AmmoSight

Dispatch / 11.13.26· Agencies & Hunting ·Montana

Nebraska Releases Rooster Pheasants on 17 WMAs Before Thanksgiving, No Schedule Posted

Sites run from Bordeaux WMA in Dawes County to Hickory Ridge in Johnson County. Non-toxic shot is required at three of them, and the seasons run through Jan. 31, 2027.

By Published
Credit: Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Facts

  • Nebraska Game and Parks will release adult rooster pheasants on 17 WMAs before Thanksgiving weekend 2026.
  • Non-toxic shot is required at Kirkpatrick Basin North, Randall W. Schilling and Wilkinson WMAs.
  • Game and Parks will not post a release schedule, citing the safety of hunters and release crews.
  • Release sites run from Bordeaux WMA in Dawes County to Hickory Ridge WMA in Johnson County.
  • Nebraska's pheasant, quail and prairie grouse seasons run through Jan. 31, 2027.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said in a Nov. 13 release that it will put adult rooster pheasants on 17 wildlife management areas in the days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and that it will not post a release schedule, citing the safety of hunters and of the crews releasing birds.

Game and Parks said the releases are meant to add hunting opportunity over the extended holiday weekend and to encourage families to spend time together in the field. Sites run from the Panhandle to the Missouri River, with two each in Cass, Johnson and Lancaster counties.

Data
WMA County
Arnold Trupp Morrill
Arrowhead Gage
Bordeaux Dawes
Branched Oak Lancaster
Cornhusker Hall
George D. Syas Nance
Hickory Ridge Johnson
James N. Douglas Johnson
Kirkpatrick Basin North York
Powder Creek Dixon
Pressey Custer
Rakes Creek Cass
Randall W. Schilling Cass
Sherman Reservoir Sherman
Wilkinson Platte
Wood Duck Stanton
Yankee Hill Lancaster

Non-toxic shot is required at Kirkpatrick Basin North, Randall W. Schilling and Wilkinson WMAs. All usual regulations apply at the other 14 areas. A map of the release sites is on the agency’s Upland Hunting page, and its Public Access Atlas lists other publicly accessible land.

Nebraska’s pheasant, quail and prairie grouse seasons run through Jan. 31, 2027. Permits and the required stamps are sold at OutdoorNebraska.gov, and hunters with questions can call Game and Parks at 402-471-0641.

Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26, 2026, so the releases come in the week before it. The upland seasons close on January 31, 2027.

Sources

  1. 1 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission · Pheasants to be released for hunting before Thanksgiving · accessed 2026-11-13

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