20 2024 Annual Report
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Management
Waterfowl zones considered
Hunters played an important role in the waterfowl rezoning process in 2024 by providing their input on
current duck, coot and dark geese zones in Nebraska. Their feedback helps guide Nebraska Game and Parks
staff in proposing zone changes, if any are warranted, to increase hunter satisfaction while preserving
sustainable populations of waterfowl, which are migratory and therefore managed along with the states
and provinces in the Central Flyway. Once every fi ve years, states can reassess and propose changes to zone
boundaries based on updated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service criteria. Hunters will have another opportunity
to provide feedback on zones in 2025, with fi nal boundaries sent to USFWS for approval in late 2025. Season
dates in alignment with proposed zones will not go into eff ect until 2026.
Planning for disease in deer populations
Nebraska Game and Parks updated its Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan in 2024. The plan is
to track occurrences of CWD and create strategies that reduce further spread. The plan includes updated
surveillance data, descriptions of sampling and testing methods, and best management practices.
Game and Parks sought public input on updates during a virtual meeting hosted in July attended by more
than 50 people and through an online contact form that remained open after the meeting.
Wildlife professionals collar and
tag mule deer in the Wildcat Hills.
The project, sponsored by the
USDA National Wildlife Research
Center's eff orts to study chronic
wasting disease, helps researchers
monitor herds of deer equipped
with tracking collars.
