OutdoorNebraska

Conservation 13 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 2025 Annual Report An angler lands a rainbow trout while fly-fishing at Lake Ogallala State Recreation Area. ERIC FOWLER Research project explores trout movements at Lake Ogallala Researchers are studying rainbow and cutbow trout at Lake Ogallala to better understand how stocked fish use the reservoir and contribute to downstream fisheries. This research aims to track the movement of the two types of trout from their stocking location, as well as their persistence within the reservoir. Acoustic tags were implanted in 90 trout, which are recorded when the fish swim past acoustic receivers throughout the lake. Temperature and oxygen readings also are taken to identify their preferred habitats. A yearlong survey also is being conducted to monitor angler catch-and-harvest rates within the lake, the supply canal and North Platte River rock weir fishery throughout the year. This research is important for improving fishing opportunities and maintaining a healthy fishery. This project is conducted in partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Results are expected by spring 2026. Pallid sturgeon recovery seeing progress This year marked progress for one of the Missouri River's rarest fish: the pallid sturgeon. For the first time, Nebraska Game and Parks' fisheries biologists found groups of males and females returning to the same areas to reproduce near Ponca State Park and the James River, east of Yankton, S.D. In the past three years, they also have tagged 164 adult sturgeon, documented 23 cases of female pallid sturgeon successfully laying eggs, and confirmed natural reproduction in the river after capturing two young sturgeon this year. Understanding population structures and survival rates provides evidence recovery efforts are working, and the ability to determine preferred spawning locations helps locate crucial habitats vital for conservation planning and habitat protection. These achievements are the latest chapter in more than 20 years of dedicated monitoring under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-funded Missouri River Recovery Program. Record number of tern nest documented in 2025 The third-highest number of piping plover nests and a record high number of interior least tern nests were recorded in 2025 at Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership sites along the Platte and other eastern Nebraska rivers. Nebraska Game and Parks and partners documented 73 piping plover nests and 375 least tern nests at 23 sand and gravel mines and lakeshore developments. It is a testament to how well these species continue to use Nebraska's human-altered river corridors for nesting. For more than 25 years, Game and Parks and the conservation partnership have worked side-by-side with the mining business and housing industry to protect threatened and endangered birds while keeping vital economic activity moving. This cooperative model remains one of the nation's leading examples of how conservation and industry can succeed together on private lands.

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