By: Jerry Kane, Public Information Officer
Deer hunters are reminded that in-person check stations will be used during the nine-day firearm season this year.
All deer harvested during the Nov. 13-21 season must be accompanied by the hunter and taken to a check station no later than 1 p.m. on the day following the close of the season.
Check stations change from year to year, so hunters are urged to find their locations before they hunt. A list may be found on the 2021 deer regulations sheet, which, along with maps and information, is available at outdoornebraska.gov/deer and outdoornebraska.gov/huntingseasons. An interactive map of check stations can be found at outdoornebraska.gov/maps.
Game and Parks staff will collect lymph nodes from select harvested deer to sample for chronic wasting disease at check stations in the Wahoo, Blue Southeast and Blue Northwest units. They will take samples for CWD and meningeal brain worm in the Buffalo, Platte and Republican units.
When checking in a deer, the permit and check station seal number or check station verification number must be retained when transporting all or a portion of the carcass to a point of permanent storage or processing.
Deer harvested during the Nov. 6-8 Special Landowner season must be checked via Telecheck; the website and phone number to contact are printed on the permit.
Check boats, lifts, and docks for invasive aquatic hitchhikers as weather cools
LINCOLN, Neb. –Nebraskans are urged to check boats, boat lifts and docks for invasive species when removing them from water bodies for the winter.
Aquatic hitchhikers like zebra mussels can live up to two weeks out of water, and several lakes across the Midwest are first noticed to be infested by people removing boats, lifts and docks for the winter.
Young zebra mussels – or veligers – are invisible to the naked eye and can be spread through drops of water left undrained. All boat lifts and docks should remain out of the water and dried for 21 days before placing them into another water body.
A zebra mussel is a highly invasive aquatic species that looks like a D-shaped clam, with alternating light and dark bands. Most zebra mussels are less than an inch long. They form dense colonies and filter large quantities of plankton from water, decreasing the food supply for native species. In addition, these mussels pollute swimming areas with sharp shells and clog water intake pipes.
The Missouri River has an existing zebra mussel population along its entire length downstream of Gavins Point Dam. Lewis and Clark Lake, Lake Yankton and the Offutt Base Lake are the only other confirmed Nebraska waters that have established zebra mussel populations.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission annually samples dozens of lakes for early sign of zebra mussels. It also not only inspects watercraft for invasive species each year, but in 2021, it set a record by inspecting more than 2,000 watercraft.
“In Nebraska, we are fortunate we do not have more lakes infested with zebra mussels,” said Kristopher Stahr, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission aquatic invasive species program manager. “To keep our lakes invasive-free, we need everyone to always clean, drain and dry their watercraft and to report new infestations quickly.”
Game and Parks regulations require anglers, hunters and boaters conduct clean, drain and dry procedures before leaving a water body and are not allowed to arrive at a water body with any water from another water body. Visit stopaquatichitchhikers.org for details and for more information on aquatic invasive species.
Report any suspected observation of zebra mussels or other aquatic invasive species to Game and Parks at 402-471-7602 or at [email protected].