Public Meeting to Discuss Proposals for Clear Creek WMA

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LINCOLN, Neb. – A public informational meeting about Clear Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) regulations has been scheduled by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for June 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lake McConaughy visitors center.
The public will hear information concerning and be allowed to comment on proposed hunting changes for the WMA, which is a 6,000-acre area at the west end of Lake McConaughy in Keith and Garden counties.
In the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, Clear Creek and the Garden County Refuge were the primary destination for Canada goose hunting in Nebraska. However, today, nearly all locations in Nebraska offer quality Canada goose hunting opportunities.
According to Richard Nelson, Commission district wildlife manager for the southwest district, the Commission will consider regulations, at it’s July meeting, that would expand outdoor recreational opportunities on the Clear Creek Refuge to include allowing additional hunting of turkey, deer, elk, waterfowl, and upland game birds, as well as trapping. The regulations would include developing a seasonal refuge for Clear Creek WMA from the Monday before Thanksgiving until February 15 of each year. In the past several years, prime Canada goose hunting opportunity has occurred from the later part of November through January.
The Commission also will consider no longer administering the controlled waterfowl hunt on Clear Creek. If these regulations are approved, hunters will self-regulate blind selection and hunt Canada geese and other waterfowl on the Clear Creek WMA, using waterfowl blinds on a first-come, first-served basis. That portion of the seasonal Clear Creek Refuge that also is part of the statutory Garden County Refuge will be signed and no additional recreational opportunities will be allowed on the Garden County Refuge.