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Nebraska Game and Parks Commission meeting 8/21-8/22

August 21, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - August 22, 2025 @ 5:00 pm

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission meeting, Mid-plains Community College Conference Room
1205 E 3 rd Street McCook, NE Friday,

Friday, August 22, 2025, 8:00 AM Public Hearing  – on Cougar  & other seasons at 8:15 Am

Thursday August 21st, afternoon 1 pm – There are also informational and strategic planning meetings on Thursday afternoon (scroll down to the bottom for information on those)

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Prairie Hills Audubon Society cares about mountain lions, especially in South Dakota. SD has breeding populations at  the Black Hills and Oglala Sioux Tribe and Rosebud Sioux Tribe lands. The Pine Ridge Ecosystem exists in three states – Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota. The Lions have no clue where the state or tribal/non-tribal boundaries are. The Niobrara Population is very close to the Rosebud cougar population. So every June we watch Nebraska mt lion management season plans which they normally adopt in June. NE & ND  do their season every year. SD does its’ season every 2 years and Wyoming every 3 yers.

The NE G&P Commission met in June, but decided not to follow the recommendations of staff and to not reduce the harvest cap at Wildcat Hills. As the NEG&P changed the proposal under consideration, they scheduled a second hearing.

Some ranchers showed up  in June to complain about threats to livestock from cougars at Wildcat Hills.  However the new proposal still follows June staff recommendations for Pine Ridge (keep the same harvest cap) and for Niobrara unit  (increase harvest cap). Staff previously wanted to reduce the harvest cap at WildCat Hills, after lots of cougar mortalities there.

SAMPLE COMMENTS FOR AUGUST 21st

Link to PHAS comments on the originally proposed cougar season (NEG&P June version) are at this link  – https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/nebraska-Mt-lion-comments2025.final_.pdf  We asked in June for no season at Wildcat Hills and smaller harvest caps at Pine Ridge and Niobrara units.  If you wish to comment, you can read our letter and use it as a template or create your own.

Colin Croft lives in Nebraska and has a Facebook page on Nebraska Lions. Here are his excellent comments written August 15th. Colin is very concerned about the cougar mortality  experienced at WildCat Hills and whether the area can support any lion hunting at all in 2026: : https://phas-wsd.org/wp-content/uploads/CCroft-public-comment-for-8.22.25-public-hearing-Copy.pdf

References – August 21-22.

The public hearing is on the second day (22nd)  starting in the morning at 8 am CDST.

The written comment deadline will August  20th at 1 pm CST, with comments sent to Sheri Henderson>>  sheri.henderson@nebraska.gov, (402) 471-5539‬.

She always  knows the details of the  upcoming/past meetings and how to view the proposed rule changes.

This will have a proposal to not reduce the harvest cap for cougars at Wild Cat Hills Unit, which PHAS thinks is too high.

 

JUNE COMMISSION PAST MEETING HISTORY
Minutes from Nebraska  June 13-13 Commission hearing, this includes comments received from public  (scroll to the end – these include Colin Croft’s and Humane World for Animals (HSUS) comments, for some reason PHAS’s comments are omitted (we sent them on time).

https://outdoornebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025_June_Commission_minutes.pdf

PHAS alert on NE lions from June 12-13 hearing:

https://phas-wsd.org/event/ne-game-and-parks-commission-june-12-13th-meeting/

Staffs booklet on  proposed changes from June 2025

AUGUST FUTURE MEETING
August 22nd, 2025 Friday, 8 am –  general meeting/hearing agenda
Strategic Planning Meet Thursday 3 pm
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LEGAL NOTICE A meeting of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will be held in Conference Room A at Mid-Plains Community College 1205 E 3rd St. McCook, NE convening at 8 a.m. CST on August 22, 2025. An agenda  shall be available for public inspection at the Game and Parks Commission office. The Commission shall have the right to modify the agenda to include items of an emergency nature at the public meeting when convened.
Notice of Hearing
In accordance with Neb. Rev. Stat. 84-907, public hearings will be conducted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on August 22, 2025, at Mid Plains Community College Conference Room 1205 E 3rd St McCook, NE prior to consideration and/or enactment of the following:
Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 37-301, 37-304, 37-308, 37-308.01, 37-314, 37-228, 37-404, 37-405, 37-411, 37-426, 37-452, 37-473, 37-613, a public hearing will be held at 8:15 AM to consider amendments to Title 166 Chapter 20 Mountain Lions to clarify unit boundaries and adjust harvest limits in the Niobrara Management Unit. 
Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 37-327, 37-406, 37-407, 37-426, 37-447, 37-449, 37-450, 37-451, 37-455, 37-455.01, 37-457, 37-473, 37-484, 37-491, 37-4,111, and 37-1214, a public hearing will be held at 8:30 AM to consider amendments to Title 163 Chapter 5 Rules relating to fees for licenses and permits and Deployed Military Permits, Section 001, regarding increasing hunting, fishing, combination hunt/fish, turkey, antelope and deer permit fees as well as the antelope and elk application fees and nonresident Aquatic Invasive Species stamp.
Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 37-301, 37-303, 37-314, 37-308, 37-308.01, 37-317, 37-404, 37-426, 37-427, 37-451, 37-452, 37-505, a public hearing will be held at 8:45 AM to consider amendments to Commission Order C14, Mountain Sheep, regarding the authorization of mountain sheep hunting permits for the 2026 season.
THURSDAY MEETINGS  1 pm-6 pm
The Commission will have an information meeting from 1-3 pm, with opportunity for public comment at the end.
The Commission will  a strategic planning meeting on Thursday afternoon at 3 pm-6pm

 

Details

  • Start: August 21, 2025 @ 1:00 pm
  • End: August 22, 2025 @ 5:00 pm