Daily Archives: April 19, 2013

Becoming an Outdoors-Women Offers Crash-course in Outdoor Skills and Cooking

Women age 18 and older can learn various outdoor skills during this one-day, hands-on event

Becoming An Outdoors-Woman (BOW), an educational program of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, will host a one-day event to teach women basic outdoor skills Saturday, June 15 at Shawnee State Lake inTopeka.

BOW TOO (Taste of the Outdoors) will feature workshops in rifle shooting, archery, fishing, and camp cooking.

Cost for the one-day event is $40, which includes class supplies and equipment, as well as lunch.

Interested women are encouraged to apply early as the 2013 BOW TOO workshop is limited to 12 participants.

For more information, or to register for this event, contact Kansas BOW coordinator Jami McCabe at[email protected] or (785) 845-5052.

To learn more and view pictures of past workshops, visit the BOW Facebook page found under “Becoming an Outdoors Woman KANSAS.”

Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission to Meet in Wichita

Evening public hearing session will include setting 2013 antelope and elk seasons

The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will conduct a public meeting and hearing on Thursday, April 25, at the Great Plains Nature Center, 

6232 E 29th St. N, Wichita

. The afternoon session will begin at 1:30 p.m. and recess at 5 p.m., and the evening session will begin at 7 p.m.

The afternoon session will begin with time for public comments on non-agenda items. The general discussion period will cover the following topics: Secretary’s remarks about agency and state fiscal status and an update on the 2013 legislative session, a report on the Lincoln Street/Arkansas River project, fishing regulations, park regulations and late migratory bird seasons.

During the afternoon session, commissioners will workshop items that were covered under General Discussion at the March meeting. Workshop topics, which will be discussed for potential regulatory action at a future meeting, include regulations covering early migratory bird seasons, agritourism, Fort Riley deer seasons, furbearer harvest, prairie chickens and public lands.

The commission will recess at 5 p.m., then reconvene at 7 p.m. at the same location for the public hearing. Regulations on the agenda for the public hearing include KAR 115-2-3, which covers camping fees; the recommendation is to establish short-term storage lots at Scott, Meade, Glen Elder, Kanopolis, and Webster state parks for patrons to store RVs between visits for a fee of $50 per month. KAR 115-4-11, which covers big game and wild turkey permit applications is being updated to reflect the addition of turkey management units from four to six. KAR 115-25-7 covers antelope open season, bag limits and permits. Recommendations include an archery antelope season running Sept. 21-29, 2013 and Oct. 12-31, 2013; a muzzleloader season open from Sept. 30-Oct. 7, 2013; and a firearm season open Oct. 4-7, 2013. The final public hearing item is KAR 115-25-8 covering elk open season, bag limits and permits. Proposed elk season dates for Unit 3 (outside of Fort Riley): archery – Sept. 16-Dec. 31, 2013; muzzleloader – Sept. 1-30, 2013; firearm – Dec. 4-15, 2013 AND Jan. 1, 2014-March 15, 2014. Elk season dates for Fort Riley (Unit 2a) are: archery – Sept. 1-30, 2013; muzzleloader – Sept. 1-30, 2013; firearm for antlerless elk – first segment: Oct. 1-31, 2013; second segment: Nov. 1-30, 2013; third segment: Dec. 1-31, 2013; and firearm – Oct. 1, 2013-Dec. 31, 2013.

Time will be available in both afternoon and evening sessions for public comment on topics not on the agenda. If necessary, the commission will reconvene at the same location at 9 a.m., April 26, to complete unfinished business.

Live video and audio streaming of this meeting will be broadcast through the KDWPT website, ksoutdoors.com.

If notified in advance, the department will have an interpreter available for the hearing impaired. To request an interpreter, call the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 1-800-432-0698. Any individual with a disability may request other accommodations by contacting the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission secretary at (620) 672-5911.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for June, 27, 2013 at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City.

Mom, Apple Pie and Conservation Tours and Workshops Planned

The Kansas Rural Center and several partners are planning a series of three conservation tours this spring —just for women. These  “Mom, Apple Pie, and Conservation” tours/workshops will be part of KRC’s Women Caring for the Land Project and participation including lunch will be free.

Statistics show that  women increasingly end up as the sole owners and managers of farmland. Often, as wives or  daughters they have not been active in the day to day management, or not as active as they would have liked. This results in lots of questions and anxiety over making management decisions regarding farming practices and conservation measures with tenants or other heirs. Studies also show that women are more comfortable asking questions and learning in a less formal setting and without their male counterparts present. Therefore, these “Mom, Apple and Conservation” workshops are being designed  by and for women only. Women conservation professionals will be on hand to provide information on conservation programs and management practices, and  there will be opportunity for roundtable discussion with other women about your challenges and  questions, and to identify other information and resource needs.

            Saturday April 20. Cheney Lake Watershed, Reno County Conservation District, and KRC will  host a women’s tour of farm conservation practices on Saturday April 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tour participants will meet at 9 a.m. at the Castleton Grain  Elevator to board vans for the tour. Lunch will be at the Yacht Club on Cheney Reservoir. Contact Lisa French at Cheney Lake Watershed at 620-669-8161 Ext. 4 or at [email protected]

            Wednesday May 15 KRC will host an all day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) conservation tour in northern Jackson, southeast Nemaha and southwest Brown county along with the Delaware WRAPS Watershed and the Brown, Jackson and Nemaha County Conservation Districts. The Kansas Association of Conservation Districts has also provided some funds for this tour.

Tour participants will meet  at the Glacial Hills RC& D office on main street in Wetmore, Ks. to board a bus to leave at 9 a.m. Between 9 and 3 we will make 5 or 6 stops to view conservation practices including a riparian forest buffer, alternative livestock watering and management intensive grazing systems,  grassland management, cover crops in cropland, solar water  pump for livestock watering, and a streambank stabilization project. 

Presenters on this all women’s tour include Holly Wilkens from Pheasant’s Forever on wildlife and pollinator habitat, Roberta Spencer on grassland management and forages, Marlene Bosworth, Delaware WRAPS on management intensive grazing, Anne Fredericks, Nemaha County Conservation District on state and federal conservation programs, and Mary Fund, KRC, and Lisa French, Cheney Lake Project, leading a round table discussion over the lunch hour. There will be restroom stops along the way, and a lovely post-Mother’s Day Lunch will be served at the Red Rock Guest Ranch near Soldier, Ks. Lunch is free for those who RSVP prior to May 9. For more information or to RSVP, contact  Mary Fund at 785-873-3431, or [email protected]

            Saturday June 22.A third tour is in the works for the Clay and Washington County area starting at the Linn American Legion from 9 a.m.  to 2 p.m. The tour site will be at the farm of Lucinda Stuenkel near Palmer where a variety of conservation practices will be toured. More details will be available later.