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: https://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1542285
60 Nebraskaland • December 2025 MIXED BAG SETTING BIG GAME SEASONS A BALANCING ACT By Eric Fowler Though big game seasons are still open, Nebraska Game and Parks wildlife biologists have been collecting information for most of the year that will help them set the 2026 deer, elk and pronghorn seasons. Biologists use the information gathered from many sources, including hunters and landowners, to formulate Big Game Recommendations, the guidebook for recommended permit quotas, bag limits and unit boundaries. These recommendations are then considered and approved by the Commission each April. Biologists rely heavily on data gained from mandatory harvest reporting during the previous seasons, including whether there were meaningful changes in hunter harvests in a particular unit. They also factor in buck-doe and doe-fawn ratios observed during annual roadside surveys of pronghorn in August and mule deer in December, and whether disease or weather has adversely affected any species. Input from landowners, who carry the burden of crop or property damage when deer, elk or pronghorn numbers are high, is also a factor in setting the seasons. "We're 97% privately owned land in Nebraska, so landowner input is always going to weigh heavily," said Luke Meduna, Game and Parks' big game program manager. "In general, landowners are going to want fewer animals, and hunters are always going to want more. "We have to try and balance those desires." Meduna noted that balance can be difficult to achieve, as even landowner preferences "can change drastically by fence line. Some landowners want tons of deer and tons of elk, and the neighbor next to them wants zero." Everyone — landowners, hunters and interested parties — can share their feedback for consideration in big game recommendations during one of 12 in-person or virtual meetings hosted in December and January. (Find a meeting at Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov.) Following those meetings, agency staff in each district discuss the data, the input they received and their observations throughout the year. "They boil that all down and formulate their recommendations for each of our units and each of our permits for deer, elk and antelope," Meduna said. They may suggest permits increase, decrease or stay the same to support populations, age or sex ratios in each big game species. Their recommendations are then considered during the annual Management Council meeting. Over the course of three days, conservation officers, wildlife managers and permit staff review recommendations for each of the 44 deer, elk and pronghorn management units and settle on quotas to be advanced to the Commission. These are published in the Big Game Recommendation booklet, which is made available to the public in March at OutdoorNebraska.gov. The public can provide input on these recommendations prior to the Board of Commissioners' vote at their April meeting. "It's hard to make everybody happy," Meduna said. "Sometimes if both sides are mad at us, we know we're probably about where we need to be." For those experiencing wildlife damage issues to their crops or other property, Game and Parks is here to help. Depredation biologists work with landowners to mitigate problems, Meduna said. But when numerous landowners are experiencing an issue in one area, biologists know harvest numbers likely need to be adjusted. A bull elk chews on a young ear of corn, one of many he pulled from the stalk in a field in Garfield County. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND