October 2026 • Nebraskaland 39
GET YOUR HABITAT STAMP
Why should someone who will never shoulder
a shotgun or set foot in the field care about
pheasants? Among those who may spend little
time outdoors, concerns about disappearing
grasslands may seem distant.
Yet the story of the pheasant is about far more
than hunting. It is also the story about the health
of the land we live on. According to the World
Resources Institute, healthy grasslands sustain
people in vital ways, including:
• Filtering the water we drink.
• Providing habitat for pollinators that improve
crop production on nearby farmland.
• Building healthy soils by cycling nutrients
through extensive root systems, and by
providing a home to beneficial microbes
and fungi.
• Absorbing excess rainfall, slowing runoff into
streams and rivers, and helping reduce flood risk.
• Stabilizing soil with deep root systems that
prevent erosion, reduce runoff and allow
rainwater to soak into the ground and replenish
groundwater supplies.
Grasslands are the most threatened biomes
on Earth. More than 90% of North America's
tallgrass prairies have been lost. "Yet despite
all this, grasslands receive disproportionately
little protection, funding and attention in global
conservation and climate agendas," stated the WRI.
To help conserve Nebraska grasslands, purchase
a Game and Parks Habitat Stamp, which funds the
conservation, lease and management of wildlife
habitats across the state. While hunters are
required to purchase an annual stamp along with
the purchase of a hunting permit, nonhunters can
purchase the stamp as a standalone.
"As we come to the 100th pheasant
season in Nebraska, one truth has
remained constant: Our landowners
are the heart of this tradition.
Thank you for the care you put into
your land, the habitat you conserve
and the legacy you help carry forward.
Nebraska's pheasant season exists
because of you."
— Alicia Hardin, Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission wildlife division administrator
The first Nebraska Game Commission habitat stamp
from 1977 was illustrated by Game and Parks artist
Duane Westerholt.
