Rainbow trout are being stocked in city ponds and lakes across the state by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
The stockings began Sept. 19 with 1,000 trout put in Elm Creek east of Red Cloud. The stocked trout are about 10 inches in length.
Here’s a tentative stocking schedule, including quantities:
Tuesday: Gilbert-Baker Wildlife Management Area Pond, Harrison, 600 trout; White River, southwest of Fort Robinson State Park (SP), 750; Bridgeport State Recreation Area (SRA) Middle Pit, Bridgeport, 2,000
Wednesday: Blue Creek, northwest of Lewellen, 750
Oct. 3: Grabel Ponds, Fort Robinson SP, 2,400; Bridgeport SRA Northwest Pit, Bridgeport, 1,400
Oct. 4: Bessey Pit, Halsey, 500
Oct. 5: Lake Ogallala, Ogallala, 3,400; Humphrey Pond, Ogallala, 600
Oct. 10: North Morrill Pit, Morrill, 1,350; Middle Morrill Pit, Morrill, 450; South Morrill Pit, Morrill, 400; Riverside Discovery Center Pond, Scottsbluff, 900; Crystal Cove, South Sioux City, 4,500
Oct. 11: Fremont Lakes SRA Lake No. 2, Fremont, 5,000
Oct. 12: Curtis Golf Course Pond, Curtis, 150; Birdwood WMA, North Platte, 4,000
Oct. 13: Holdrege City Park Pond, Holdrege, 1,800; Oxford City Lake, Oxford, 300; Lexington City Lake, Lexington, 750
Oct. 16: Lake Halleck, Papillion, 1,200
Oct. 17: Standing Bear Lake, Omaha, 3,750; Niobrara SP Pond, Niobrara, 750, Heartwell Park, Hastings, 810; Such’s Lake, Grand Island, 585; Bowling Lake (south pond), Lincoln, 400; Holmes Lake, Lincoln, 3,000; Lake Hellen, Gothenburg, 2,000; Windmill SRA Pit No. 2, Gibbon, 540; Fort Kearny SRA Pit No. 6, Kearney, 1,080
Oct. 18: TaHaZouka Park Pond, Norfolk, 1,500; Pawnee Park West Lake, Columbus, 1,500; Benson Park Pond, Omaha, 1,050; CenturyLink Lake, Eugene T. Mahoney SP, 1,500; Melham Park Lake, Broken Bow, 875; Ansley City Pond, Ansley, 1,200; Rock Creek Lake SRA, Parks, 1,500
Oct. 19: Standing Bear Lake, Omaha, 3,250; Hitchcock Park Pond, Omaha, 450; Towl Park Pond, Omaha, 300; Auburn City Pond, Auburn, 800; Stanton Park Pond, Falls City, 300; Pawnee City Pond, Pawnee City, 300; Humboldt City Park Pond, Humboldt, 600; Gracie Creek Pond, Burwell, 1,000, Ord City Lake, Ord, 1,500; Laing Lake, Alliance, 1,500; Carter P. Johnson Lake, Fort Robinson SP, 2,500
Oct. 26: Steinhart Park East Pond, Nebraska City, 1,200; Weeping Water Pond, Weeping Water, 1,500; Grove Lake, Royal, 1,500; Lake Ogallala, Ogallala, 4,000
Oct. 27: David City Park West Pond, David City, 600
Oct. 31: Lake Ogallala, Ogallala, 4,000
Nov. 1: Crystal Springs Middle Lake, Fairbury, 1,000
In addition, fish larger than 10 inches will be stocked Oct. 23 as follows: Fort Kearny SRA Pit No. 6, Kearney, 120 trout; Holdrege City Park Pond, Holdrege, 200; Windmill SRA Pit No. 2, Gibbon, 60; Such’s Lake, Grand Island, 65; Heartwell Park, Hastings, 90.
DNR looks to combat CWD
Five deer harvested in southeast Nebraska in 2016 have tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has added three meetings to discuss the status of CWD in Iowa and how deer hunters can help. The meetings are at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at the AHSTW Community School cafeteria, 768 S. Maple St., in Avoca; 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at United Faith Church, 1975 Hwy. 275, in Sidney; and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Green Room at Bass Pro Shops, 2901 Bass Pro Drive, Council Bluffs. Previously announced meetings are at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Lewis and Clark State Park Visitor Center, three miles west of Onawa, and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Missouri Valley public library, 420 East Huron St., in Missouri Valley.
Terry Haindfield, wildlife biologist for the Iowa DNR, will coordinate the meeting.
“We want people to come to these meetings, ask their questions, hear the concerns from other hunters,” Haindfield said. “Deer hunting is an important tradition and, for some, a large part of their identity. It is also important to us and we need to work together to combat this disease. Our goal is to provide quality deer hunting for future generations.”
There are several things hunters can do to stop or slow the spread of CWD, Haindfield said.
“The first and most important is to allow sampling of hunter harvested deer,” he said.
Bits and pieces
» The Public Lands Day Critter Count-Bioblitz is Sept. 30 at Homestead National Monument of America. Join staff at the education center to look for and record: birds from 7 to 9:30 a.m.; plants from 10 a.m. to noon and insects from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Homestead is located four miles west of Beatrice.
Calendar
FRIDAY
» Let’s Go Birding, Lake Ogallala SRA, Ogallala
» Coffee and Canvas, Lake McConaughy SRA, Ogallala
SATURDAY
» Cider and Canvas, Lake McConaughy SRA, Ogallala
» Firearm bull elk season opens
» Public land antlerless elk season opens
» Wheels of Transportation, Arbor Lodge SHP, Nebraska City
» Beyond Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Nature Art, Windmill SRA, Gibbon
» Statehood: A New Beginning, Rock Creek Station SHP, Fairbury
» Birding on Bikes, Ash Hollow SHP, Lewellen
» Nebraska Youth Smallbore Silhouette Invitational, Pressey WMA, Oconto
» Youth waterfowl hunting season in Zones 2 and 4. Also Oct. 1.
» Living History, Fort Atkinson SHP, Fort Calhoun
SATURDAY, OCT. 7
» Two-day Hastings Gun Show, 9 a.m., at the Fairgrounds in Hastings
