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Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

LINCOLN, Neb. --(Ammoland.com)- Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer has appeared for the first time in Buffalo, Custer and Holt counties, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

There were 1,565 lymph node samples collected from deer taken during the 2011 November firearm deer season, with 26 samples testing positive for CWD.

In addition, samples were taken from 37 culled deer that showed clinical symptoms for CWD, with one male mule deer from Garden County testing positive.

Those symptoms include a rough, emaciated appearance and a lack of fear of humans.

There were a record 51 positives from 3,645 samples in Nebraska in 2010. However, the surveillance effort was reduced in 2011 due to a lack of funds. The 2011 effort focused on central Nebraska, the leading edge of the disease as it spreads from west to east.

Game and Parks confirmed CWD in the state’s deer population in 2000. CWD is a disease that can affect deer and elk and always is fatal to the affected animal. Humans have never been known to contract CWD.

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Nebraska Harlan County Lake Area Benefits from Focus on Pheasants Initiative

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

LINCOLN, Neb. --(Ammoland.com)- In response to declining pheasant populations statewide, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Harlan County Lake and Pheasants Forever have been working to reverse the trend through the Focus on Pheasants habitat improvement initiative.

The Focus on Pheasants initiative was designed in 2003 to restore high-quality pheasant habitat that benefits hunters. The program also educates landowners and other stakeholders about pheasant habitat needs.

Harlan County Lake property managed by the Corps was included in the program because of its potential for intensive pheasant management based on the size of the area, its high use by pheasant hunters and its history of good pheasant populations.

The lack of high-quality habitat, such as diverse nesting and brood rearing cover, is one of the factors limiting pheasants, quail and other grassland birds. Management activities such as prescribed burning, grassland disking, chemical treatment, grassland interseeding and tree removal are used to address those factors. These practices increase the quality and diversity of grassland plants and benefit many wildlife species.

While an area may be seen as unusable to wildlife due to haying, disking or prescribed burning, this disturbance is temporary. The benefits from resulting increase in diversity will last for many years. By rotating disturbances on a multiyear schedule, resource managers assure that the environment provides the optimal mix of cover types to enhance habitat quality, which should result in an increase of grassland bird populations.

Contact Focus on Pheasants Coordinator Jake Holt at 402-471-5413 to learn more about the program and to learn how landowners can implement these practices.

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