40 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016
TOP LEFT: Keith Brown of Lincoln
(left) and Rick Wheatley of Omaha
set up a small duck spread in the
dark.
TOP RIGHT: Teal and other birds
zoom and zig-zag over the marsh at
County Line Waterfowl Production
Area after sunrise.
OPPOSITE: Bryan Grove (left), Keith
Brown and Pete Brown of Lincoln try
to identify incoming birds.
I was there to continue a family tradition of
hunting teal on opening day with my cousin
Keith Brown and his son, Pete. Keith – now 79
– is the reason I hunt waterfowl. He is a duck
hunter of the highest order, having decades
of waterfowling under his belt. He not only
loves the hunt but is also a true conservationist
fighting for water rights in this area we were
hunting, the Rainwater Basin.
I am from California but often visited Nebraska
as a child with my parents for vacation. My
father, Joe, was from Falls City and from an
early age I knew I belonged here in this state.
But as I grew older, life got in the way of my
dreams. Whenever I spoke with Keith, he
would always tell me that I needed to come
back and hunt with him. So after yearly trips
of coming back to Nebraska to hunt in the fall
as an adult – which always seemed too short
– I made the permanent move in 2013. And I
haven't looked back since.
