Daily Archives: September 13, 2013

Council Grove 10th Annual Outdoor Youth Event

Council Grove 10th Annual

Outdoor Youth Event

Area youth are invited to attend a FREE shotgun, pellet rifle, and archery shooting and safety clinic at Council Grove Lake. 

Saturday, October 5 – Noon to 4:00 p.m.


Controlled live fire instruction will teach safe, responsible,

and fun shooting techniques.  

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), the Flint Hills Chapter of Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF), and the Morris County Hunter Education instructors are sponsoring this special event, which will provide participants with an opportunity to enhance firearm and archery shooting and safety skills.

Participants will be provided safety and shooting instruction by certified firearm and archery skills instructors.  All gear and supplies, including shotguns, pellet rifles, shells, bows, arrows, targets, and eye and ear protection will be provided by KDWPT’s “Pass It On” and Hunter Education Programs.  Participants need only a desire to learn some valuable techniques and have fun!  Teaching methods almost guarantee that students will be breaking shotgun targets by the end of the session.

Anyone, age 11 through 16 may participate.  Participants are required to pre-register for the event.  Students are not required to have completed a hunter education course, but prior completion is preferred.  The event will begin at 12:00 p.m. at the COE managed area between Marina Cove and Neosho Park, approximately 0.25 miles west of the COE office at the west end of the dam.  Check-in and a free lunch provided by QUWF, will be between 12:00 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.  Instruction will then begin at 12:30 p.m. and will end at approximately 4:00 p.m.

Registration is required by September 27.

Persons interested in registering or learning more about this special event can contact:

Brent Konen – Council Grove Wildlife Area Manager

#620/767-5900

Furharvester’s Workshop Sept. 21

Workshop instructors will teach furharvesting laws, ethics and techniques

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) is hosting a furharvester’s workshop Sept. 21, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Marvin Green Building of the Crawford County Fairgrounds in Girard. Topics covered in the workshop include furharvesting laws and ethics, trapping equipment, trap sets for a variety of furbearers, fur handling, and more.

Anyone born on or after July 1, 1966 must complete a certified furharvester education course before trapping on land other than their own. An online furharvester education course is available at www.ksoutdoors.com under Furharvester Education, but students will learn much more in an outdoor classroom with experienced instructors.

“Furharvesting is probably the most intimate outdoor activity you can take part in when it comes to wildlife because you have to know a lot about the habits and habitats of the animals you are trying to catch to be successful,” said Mined Land Wildlife Area manager David Jenkins. “It’s an important part of our American heritage that we should pass on to the next generation.”

To sign-up for the workshop, contact Jenkins at (620) 231-3173. The workshop is free and lunch will be provided. A furharvester education course exam will be given to those who are not certified. For more information on furharvesting regulations, get a copy of the 2013 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Summary. For more information on trapping and furharvesting education, go to www.ksoutdoors.com.

Birding Opportunities Plentiful during Fall Migration

April showers might bring May flowers, but fall brings neotropical migrants

Every year, hundreds of bird species fly south through Kansas during the fall migration, creating many unique birding opportunities throughout the state. Hummingbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and neotropical migrants such as warblers, flycatchers and orioles, are just a few of the birds residents can expect to encounter during this special period.

“Morning is the best time to go out since birds tend to be more active in the cooler parts of the day,” said Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism wildlife education coordinator Mike Rader. “However, sometimes activity will pick up in late afternoon just before birds go to roost, too.”

An avid birder himself, Rader suggests that some of the best birding hotspots can be in your own backyard.

“Neotropical migrants can be sought in any decent woodland habitat across the state, but some of the most reliable spots each year actually include park areas in Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, and Johnson County,” said Rader. “Fall migration is also a great time to check out the corners of our state, with many western species found along the western tier of counties from border to border, but especially around the Elkhart/Cimarron Grasslands region of extreme southwest Kansas.”

Rader added the Southeast Kansas Nature Center in extreme southeast Kansas near Galena is also an excellent location to bird watch.

For information on where to bird watch in Kansas, including tools for identifying species, visit the Kansas Ornithological Society’s website at www.ksbirds.org.

