However, most of the land along the well-known river is privately owned and hunters would have to get permission first. There are several wildlife areas in Buffalo and surrounding counties that allow public hunting Johnson said. Some of those areas, including Bassway Strip just south of Interstate-80 at the Minden interchange, has land for deer hunting, but also river access for waterfowl hunting. There is a lot of game but most of it is under private control, Johnson said. Deer is also plentiful in the area, he added.
Buffalo County is home to both whitetail and mule deer having both river bottom and range land.
Besides Bassway Strip there are several smaller wildlife areas that have game. Odessa East near the town of Odessa is another of the bigger wildlife areas. This year should be good for upland game around the Platte according to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Upland Game Program Manager Scott Taylor. His forecast is based on spring and summer small game population surveys. The 1999 pheasant population should allow Nebraska to remain among the top four states in the nation in numbers of pheasants harvested.