Latest: 

• Nebraska Backcountry Hunters & Anglers hosted a public lands stewardship event at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in Cherry County on March 28^th 2026. Volunteers removed old fence that was identified by refuge staff as negatively affecting deer, pronghorn, waterfowl, and grouse habitat. One mile of barbed wire and one mile of electric fence was removed! BHA volunteers came from far and wide including individuals with additional affiliations from Nebraska BHA, Iowa BHA, Pheasants Forever, Delta Waterfowl, the Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association, and ,of course, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 71,516-acre Valentine NWR is located in the Sandhills formation of north-central Nebraska and supports a diversity of wildlife including 270 species of birds, 59 species of mammals, and 22 species of reptiles and amphibians! This beautiful Nebraska treasure is open to the public and visitors have access to various activities including hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing!  

 

• Your chapter hosted a booth at the Nebraska Bowhunters Association Banquet March 6-8 in Kearney. This was the 5th year our chapter has had a booth there and it was the most successful yet! Board members Bill Grossniclaus and Kyle Broadfoot made  a powerpoint presentation at the event describing who we are as a chapter and national organization, what we have accomplished since our inception, and our plans for the future. New members were signed up and swag was distributed. We have submitted a conservation grant proposal to them, will be coordinating volunteer efforts more closely with them  in the future, and will be continuing our fence removal efforts at Halsey National Forest at the NBA event there in August. Stay tuned!

 

• The Nebraska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is making a concerted effort to identify public property that could/should be open to anglers and hunters throughout the state. Along those lines the Board hosted a ZOOM call with NGPC seeking to identify general lands, and specific sites, that we could help promote access. In our view there is currently a vast amount of our public land under Natural Resource District (NRD),  Department of Transportation (DOT), Bureau of Education Land Funds (BELF), and the Public Power Districts (PPD) that should be open to sportsmen that is not. As you have seen in past newsletters, we are attempting to have NGPC Wildlife Management Areas that are treated as refuges opened up as well as specific sites under Natural Resource District management (e.g., NCORPE with TPNRD and reservoir B1 with CPNRD). Please let us know of any specific sites you think might be suitable public land candidates to target.

 

 News, Requests, and Reminders

• The Chapter sent a letter to all the Central Platte Natural Resources District board members asking them to open a piece of our public land (B1reservoir) to archery deer and shotgun turkey hunting. We made this request last year and did not receive a response. Please contact any or all of the directors expressing your support for this public land access! 
• Nominate a PUBLIC LANDS HERO!! The Nebraska Chapter’s “Public Lands Hero Award” is presented annually to an individual who has provided dedicated and sustained service towards improving access to, and/or increasing the amount of, public lands available for hunters and anglers in the state. Anyone who has demonstrated this effort can be nominated including, but not limited to, state, federal, local, and non-governmental agency personnel. Nominations can be made throughout the year by any member or supporter of the Nebraska BHA. Nominations can be sent to the Board at nebraska@backcountryhunters.org and should include a detailed description of the nominee’s accomplishments. 
• Please spend a few minutes each time you’re out fishing, hunting, foraging, etc. on public lands to clean up the area a bit. ANY public lands (NPPD canals, state wildlife areas, US Forest Service lands, US Fish and Wildlife Refuges…) are good! We certainly would encourage you to do so and send us a photo of the trash pickup and its location. Not only will this help the environment and improve the experience of future visitors to the site but also help with how adjacent landowners view public land and the people that use them.