OutdoorNebraska

28 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission • 2018 Annual Report M O R E T H A N 6 0 0 A C R E S A D D E D T O N E B R A S K A W I L D L I F E M A N A G E M E N T A R E A S The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission manages nearly 190,000 acres of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). This land, which is open to the public, represents less than 0.4 percent of the landmass in Nebraska. The commission makes annual in-lieu-of-tax payments to the counties in which WMAs are located. In 2018, 151 acres were added to existing WMAs: • Eighty acres were added to the 1,600-acre Jack Sinn WMA in Lancaster County. The new acres include Category 3 wetlands, which are an important habitat of many saline wetland species including the Salt Creek tiger beetle. The added land also provides important habitat for migrating birds, along with habitat for deer and pheasants. • 71 acres added to the Ponderosa WMA, which will put this area known for bighorn sheep, deer and turkey at more than 4,000 acres. Additionally, two new WMAs totaling 467 acres were donated through the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation: • Thomas C. Matter WMA in Richardson County was a donation of 147 acres of deer and turkey habitat that consists of well- managed oak and hickory woodlands. • The Alcon C. Haring Memorial Wildlife Management Area was a donation of 320 acres in Franklin County. This area is entirely native mixed-grass prairie that has never been farmed or broken. The area should make excellent habitat for prairie chickens and other upland birds, as well as nongame grassland nesting birds. H A B I T A T S H A R E P R O G R A M I M P R O V E S H A B I T A T S O N W M A S The Nebraska Game and Parks Habitat Share Program aims to restore and enhance wildlife habitat on WMAs by removal of invasive species and restoration of native vegetation to maintain or enhance existing cover. Hunters fund this program through their purchase of habitat stamps, and the program also receives Pittman-Robertson funds. In 2018, habitat restoration and enhancement work was completed on 4,995 acres on 74 WMAs through the Habitat Share program. Management activities included: • Herbaceous seedings to improve the interspersion of cover types and, more specifically, to control erosion and provide nesting, feeding, perching, and roosting sites for a variety of birds and mammals. PHEASANT HUNTING AT YANKEE HILL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA IN LANCASTER COUNTY

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