6 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
•
2020 Annual Report
Successes in Response to
a Global Pandemic
As the novel coronavirus spread around the world, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
was among those reducing some services and implementing procedures to follow new health
measures in an effort to protect guests and staff from community spread.
For the first time in the history of the parks system, which turns 100 in 2021, Game and Parks
closed overnight camping to the public, in order to examine activities and operations and plan
for a phased-in approach to services that would benefit Nebraskans and keep them as safe as
possible.
While some services were temporarily put on hold beginning in the spring, park grounds
remained open, and Nebraskans — taking health measures to heart — saw the out doors as a
safe space. Pursuit of outdoor recreation soared.
As the calendar year progressed, we saw a surge in permit sales for parks, fishing and most
hunting, and by the end of October, sales were at all-time highs for most permits. Our hope
is that people found this time outdoors to be quality time getting in touch with nature with
family, and we will work to keep the enthusiasm going into the next year and beyond.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission employees use new
protocols to keep guests and employees safe from the spread
of COVID-19. Above left, an employee sanitizes a cabin and,
at right, an employee works the guest kiosk at Eugene T.
Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska, in fall 2020.