Guest lecturers are brought in from all over the U.S. as part of the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management program at KSU

Dr. James C. Kroll, also known as “Dr. Deer,” of Austin, Tex. will share his knowledge of private land deer management on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013 at Kansas State University in Manhattan. The lecture will be held at 4:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Lecture room of the Leadership Studies Building, preceded by refreshments at 2:45 p.m. in the first floor lobby of theThrockmorton Plant Sciences Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

One of nation’s leading wildlife biologists, Kroll will cover a variety of topics in his lecture, including native and supplemental nutrition management; population management; demographics and increasing recruitment; genetics and culling, and more.

Apart from being a scholar and avid hunter, Kroll is also the Henry M. Rockwell Chair in Forest Wildlife, Director of the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management and Research, and Co-director of the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. He has taught courses in wildlife habitat management, wildlife management techniques, wildlife ecology, land management planning, white-tailed deer ecology and management, introduction to forestry, wildlife diseases and research methods.

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early and may be required to obtain a one-day parking permit, which can be purchased for $5.00 at the parking garage located at 17th and Anderson.

For more information on this event, contact Dr. Peg Althoff at (785) 532-1949.

The Single Simplest Thing to Support Wetlands and Conservation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland and grassland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people. The 2013-2014 Stamp shows a lovely male Common Goldeneye painted by Robert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, California. Since the 1930s, Stamps have contributed over $850 million and have helped to protect 5.5 million acres of habitat for wildlife and future generations. Anyone who possesses a valid stamp is allowed free entry to any National Wildlife Refuge that may charge for entry.

Buying the stamp is perhaps the single simplest thing individuals can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds. Almost all the stamp proceeds go to help secure valuable Refuge System habitats. Here are a few reasons to purchase the stamp.

1. $850 million for conservation and counting. The first stamp was issued in 1934. It cost $1 (about $18 in today’s dollars) and sold 635,001 copies. By law, the funds raised go directly to habitat acquisition in the lower 48 states. By now, stamp sales have surpassed $850 million and helped to protect 5.5 million acres of wetland and grassland habitat.

2. A 79-year tradition of beautiful wildlife art. The Migratory Bird Stamp is a beautiful collectible and a great artistic tradition. Since 1949, the design of each year’s duck stamp has been chosen in an open art contest. This year’s stamp, showing a Common Goldeneye, is by Robert Steiner (see a gallery of all stamps back to 1934), who also won the 1998-1999 contest with a Barrow’s Goldeneye-a stamp that sold 1,627,521 copies and raised more than $24 million on its own.

3. A bargain at $15. Ninety-eight cents of each dollar spent on a stamp goes directly to land acquisition (and immediate related expenses) for national wildlife refuges. This $15 purchase is perhaps the single simplest thing you can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds.

4. It’s much more than ducks. Waterfowl hunters have long been the main supporters for the program-the stamps are a requirement for anyone over 16 who want to hunt. But the funds benefit scores of other bird species, including shorebirds, herons, raptors, and songbirds, not to mention reptiles, amphibians, fish, butterflies, native plants, and more.

5. Save wetlands; save grasslands. Since 1958, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used stamp revenues to protect “waterfowl production areas”-to the tune of 3 million acres-within the critical Prairie Pothole Region. The same program also protects declining prairie-nesting birds in the face of increasing loss of grasslands. As a result, refuges are among the best places to find grassland specialties such as Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Clay-colored Sparrows, Sedge Wrens, and others.

6. The benefits are gorgeous. Some of the most diverse and wildlife-rich refuges across the Lower 48 have been acquired with stamp funds.

7. It’s your free pass to refuges. A migratory bird stamp is a free pass for an entire year to all refuges that charge for admission-so your $15 could even save you money.

8. As bird watchers, let’s get in on the secret. Though it’s long been a fixture in hunting circles, the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp is one of the best-kept secrets in all of bird conservation. It’s time to buy and show your stamp!

The Cornell Lab is a strong supporter of the Migratory Bird Stamp, and we’ve often written about its value as a direct aid to conservation-for example, in this 2009 column by Lab director John Fitzpatrick. You can buy the stamp at many U.S. Post Offices, National Wildlife Refuges, and sporting-goods stores. You can also order the stamp online at the USPS store and from the stamp’s printer, Amplex (both stores add a charge for shipping).