Daily Archives: April 9, 2015

Pheasants Forever to host youth instructional shooting clinic

Nemaha County Chapter of Pheasants Forever members, in partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, invite youth ages 10-17 to attend a free instructional shooting clinic on Saturday, April 18. The clinic will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Seneca Gun Club and all equipment will be provided.

Participants will receive instruction with shotguns and pellet rifles in a controlled, safe, live-fire environment guided by experienced instructors. Participants do not need to preregister, and lunch will be provided.

For additional information on this event, please contact Pheasants Forever Nemaha County Chapter chairman John Pierson at (785) 285-1468.

This event is part of the Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever No Child Left Indoors (NCLI) initiative, which encourages chapters to collaborate with conservation partners and provide youth and their families opportunities to learn about our outdoor traditions and conservation ethic.

Nationwide, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters hold more than 1,000 youth events a year, connecting more than 50,000 youth to the outdoors. They reach out in their communities to sponsor youth mentor hunts, outdoor conservation days, shooting sports, conservation camps, fishing tournaments, outdoor expos, hunter education classes, habitat projects and much more.

To find a chapter near you, visit www.pheasantsforever.org and www.quailforever.org. 

Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission to meet in Wichita

The Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E 29th St. N, Wichita, will be the site for the April 23 Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission meeting.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. with time for public comments on non-agenda items, followed by a general discussion period. Topics to be covered in the general discussion include Secretary’s remarks regarding agency and state fiscal status; an update on the 2015 legislative session; an update on tourism division activities; park regulations; fishing regulations; an update on fisheries management; an update on naming the Arkansas River a national water trail; zebra mussels; and late migratory bird seasons.

Following the general discussion, the workshop session will cover topics considered for potential regulatory action at a future meeting, including the Fort Riley deer season, webless migratory birds, early migratory bird seasons, and duck zone boundaries.

The commission will recess at 5 p.m., then reconvene at 6:30 p.m. at the same location to discuss any remaining general discussion and workshop items, and begin the public hearing. Public hearing items to be discussed and voted on include cabin rates.

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., April 24, to complete any unfinished business.

Live video and audio streaming of the meeting can be accessed by visiting 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 18, 2015 at Fort Hays State University, Robbins Center, One Tiger Place, Hays.

Outdoors-Woman workshop growing in popularity

It’s common knowledge that every year more women are becoming involved in the outdoors, and nowhere is it more evident than at Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshops. Because of this increased popularity, the May 15-17 BOW workshop is now full, but more opportunities will be available this fall for women looking to gain outdoor skills. Staff will maintain a waiting list for the spring class in case any spots open up, but women who don’t get enrolled are encouraged to plan for the fall workshop, Sept. 18-20, 2015. Event details and registration materials will be posted on www.ksoutdoors.com/bow in early June.

BOW is a non-profit, non-membership program designed to teach women outdoor skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Classes are led by experienced volunteer instructors who teach a variety of topics including fishing techniques, wingshooting, camping, orienteering, rifle marksmanship, botany, archery, and more.

Studies have shown that many women do not participate in outdoor recreation because they have not had an opportunity to learn the outdoor skills that make these activities enjoyable. BOW’s popularity is evidence that when that opportunity is offered, women take advantage of it with enthusiasm and self-confidence.

To find out how you can become an outdoors-woman, visit www.ksoutdoors.com/bow.

Student archers qualify for national tournament

Kansas Archery in the Schools hosted its sixth annual state archery tournament, Saturday, March 28, at Clearwater High School. Three hundred and seventy students from 17 communities vied for a chance to compete at nationals. The top 10 male and female competitors from each grade division at the state tournament qualified to compete at the 2015 National Archery in the Schools tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, May 7-9.

Competing in three divisions, elementary school (grades 4-5), middle school (grades 6-8), or high school (grades 9-12), participants are required to shoot five arrows in each of the three rounds from a distance of 10 meters and a distance of 15 meters. A score of 300 points is considered perfect, which would be scores of 10 on each of the 30 total arrows they can be scored on.

Top scores in each grade division are as follows:

GIRLS

Elementary – Emma Edwards, Clearwater, 242

Middle School – Hannah Schoonover, Erie, 271

High School – Allie Lear, Chaparral, 272 *Top female score

BOYS

Elementary – Dace Summervill, Erie, 261

Middle School – Christian Hastings, Clearwater, 272

High School – Jhett Ostrom, Dodge City, 279 *Top male score, top overall score

The 17 communities represented included: Anthony/Harper, Chapman, Cherokee, Clay Center, Clearwater, Cunningham, Dodge City, Erie, Holton, Hugoton, Kingman, Olathe, Otis-Bison, Parsons, Pittsburg, Rose Hill, and Tribune.

Operating under the umbrella of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) and the National Archery in the Schools (NASP) program, the Kansas archery program is aimed at promoting international-style target archery among students in grades 4-12. Program coordinators are able to introduce archery as a fun, lifelong activity to young people who may have never taken up the sport otherwise.

For more information, visit www.ksoutdoors.com and click “Services / Education / Archery in the Schools,” or email Mike Rader at [email protected].