Anglers will see larger trout stocked this spring

Spring is coming early. While the water still may be cold, it will be perfect for the thousands of trout to be released in ponds and lakes across Nebraska in March.

The warming temperatures aren’t the only thing for anglers to enjoy. This spring, the rainbow and cutbow trout (rainbow/cutthroat hybrid) to be released will be of larger size, many near or exceeding 12 inches.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is continuing to seek valuable input from trout anglers, particularly those who fish put-and-take lakes. Information from this voluntary survey will be used to continue informing future trout management and stocking decisions. A survey is available at OutdoorNebraska.gov. Search “trout stocking reports.” Information from this survey will be used to inform future trout management and stocking decisions.

The following is a schedule for rainbow and cutbow trout set to be stocked, including quantities. The schedule can change because of weather or unforeseen circumstances:

Week of March 3

Lake Ogallala, Ogallala, 3,300 (cutbows); East Branch Verdigre Creek, Royal, 200

Week of March 10

Carney Pond, O’Neill, 750 (cutbows); Ponca State Park Pond, 1,500 (cutbows); Kramer Lake, Bellevue, 2,000; Fremont State Recreation Area No. 18, 2,000; Ta-Ha-Zouka Park Lake, Norfolk, 1,500 (cutbows); Pawnee Park West Lake, Columbus, 1,000 (cutbows); Neligh Park Pond, West Point, 500 (cutbows); Gracie Creek Pond, Burwell, 1,000; Rotary Club Lake, Auburn, 470; Humboldt City Park Lake (west), 200; Pawnee City Pond, 200; Stanton Lake, Falls City, 200; Auble Pond, Ord, 600; Elm Creek, Elm Creek Wildlife Management Area, Red Cloud, 500; Heartwell Park Lake, Hastings, 360; Suck’s Lake, Grand Island, 500; Holmes Lake, Lincoln, 1,750; Victoria Springs SRA Lake, Anselmo, 1,000; North Morrill Pond, Morrill, 1,500; Middle Morrill Pond, Morrill, 200; Riverside Park Pond, Scottsbluff, 700

Week of March 17

East Branch Verdigre Creek, Royal, 200; Neligh Park Pond, West Point, 400; Weeping Water Park Pond 1, 750; Steinhart Park East Pond, Nebraska City, 400; Holdrege City Lake, 810; Oxford City Lake, 200; Plum Creek Park Lake, Lexington, 660; Bethphage Pond, Axtell, 200; Fort Kearny SRA No. 6, Kearney, 900; Windmill SRA No. 2, Gibbon, 880; Geneva Pond, 200; Louisville SRA Pond No. 1A, 500; Lake Halleck, Papillion, 1,200; Gretna Crossing Pond, Gretna, 200; Lake Helen, Gothenburg, 1,000; Holmes Lake, Lincoln, 1,750; David City Park Pond West, 450; Rock Creek Lake SRA, Parks, 1,500; Bridgeport Middle Pond SRA, 1,600; Bridgeport Northwest Pond SRA, 1,400; Terry’s Pit, Terrytown, 500

Week of March 24

East Branch Verdigre Creek, Royal, 200; CenturyLink Lake, Eugene T. Mahoney SP, Ashland, 2,000

Week of March 31

East Branch Verdigre Creek, Royal, 200

For information on fish stocking online, including upcoming trout stocking dates, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search “Fish Stocking Database.”