Bighorn sheep permit lottery applications open for residents

Photo courtesy Lori Iverson U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Take a gamble on the 2021 bighorn sheep lottery.

Nebraska residents are eligible to enter the lottery which opened on April 19 and closes Aug. 6, according to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 

One lottery permit and one auction permit were approved for this season. 

According to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, a $29 application fee is required to be put into the lottery. Applications can be found on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices and at https://ngpc-home.ne.gov/ps/faces/index.xhtml;jsessionid=DD267CB9B193EC9BF6C6124D25AA95FB. 

Hunters age 12-29 need to have completed a hunter safety class. 

Hunters over the age of 16 will need a Nebraska habitat stamp unless, the hunter holds a veteran or senior (over age 69) permit according to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 

Only Nebraska residents can enter the lottery, only one bighorn sheep permit may be held by a person in a lifetime.

This is the 23 year that bighorn sheep have been hunted in the state since the extinction of the subspecies Audubon bighorn sheep in the 1900s.

In 1981, Nebraska introduced 12 bighorn sheep back into Fort Robinson State Park. 

Since then five other reintroduction attempts were made in, 1988, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2012. 

Today, about 350 bighorn sheep live in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge and Wildcat Hills.