NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/831879
JUNE 2017 • NEBRASKAland 41 JUNE 2017 • NEBRASKAland 41 1953 – Nebraska held its first open season on pronghorns since 1906 in a portion of Cheyenne County. 1954 – Research was initiated on what would be one of the Commission's most ambitious research projects: The Life History and Ecology of the Ring-necked Pheasant in Nebraska. Field work for the project would not be completed until 1965. 1957 – The Commission opened what would in 1962 become Fort Robinson State Park to the public on the site of what had been an active military fort from 1874 to 1948. 1958 – Pronghorns trapped in Colorado were released in north-central counties in January to re-establish herds once native to the Sandhills. From 1958 through 1962, 1,077 pronghorns were released. 1958 – 28 Merriam's wild turkeys obtained from Wyoming and South Dakota were released in the Deadman's Creek drainage in Dawes County and the Cottonwood Creek drainage in Sioux County. 1958 – The Commission began requiring a $1 State Recreation Areas stamp for vehicles entering the parks, its first foray into a user-pay system similar to that required of hunters and anglers. The stamp, which funded park improvements and maintenance, was issued for 3 years. 1959 – The Legislature approved a bill that creates the Division of State Parks within the Commission. The bill also established the State Park Fund and a special mill levy that would collect 1.3 cents for every $100 in assessed taxable property value from 1959 through 1968 to fund the development and maintenance of the park system, replacing the SRA sticker and the general fund appropriation and spurring major projects in the parks. 1959 – Assigned boating safety responsibilities by the legislature, the Commission began issuing licenses for motorized boats. 1958 – The Commission took on management responsibilities and began developing facilities for fishing, hunting and recreation at Lewis and Clark Lake, the Missouri River reservoir formed by Gavins Point Dam, which had been completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1957. 1961 – Game wardens became known as conservation officers. 1962 – The first turkey hunting season in Nebraska was held in the Pine Ridge. The state's first spring turkey season came in 1964. 1963 – Indian Cave State Park was established in the wooded bluffs along the Missouri River. 1964 – The Commission began developing recreation facilities at Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs, including Merritt, Enders, Box Butte, Medicine Creek, Red Willow, Sherman and Swanson, that were leased to the Commission for recreational development. Lake Minatare had been added in 1960 and, in 1983, Calamus was included. It also began work on facilities at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Salt Valley reservoirs near Lincoln, including Branched Oak Lake. 1964 – The name of the monthly magazine was changed from Outdoor Nebraska to NEBRASKAland. A hunter poses with a trophy mule deer he harvested in the 1949 season in the Pine Ridge, the second in the state since 1906. Fort Robinson State Park stagecoach. Circa late 1950s to early 1960s. Photographer unknown. NGPC LIBRARY ARCHIVES