Commissioners to consider 2027 mountain lion season

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider recommendations for a 2027 mountain lion hunting season at its Aug. 14 meeting in Blair.

The meeting begins at 8 a.m. Central time at the Blair Public Library, 2233 Civic Drive.

Staff will recommend expanding the Niobrara Unit and increasing the mountain lion harvest limit while reducing the harvest limits in the Pine Ridge and Wildcat Hills units, as recommended in the June Commission meeting.

Staff mountain lion recommendations also will include:

• limiting hunting in an Auxiliary Season to just the Niobrara Unit,
• adjusting permit numbers allowed per mountain lion in the harvest limit,
• changing the application start time, and
• creating a resident limited landowner permit and stipulations for applications and the number of permits to be issued.

The commissioners also will hear a recommendation for a 2027 bighorn sheep regular hunting season. Staff will recommend authorizing one lottery and one auction permit for the season, which, if approved, would be Dec. 1-22, 2027.

In other business, the commissioners will consider:

• increasing the base fee for various resident and nonresident hunt (small game), fish and fur harvest permits, stamps, application fees, tags, preference points, big game permits, and other fees.
• creating an annual park entry permit known as the Nebraska Resident Transferrable Vehicle Hangtag, changing Special Occasion Permit regulations to include requiring a fee and increasing fees for resident and nonresident vehicle park entry permits.

In addition, there will be recommendations to amend sportfishing regulations to:

• create a trout tag exception for Free Fishing and Park Entry Day at the Two River State Recreation Area Trout Lake and require that anglers report their catch by 10 p.m. on the day their tags are valid.
• change the start time of the paddlefish archery and snagging application periods from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m.

Also on the agenda are recommendations to approve:

• record-keeping procedures for expenditures, disbursements and transfers of cash from the Game Law Investigation Cash Fund.
• the fiscal year 2028-2029 biennium budget request.
• a permanent electrical utility easement to the City of Valentine at the Valentine Fish Hatchery to allow for the installation of electrical power to Game and Parks’ new Recirculating Aquaculture Systems building.
• a permanent 10-foot-wide utility easement to Mountain Tower and Land, LLC on Game and Parks’ Northeast District Office property in Norfolk. This would allow for the installation of 1,300 feet of conduit, ground vaults and fiber from the tower site, which is adjacent to the east side of the district office property, to West Eisenhower Avenue.
• creating a fee schedule for Fish and Wildlife Education programs, specialty programs, educator workshops and workshop supplies.

Staff will present the commissioners with an update on the R-3 (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) efforts of outdoor enthusiasts.

To view a complete agenda, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for “public notices.” To view proposed changes to Commission regulations and orders, search for “regulations.”