Daily Archives: March 11, 2015

Deer seasons to be set at March 26 Commission meeting

Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will meet in Topeka

 

Deer, antelope, and elk hunting seasons for 2015-2016 will be determined when the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission meets on March 26. The meeting will be held at the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW 6th Ave., Topeka.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. 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; an update on the 2015 legislative session; a briefing of the department strategic plan; an update on tourism division activities; a preview of the new department website; webless migratory birds, early migrant bird seasons; and the Fort Riley deer season.

Workshop topics for the afternoon session, which will be discussed for potential regulatory action at a future meeting, include public land regulations.

The commission will recess at 5 p.m., then reconvene at 6:30 p.m. at the same location to discuss any remaining workshop items and begin the public hearing. Public hearing items to be discussed and voted on during the evening session include season dates, bag limits, and permit requirements for antelope, elk, and deer. Secretary’s Orders for deer permits will also be discussed.

Time will be available in both the afternoon and evening sessions for public comment on non-agenda items. If necessary, the commission will reconvene at the same location at 9 a.m., March 27, to complete any unfinished business.

Live video and audio streaming of the meeting can be accessed by visiting 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 April 23, 2015 at the Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 East 29th St. N, Wichita.

 

Fly Fishing Film Tour at Great Plains Nature Center March 28

A total of 12 independent fly fishing films will be shown

 

The Flatland Flyfishers and the Great Plains Nature Center (GPNC) will host the 2015 Fly Fishing Film Tour March 28 at the nature center, 6232 E. 29th St. N, Wichita, in an effort to raise money for local youth education and conservation projects.

Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at the door, online at www.flyfishingfilmtour.com/buytickets, or at Backwoods, Ark River Anglers, and Zeiner’s Bass in Wichita.

Activities will begin at 5 p.m. with fly tying demonstrations, fly rods for casting, and apparel and equipment on display. Films will begin promptly at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Rick Brown at (316) 655-9909 or Dawn Welty at (316) 264-2827, or visit www.flatlandflyfishers.org.

Sponsors for this event include Backwoods Wichita, Classic Destiny Rods, Zeiner’s Bass Shop, and Ark River Anglers.

Kansas has no firearms-related fatalities during 2014 hunting seasons

Hunter Education continues to be catalyst for safe firearm practices afield

Each year, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) compiles a summary of all reported hunting incidents as a way to assess safety issues afield and address any potential areas for improvement in Hunter Education programs. The 2014 Kansas Hunter Education Hunting Incident Report is now available and although the total number of incidents has slightly increased from 2013, Kansas has had no firearms-related fatalities for three years running.

A total of twelve reported hunting incidents took place during the 2014 hunting seasons, and although the details surrounding each incident vary, all were preventable. A breakdown of the 2014 incidents is as follows:

– Five incidents of hunters unsafely swinging on game

– Three incidents of careless gun handling

– Two incidents of victims moving into the line of fire

– One incident of a hunter stepping onto his own broadhead that was left on the ground

– One incident of a hunter injured by a dog stepping on a shotgun left on the ground

Hunting remains one of the safest outdoor activities when compared to the millions of hunter days recorded by Kansas hunters each fall. It’s because of the efforts of volunteer Kansas Hunter Education instructors, and the thousands of students who have learned from them, that Kansans can safely enjoy and continue our great hunting heritage.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in taking a Hunter Education course and continuing good hunting practices into the 2015 seasons and beyond, visit www.ksoutdoors.com and click “Services/Education/Hunter” for more information.

The case of the vanishing bees

Pesticides & The Perfect Crime:

On a fine June morning last year at a Target store outside Portland, Oregon, customers arrive to a startling sight: the parking lot was covered with a seething mat of bumblebees, some staggering around, most already dead, more raining down from above. The die-off lasted several days.

It didn’t take long to figure out that the day before a pest-control company had sprayed a powerful insecticide on surrounding Linden trees to protect them from aphids; but nobody warned the bees to stay away. In the end, an estimated 50,000 bumblebees perished.

The tragedy at Target wiped out as many as 300 bumblebee colonies of bees no longer available to pollinate nearby trees and flowers.

The deadly pesticide is one of a fairly new family known as the neonicotinoids—“neonics” for short—developed a decade or so ago to replace organophosphates and carbamates, which are also highly toxic but dissipate far more quickly.

Learn how “neonics” are turning the sweet lives of bees sour. View Infographic »