By Kyle Shepherd

Dickens, NE- NCORPE (the Nebraska Cooperative Republican Platte Enhancement Project) is opening approximately 1,600 acres for public access including bird watching and hunting this fall.

NCORPE has been restoring retired corn and potato fields back to native prairie.  With this restoration project comes a benefit, hunting.  Early successional cover (weeds) are loved by pheasants and other game birds.  “The hunting next few years could be excellent,” NCORPE Range Manager Bill Sellers says with a grin.  NCORPE will open and manage 1,600 acres to public hunting this fall as a pilot program.  “If the pilot is successful, if the property is respected, I can see us opening much more to the public next year” says Sellers.  The property is just 20 miles from North Platte and I-80.  There should plenty of interest, both locally and nationally, with pheasant, grouse and deer hunters.  “I can’t wait to try the NCOPRE property,” says avid hunter Mathew Foran from Houston, Texas.  He comes to Lincoln County every fall to hunt pheasants, usually on private land.  “Nebraska needs more public hunting land, hopefully NCORPE can help” says Sellers.

Not only should the pheasant hunting be good, so should grouse and mule deer.  One item of note is that deer hunting is only allowed by bow and arrow or shotgun.  “Some of the neighbors were concerned about stray bullets, so to be good neighbors we decided archery would be best” says NCORPE General Manager Kyle Shepherd.  Iowa gun maker and archer Tim Cook is excited; “I am always looking for new hunts, this could be a great opportunity to stalk a trophy.”

Two designated parking lots are being developed and the property will be walk-in only.  The property is listed in the Nebraska Game and Parks Hunting Atlas which is available where hunting permits are sold.  All state and federal hunting regulations along with additional NCORPE regulations apply to hunting on the NCORPE property.

Contact Bill Sellers at 308-534-6752, M: 308-414-2140 or ncorpe.org for more information.