Commissioners to consider 2025-2026 waterfowl recommendations

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will consider 2025-2026 waterfowl hunting season recommendations at its March 21 meeting in Ord.

The meeting begins at 8 a.m. at the Trotter Event Center, 127 Trotter Ave.

Staff will recommend the Tier I daily bag limit for ducks include no more than three pintails for the 2025-2026 duck season. This pintail bag limit would be determined on an annual basis based on population dynamics research and is not guaranteed for any season.

They also will recommend a nine-day early teal season in both Low Plains and High Plains zones after the 2024 blue-winged teal breeding population fell below 4.7 million birds. There had been a 16-day season in the Low Plains Zone in recent years.

The 2025-2026 Nebraska waterfowl recommendations are:

Early Teal:

Low Plains – Sept. 6-14

High Plains – Sept. 6-14

Daily bag limit – six; Possession limit – 18

Youth, Veteran, and Active-Duty Military:

Zone 1 – Oct. 4-5

Zone 2 – Sept. 27-28

Zone 3 – Oct. 18-19

Zone 4 – Oct. 18-19

Daily bag –Same as regular season

Duck and Coot:

Zone 1 – Oct. 11-Dec. 23

Zone 2 – Oct. 4-Dec. 16 and Jan. 7-28 (High Plains)

Zone 3 – Oct. 25-Jan. 6 and Jan. 7-28 (High Plains)

Zone 4 – Oct. 25-Jan. 6

Daily bag – Tier 1: six ducks, with restrictions; Tier II: three ducks, any species, any sex; Possession limit – three times the daily bag limit

Dark Goose:

Platte River Unit – Oct. 28-Feb. 9

Niobrara Unit – Oct. 28-Feb. 9

North Central Unit – Oct. 4-Jan. 16

Daily bag limit – five; Possession limit – 15

White-fronted Goose:

Statewide – Oct. 4-Dec. 14 and Jan. 25-Feb. 9

Daily bag limit – two; Possession limit – six

Light Goose Regular Season:

Statewide – Oct. 4-Dec. 31 and Jan. 25-Feb. 9

Daily bag limit – 50; Possession limit – none

Light Goose Conservation Order:

East Zone – Feb. 10-April 15

West Zone – Feb. 10-April 5

Rainwater Basin Zone – Feb. 10-April 5

Daily bag and possession limits – none

Also on the agenda is a staff recommendation that the commissioners approve a resolution to allow the agency director to sign future agreements with the Nebraska Department of Transportation concerning funding the surfacing of a section of the Cowboy Trail near Chadron.

Commissioners also will consider a right-of-way easement request from Omaha Public Power District, for the installation of new power poles and overhead lines at Louisville State Recreation Area.

Staff will give a review of the permit system from 2024, an update on the walleye spawn, and a habitat presentation.

To view a complete agenda, visit OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for Public Notices.

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