OutdoorNebraska

Conservation 11 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 2025 Annual Report The largest greater prairie-chicken study ever conducted began in 2025 to examine how the Conservation Reserve Program influences populations in Nebraska and Kansas. ERIC FOWLER DID YOU KNOW? Research helps biologists understand how fish and wildlife use Nebraska's landscapes, allowing us to make informed decisions that improve habitat, support healthy populations and protect at-risk species. Largest greater prairie-chicken research effort underway Nebraska Game and Parks and partners have launched the largest greater prairie-chicken study ever conducted, a multistate effort examining how the Conservation Reserve Program influences prairie-chicken populations in Nebraska and Kansas. The project evaluates habitat use, movement patterns, and the effects of grassland management across landscapes with varying grassland availability and fragmentation. The first of the three-part study began in spring 2025. Crews captured 93 hens in Hayes County, the Sandhills, and Cedar and Dixon counties and outfitted them with GPS transmitters. Through the summer, technicians tracked the hens to document nest success and brood survival, monitoring 96 nests and 29 broods. Crews also completed 4,511 vegetation surveys at nesting, brooding, non-breeding, and randomly selected sites to assess habitat conditions. The study will resume in March 2026 with additional trapping and transmitter deployment. The Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University are project partners. Officers play key role in Lacey Act conviction Nebraska Game and Parks conservation officers, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, led the multiyear investigation into illegal hunting and guiding by Dustin Noble of Noble Outdoors in North Platte. On Sept. 4, 2025, Noble was sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. The investigation documented 114 unlawful hunts from 2015-2021 that target trophy mule deer and other wildlife using illegal methods. His actions violated Nebraska hunting laws and caused significant harm to wildlife populations, including mule deer and turkeys. Noble was sentenced to 22 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, ordered to pay $179,680 in restitution, and required to forfeit wildlife mounts, crossbows and firearms. The court also imposed a 25-year ban on hunting, fishing, trapping or guiding, and a 10-year ban on taxidermy work. This case underscores the importance of state- federal collaboration in conserving Nebraska's wildlife and ensuring ethical hunting practices.

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