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Outdoor Notes
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will accept archery paddlefish permit applications March 1-14.
The application period begins at 1 p.m. Central Time on March 1. Postal mail applications must be received in Game and Parks’ Lincoln office by 5 p.m. CST and online applications by 11:59 p.m. March 14.
A nonrefundable $7 application fee is due at the time of application. Applicants supplying valid email addresses will be notified when the draw is complete. Those not providing valid email addresses will be responsible for monitoring their status online.
The draw results will be made available by March 20. Payment for awarded permits is due by 11:59 p.m. April 5.
Permits will be issued in a random drawing based on preference points earned; applicants with the most preference points will receive the highest priority. Permits awarded but unpaid will result in the applicant losing preference points and forfeiting the permit. Unpaid or unawarded permits remaining after the drawing will be made available to the next resident applicant.
An applicant will receive a preference point if he or she is not awarded a permit in the drawing. An additional preference point will be added each year he or she is unsuccessful in the drawing. Any person who is issued a paddlefish permit and any person who does not apply at least once during five consecutive years will lose all accumulated preference points. In lieu of participating in the draw, anglers may purchase one preference point per season during the application period. The cost is $10 for residents and $20 for nonresidents, plus a $7 application fee for each.
Also: Two people – both residents or both nonresidents – may submit a joint application. That application will be assigned to the applicant with the fewest preference points.
A person may have no more than two archery paddlefish permits per year: one earned via application and one bought over the counter, if unsold permits remain.
Permits and their accompanying tags are not transferable.
Anyone fishing with an archery paddlefish permit also must have a valid Nebraska fish permit.
For more information, refer to the 2025 Nebraska Fishing Guide.
The 2025 archery paddlefish season is June 1-30. To apply for a permit, visit a Game and Parks office, OutdoorNebraska.gov, or use the form in the 2025 Nebraska Fishing Guide.
Surveillance detects 60 positive CWD cases
LINCOLN — Chronic wasting disease surveillance conducted in eastern Nebraska during the November firearm deer season detected 60 positive cases in deer.
More than 1,400 samples were collected from harvested deer at check stations in the Missouri, Elkhorn, Loup East, Wahoo, Blue Northwest and Blue Southeast deer management units. CWD was detected for the first time in Antelope, Madison, Butler, York, Seward, Jefferson, Richardson, Merrick, Greeley and Platte counties.
CWD surveillance in Nebraska is implemented in four to seven units each year, rotating to a different part of the state. To view 2024 CWD results, identified by harvest seal number, visit OutdoorNebraska. gov; search for “CWD.”
Since 1997, Nebraska Game and Parks has tested more than 58,000 deer and more than 400 elk, with 1,347 deer and 23 elk testing positive for CWD to date. At this time, CWD has been detected in freeranging deer or elk in 68 counties.
The disease was first discovered in Colorado in 1967 and in Nebraska in 2000 in Kimball County. To date, it has been detected in wild or captive deer, elk or moose in 35 states.
CWD is a prion disease that attacks the brain of infected deer, elk and moose; it is always fatal to the infected animal. While no CWD infections in humans have been reported, public health officials recommend taking precautions when handling or processing a harvest or tools used during the butchering process.
They also recommend avoiding consumption of meat from deer and elk that look sick or that test positive for CWD.
Learn more about the disease, recommended precautions to take, or find Game and Parks’ Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan at OutdoorNebraska.gov.
Deadline for Nebraska Fish Art Contestis Feb. 28
LINCOLN — Students in kindergarten through 12th grade have until the end of the month to submit entries for the Nebraska Fish Art Contest.
The 2025 contest, sponsored by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Wildlife Forever and Bass Pro Shops, is accepting entries through Feb. 28, 2025. Enter at theartofconservation.org/ fish-art-contest.
This free international art and writing competition gives young people the opportunity to highlight their artistic talents while learning about fish, fishing and aquatic conservation. Participants can win prizes and recognition in Nebraska and internationally.
Young artists create an original illustration of any wild fish species in natural habitats and submit a one-page creative writing detailing their species habitat and efforts to conserve it.
Entries are categorized in four grade levels: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Writing is not required for grades K-3. Educators nationwide use Fish On!, the State-Fish Art Lesson Plan, integrating the disciplines of science and art. Winners
