Nebraska student chapters volunteer throughout community

These updates originally appear in the Nebraska Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s November 2018 newsletter.

Chadron State College Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

By: Travis Millikan, Student Chapter President

Looking into the future, the CSC Student Chapter has plans for volunteer projects and events around the Pine Ridge. In mid-November, the Student Chapter assisted the Pine Ridge Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation with its annual banquet. The chapter also plans to assist the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission with a bighorn sheep capture set for early 2019. The student chapter intends to host its annual ice fishing tournament held at Box Butte Reservoir in mid-January or February 2019. This tournament serves as a major fundraiser, and funds collected will be utilized for student chapter events such as the annual Nebraska Chapter meetings. During the spring of 2019 students will assist the NWTF and NGPC on habitat and wildlife restoration projects.

Kicking off the new school year, the student chapter volunteered to host a session at the 3rd Annual Chadron State Park Bioblitz. A bioblitz is an event where multiple surveys are conducted to identify as many plant, animal, fish, and insect species as possible within a limited time frame. The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and members of the public all participated in this event. At this year’s bioblitz, the student chapter assisted with the fishing surveys, where species such as rainbow trout, tiger trout, largemouth bass, and bluegill were caught by anglers and recorded. The student chapter also cosponsored the Pine Ridge Biodiversity and Land Management Seminar that was conducted by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and the NGPC. This event was held at Chadron State College, and included speakers that presented on various topics including Pine Ridge flora and fauna, bat monitoring efforts, bighorn sheep projects and habitat restoration efforts.

The fall semester has been very successful and rewarding. The student chapter has had great success in recruiting new members, with a total of 27 members. Addition of new members has brought fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the student chapter.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

By: UNL Student Chapter officer team

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Chapter has had a good semester so far, with high attendance at the welcome back barbecue, despite the rain, and 19 members going on the annual canoe trip. Most recently, the student chapter had a great time cleaning up Dead Man’s Run and the beaver dam, where they even found a bowling ball! The Chili Feed with Nebraska Game and Parks was also very successful. Throughout this semester and the next, students have continued helping with conservation outreach through events such as Nature Nights. Looking far into the future, they already have their annual banquet date set for April 6, and are working on reserving the Nebraska Union on East Campus. It is looking like a great year for the student chapter!

Wayne State College Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society

By: Diana M. Danowski, Student Chapter President

Wayne State College’s Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society has been having consistent meetings every other Monday this fall. The outcome of the meetings has been focused mostly on introduction of new student chapter members and setting up for an eventful spring semester. This fall the student chapter has organized their annual excursion to Broken Kettle Nature Conservancy to help restore bison pasture land. In addition, the student chapter is planning the spring semester which consists of: creating flower beds for Wayne State College’s campus, bringing a live animal element to the school’s museum, hosting a prescribed fire workshop, and finalizing the details for the annual Henry Doorly Zoo Sleepover. The student chapter is ready for an exciting spring semester with many opportunities.