2014 Annual Report • Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 55
A C L O S E R L O O K A T P E R M I T S
Permit sales often fluctuate from year to year. Some fluctuation is
due to weather conditions that influence an individual's desire to be
outdoors, and some can be influenced by the
individual's perception of wildlife populations
and, thus, their likelihood of success. There
are several other personal factors. This
process, in which an individual may buy a
permit once and a while but not necessarily
every year, is called "churn." Here is a closer
look at some of Nebraska's permits and what
factors may influence their rise or decline in sales:
Big game permits – These are deer,
antelope, turkey and elk permits. Deer
herds continue to recover from the epizootic
hemorrhagic disease event of 2012, and
hunters responded by purchasing 3,300
additional permits and harvesting 3,700
additional deer. Deer permits sold out in most
units, and harvest exceeded 52,000. Elk and
pronghorn hunters had good success, even
though permit quotas were reduced by about 5 percent in 2014.
Spring turkey permit sales continue to be on a steady increase.
Nebraska's popular $5 youth permits for deer, turkey and antelope
likely contribute to growth in nonresident participation.
Hunting permits – These represent
small game and waterfowl hunters. Small
game abundance was slightly higher than
2013, with total numbers of resident and
nonresident hunters remaining largely
unchanged. Permit sales appear to continue
to shift toward more value-driven combo
hunt/fish permits for seniors and veterans, as
well as toward multi-year permits.
