NOVEMBER 2016 • NEBRASKAland 5
A Note from the Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission
This year marks the 20th
anniversary for Nebraska's
mentored youth hunting program,
which has grown to be one of the
largest in the nation.
Nebraska's mentored youth
hunting program began with six
Pheasants Forever chapters –
Cornhusker, Elkhorn Valley, Great
Plains, Loup/Platte Ringnecks,
Otoe County, and Republican
Valley – in 1996. These chapters
wanted to do something to address
declining hunter numbers that
at the same time provided kids
the opportunity to experience
the excitement of hunting in
Nebraska.
In particular, they wanted to
focus on youth who didn't have
a parent, uncle, aunt, grandparent
or older sibling to pass on
Nebraska's rich hunting tradition.
That first year, 207 volunteer
mentors took 118 kids hunting
who might not have otherwise had
a chance to go.
Working in cooperation with
the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission, as well as volunteers
from the National Wild Turkey
Federation and Ducks Unlimited,
Pheasants Forever has expanded
the program to include more than
1,000 volunteers who each year
help approximately 800 youth
experience the camaraderie,
beautiful scenery and thrill that
a Nebraska hunting trip offers.
Since its inception, the program
has allowed 13,000 Nebraska
youth to hunt.
Passionate volunteers and
generous donors are to thank
for the success of this program.
To give you an idea as to their
dedication, volunteers are already
planning for the 2017 programs.
For more information,
visit
Outdoornebraska.gov/
mentoredhunts.
– Jeff Rawlinson
Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission Education Manager
This mule deer doe posed for Ivy Lunbery near a highway in Hyannis.
The meadowlark is known for its beautiful song. "Often as I drive along a country
road, I pass one sitting on a fence post," Ivy Lunbery said.
