Daily Archives: October 13, 2013

Online Survey Group Contributes Over $100,000 to Humane Society

The popular online survey group, SurveyMonkey.com, has contributed over $100,000 to the nation’s largest anti-hunting organization, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), through their charity program known as SurveyMonkey Contribute.

SurveyMonkey.com serves as a free online survey program for companies to administer questionnaires to better understand the needs of their customers.  The online survey group also offers charities a chance to gain money through their “Contribute” program, which allows individuals to take free surveys and earn rewards for charities of their choice.

The SurveyMonkey Contribute program has allowed individuals to generate a total of $436,556 in 2012, with $101,266 being raised by Contribute members for HSUS alone.

Calling HSUS “one of their most active charity partners”, Naiema Din, SurveyMonkey Sales Development Specialist, explained that the partnership between HSUS and SurveyMonkey began in 2012 because “SurveyMonkey Contribute loved their mission and knew that Contribute members would as well.”

Attract Wildlife to Your Yard

Imagine a serene garden on a crisp, sunny autumn day—a beautiful cardinal snacks on berries, a tiny hummingbird stops by for a drink and a cheerful chickadee alights on a nearby branch.

This peaceful scene can be your yard this season!

Create an official Certified Wildlife Habitat® site to experience all of the natural beauty the season has to offer everyday—right in your own backyard.

Follow these helpful tips to create an autumn oasis, and then be sure to certify your habitat so you can begin receiving all of your great benefits (see sidebar for details):

Welcome migrating monarchs and other butterflies. These graceful beauties will love to visit late-blooming native plants like coneflowers, asters and goldenrods.

Leave the leaves. Rake fallen leaves into beds to create natural mulch that will protect your plants through the winter, conserve water and enhance the soil.

Provide a cozy abode for wildlife looking for a winter home. Create a brush pile with branches and other vegetation to attract all types of animals, from chipmunks to lizards, looking for shelter.

Berries provide color to your yard and food for birds. In late summer and fall, many trees and shrubs produce berries that are essential fuel for migratory wildlife fattening up for hibernation or to survive winter temperatures.

You don’t have to wait until spring to begin enjoying a beautiful, colorful garden teeming with wildlife.

Turn your yard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat® site today and start experiencing all that autumn has to offer! Go to: http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips.aspx?campaignid=WH10DGWP&s_src=CWH_Wildlife_FeatureSpot

Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission Meeting Oct. 17

Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission to conduct last meeting of the year

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, 1100 N. Plum, Hutchinson, will be the location of the next Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission public meeting and hearing Oct. 17, 2013. The afternoon session will begin at 1:30 p.m. and recess at 5 p.m., with the evening session reconvening at 7 p.m.

The afternoon session will begin with time for public comments on non-agenda items, followed by a general discussion period. Topics covered in the general discussion include: Secretary’s remarks regarding agency and state fiscal status and an update on the 2014 legislature, a briefing on tourism, the Bass Passprogram, a series of antelope and elk regulations, and an update on the potential federal listing of lesser prairie chickens.

During the afternoon session, commissioners will workshop items that were covered under general discussion at the August meeting. Workshop topics, which will be discussed for potential regulatory action at a future meeting, include permanent regulations pertaining to big game, a series of deer-specific regulations, and regulations regarding state parks.

The commission will recess at 5 p.m., then reconvene at 7 p.m. at the same location for the public hearing. The public hearing will be focused on youth permit fees; special provisions pertaining to fishing, as well as creel, size, and possession limits, and open season; and spring turkey season, including bag limits, permits, and game tags.

Time will be available in both the 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., Oct. 18, to complete any unfinished business.

A commercial-free version of live video and audio streaming of commission meetings will be broadcast through the KDWPT website, www.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 Jan. 9, 2014 at Southwestern College

100 College St.

, Winfield.