Nebraskaland

August-September 2025 • Nebraskaland 37 "It's probably a fi ve-page to-do list just to get the shooting range ready," Leware said. "This is a massive park, and we have a massive event," she said. "This event doesn't happen with one person. The team that we have and the support from the agency, all of our volunteers — I mean, this event didn't make it 20 years without everybody who's involved." Team Ask Fields, Swenson and Leware to name what they're most proud of in running the expo, and they will give you similar answers: being part of a great team, community involvement, the camaraderie, the passion and being part of a grassroots eff ort that has outlasted most of its kind. "Those relationships that were established are longtime friends, longtime supporters of our agency. Those can't be replaced. So that is, to me, probably the most important of everything the event stands for," Fields said. The Ponca expo depends on 300 to 700 volunteers annually who fi ll a wide range of vital roles, such as setting up and tearing down, directing traffi c and parking, collecting trash, teaching outdoor skills, demonstrating hands-on activities and more. Perhaps volunteer birding expert Mark Brogie described it best: "It's kind-of like Old Home Week because we see a lot of the other presenters that come up … a lot of people that we know have been doing presentations there for years and years and years," he said. "It is a fun event." Brogie and his brother Ed, retired high school science teachers, now scratch the itch to teach through their bird banding demonstrations at Ponca State Park and elsewhere. Mark and Ed have been involved since the fi rst Missouri River Outdoor Expo in 2004. Husband-and-wife team Leon and Merrie Hansen also are familiar faces. They joined the expo in 2007. Although the couple have relocated to Wichita, Kansas, to be closer to their Brothers Ed and Mark Brogie have been involved with the expo since day one. Known for their expertise on birding, they run the expo's bird banding station, where visitors can watch the brothers catch a variety of live birds with nets before banding them. They often catch species such as white-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers, warblers, catbirds and many species of sparrows.b "The kids, once they see a white-breasted nuthatch up close, hopefully they'll gain ownership of that bird a little bit. [We] let them touch it, and hopefully they'll never want to ever go shoot one with a BB gun again, because they've seen it up close and personal," Mark said. It's older brother, Ed, who still carries a federal bird banding permit; Mark gave up his permit some time ago. The process for obtaining a permit is rigorous, and when issued, keeping it active is just as in-depth. Only a handful of people in Nebraska have one.b Another notable feature of the Brogies' station is the study skins borrowed from Wayne State College — their alma mater — affectionately referred to as "birds on a stick." Painstakingly preserved by biologist Wayne Molhoff of Ashland over 40 years ago, these study skins allow visitors to observe specimens up close. The collection of 200 birds is representative of birds found in Nebraska. Local birder Bill Huser is a regular presenter, along with Ed's wife, Lee. The team loves interacting with return students, teachers and parents, who come back with new questions and growing interest in birds. Outside of the expo, Ed and Mark regularly volunteer at other Ponca and Niobrara state park educational events. Ed also teaches archery at National Archery in the Schools Program events and offers mentorship at local Pheasants Forever youth hunts. Mark is an active community member in Creighton, having served on several boards; he is currently the treasurer of the Ashfall Chapter of the Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum. Volunteers Ed and Mark Brogie Brothers Mark, left, and Ed Brogie have been running the bird banding station since the expo's fi rst year. JOSHUA CARLSON

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