Commissioners approve 2027 mountain lion season

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved a 2027 mountain lion hunting season at its Aug. 14 meeting in Blair.

Commissioners approved the following mountain lion recommendations that originally were brought to their June meeting:

• the Niobrara Unit is expanded east to Nebraska Hwy. 14
• the Niobrara Unit harvest limit is increased to 10, with a sublimit of five females
• the Pine Ridge Unit harvest limit is reduced to three, with a sublimit of one female
• the Wildcat Hills Unit harvest limit is reduced to one

Other mountain lion season regulations approved include:

• limiting hunting in an Auxiliary Season to just the Niobrara Unit,
• allowing 30 general permits and 20 limited landowner permits by lottery – to residents only – for each mountain lion in the harvest limit for each unit,
• changing the permit application period to begin at 10 a.m. Central time on the first Monday in November through the first Friday in December, and
• creating a half-price resident limited landowner permit, which applications must be received by the following Game and Parks offices by 5 p.m. local time by the close of the period: District office in Alliance – Pine Ridge and Wildcat Hills units; Bassett Service Center – Niobrara Unit.
• Allocating a preference point for unsuccessful limited landowner applicants. Points will be lost when applicants are drawn successfully.

Season 1 in all three units is Jan. 2-Feb. 28, 2027. The season would end immediately in a unit if the annual harvest limit or female sublimit were reached.

An Auxiliary Season will be held in the Niobrara Unit if the harvest limit is not reached during Season 1. The season would be March 13-31, 2027, except it would close immediately if either the harvest limit (remainder of the harvest limit from Season 1) or female sublimit is met. A number of permits equal to the number of lions remaining in the limit would be issued by lottery to unsuccessful permit holders from Season 1. Hunting with dogs would be allowed in this season.

Commissioners also approved a 2027 bighorn sheep regular hunting season. There will be one lottery and one auction permit for the season, which will be Dec. 1-22, 2027.

In other business, the commissioners approved increasing the base fee for various resident and nonresident hunt (small game), fish and fur harvest permits, stamps, application fees, tags, preference points, big game permits, and other fees.

They also passed park regulations that:

• created an annual park entry permit starting in 2027 known as the Nebraska Resident Transferrable Vehicle Hangtag. The hangtag, which is to be displayed from the rearview mirror or dashboard, may be transferred between vehicles registered by the permit holder in Nebraska. The fee is the combined cost of an annual park permit, a duplicate permit and a $15 convenience fee. The hangtag may not be reproduced or replaced if lost or stolen.
• changed Special Occasion Permit regulations to include definitions and requiring an application fee.
• increased fees for resident and nonresident vehicle park entry permits. As of Jan. 1, 2027, the fees for annual resident and nonresident permits will be $41 and $82, respectively. Daily permits will be $8 for residents and $16 for nonresidents.

In addition, commissioners amended sportfishing regulations to:

• create a trout tag exception for Free Fishing and Park Entry Day at the Two River State Recreation Area Trout Lake and require that anglers report their catch by 10 p.m. on the day their tags are valid.
• change the start time of the paddlefish archery and snagging application periods from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m.

The commissioners also voted to approve:

• record-keeping procedures for expenditures, disbursements and transfers of cash from the Game Law Investigation Cash Fund.
• the fiscal year 2028-2029 biennium budget request.
• a permanent electrical utility easement to the City of Valentine at the Valentine Fish Hatchery to allow for the installation of electrical power to Game and Parks’ new Recirculating Aquaculture Systems building.
• creating a fee schedule for Fish and Wildlife Education programs, specialty programs, educator workshops and workshop supplies.
• hunting in some state parks and state historical parks for the 2026 seasons; a list may be found at OutdoorNebraska.gov by searching “state park hunting”.

Staff presented the commissioners with an update on the R-3 (Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation) efforts of outdoor enthusiasts.

Jim Swenson, Game and Parks assistant director, was honored for 40 years of service to the agency. Kirk Steffensen, Fisheries Division Missouri River Program Manager, received the Outstanding Service Award.

To view regulations as they were proposed, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for “regulations.”