March NEBRASKAland Magazine Features Light Geese, Pheasants, Sandhill Cranes
LINCOLN, Neb. – -(AmmoLand.com)- The March issue of NEBRASKAland Magazine contains a number of interesting articles that are guaranteed to help you pass the time while you’re waiting the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures.
There is an article entitled “Martin’s Reach” by Regional Editor Eric Fowler, which introduces readers to an out-of-the-way, but important 89-acre wildlife management area on the Platte River in Hall County that is part of one of the largest sandhill crane roosts on the river. In addition to the cranes, Martin Reach WMA also provides excellent habitat for white-tailed deer, furbearers and waterfowl.
Speaking of waterfowl, Associate Editor Jeff Kurrus’s article, “The Light Goose Conservation Action – 10 Years Later and Beyond,” talks about the efforts being made to reduce midcontinent light goose populations, which have increased so rapidly that they threaten migratory bird breeding habitats in Canada. Control measures aimed at reducing light goose numbers in 24 midwestern and southern states originally were implemented in 1999, but have proven to be ineffective at this point. The big question today is, “What do we do now?” Kurrus describes some solutions that may be tried in the future.
“Arrival of the Ringneck,” by Senior Editor Jon Farrar discusses when and how pheasants were introduced in Nebraska and how they quickly became the favorite game bird of Nebraska hunters.
The central Platte Valley is known for the thousands of lesser sandhill cranes that gather there each March en route to breeding grounds in Canada, but few people are aware of the smaller numbers of sandhill cranes that visit the North Platte River on their way north to breeding grounds in western Alaska and Siberia. In “Cranes of the North Platte,” Regional Editor Bob Grier writes about the cranes that congregate on a small section of the river near Lewellen.
In “This Dam House,” Fowler describes how a family bought what was formerly the powerhouse on a dam near Barneston on the Big Blue River and turned it into an unique modern home.
There are also features on Hull Lake in Boyd County, carrion beetles in the loess canyons, this month’s portraits from the past, outdoor news and information from across the state, and readers comments.
NEBRASKAland Magazine is published 10 times a year by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and is available at Commission offices and newsstands across the state or by subscription from the Commission. Subscribe by calling 1-800-NEB-LAND (632-5263) or by going online to www.NebraskalandMagazine.com.