Monthly Archives: October 2015

Beginner venison processing class Oct. 24 in Pratt

You’ve bought your deer tags, put in time scouting, spent countless hours in the field, and have finally shot a deer. Now what? From field dressing to processing your deer at home, the

“Venison 101: From Field to Table” class on Oct. 24 will answer your “now what?” questions and more. Hosted by the Pratt County Extension Office and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT), Venison 101: will take place at the Pratt Area 4-H Center, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Hunters of all skill levels and ages are welcome. The cost to attend is $5 per person, or $10 per family, and will include a chili lunch.

Topics covered in the one-day class include safe field dressing and home processing methods for preparing your own venison, in addition to a live butchering demonstration.

KDWPT game warden Jason Harrold will also share updates to hunting laws and answer any questions participants may have.

Drawings for door prizes will be available for those in attendance.

For more information, and to register, contact the Pratt County Extension Office at (620) 672-6121.

Get Outdoors for National Wildlife Refuge Week

To celebrate the nation’s enduring connections to the natural world and the unique ways nature touches everyone’s lives, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is celebrating National Wildlife Refuge Week from October 11-17, 2015.

National wildlife refuges, managed by the Service, have been part of America’s rich natural heritage since 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island in Florida. Today, you can visit a refuge to fish, hunt, hike, birdwatch or simply commune with nature. While you’re there, learn how refuges protect natural spaces and improve life for you and your community.
“Americans are fortunate to have access to a wide network of national wildlife refuges close to where they live, from protected areas near cities like Philadelphia and Los Angeles to the coasts of the Pacific Northwest and Southeast,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “National Wildlife Refuge Week highlights the value of these protected spaces to wildlife and people alike and is a great time to explore your local refuge.”

“National Wildlife Refuge Week provides an ideal opportunity to discover the precious legacy that refuges represent,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “I hope Americans use this occasion to visit a refuge and recommit to preserving these special places for generations to come.”

Since 1995, refuges across the country have celebrated National Wildlife Refuge Week during the second full week of October with festivals, educational programs, tours and other events. Refuges offer world-class recreation, from fishing, hunting and wildlife observation to photography and environmental education. Learn more about this year’s celebration by visiting http://www.fws.gov/refuges/visitors/RefugeWeek2015.html.

Refuges do more than provide great outdoor recreation: they help conserve wildlife, protect against erosion and flooding and purify our air and water. They also support regional economies, teach children about nature and offer safe places to connect with nature. Find a refuge near you by visiting www.fws.gov/refuges.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is the nation’s premier habitat conservation network, encompassing more than 150 million acres in 563 refuges and 38 wetland management districts. Every state has at least one national wildlife refuge, and there is a refuge within an hour’s drive of most major cities.

National wildlife refuges also pump $2.4 billion into the national economy and support more than 35,000 jobs, according to the peer-reviewed report by the Service, Banking on Nature. More than 47 million people visit refuges every year. “Nowhere else do I feel such a deep sense of connection with the land, the plants and the wildlife,” offered one visitor.

Refuges are also part of President Obama’s new Every Kid in a Park initiative, which aims to connect children to the outdoors and the natural world by providing free access to federal lands to fourth-graders and their families.

Kansas Governor’s Ringneck Classic youth hunters

The Kansas Governor’s Ringneck Classic is committed to contributing to Northwest Kansas, the youth of our communities, habitat improvement and wildlife conservation. As a result, our organizing committee is dedicated to annually selecting two youth from our communities to participate in the Ringneck Classic. Each youth hunter and a non hunting chaperone will be invited to join the Governor and other celebrities for the scheduled activities. This invitation is for kids between the ages of 12 and 16.

The 2015 application is available now:  2015 Youth Hunt Application

The application deadline is Saturday, October 10.

Kick it at Kanopolis this October

If you’re looking to get outside and kick your weekends up a notch, consider heading to Kanopolis State Park for a weekend event the whole family is sure to enjoy. From trail rides and shoots, to chili cook-offs and raffles, Kanopolis State Park is your good-time headquarters for the month of October.

OCTOBER 9-11

Head over to the Rock’n K Campground in the Horsethief Area, for a competitive horse trail ride, sanctioned by the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC). Check in will begin Friday, and riders can participate in a two-day ride or a stand-alone ride on either Saturday or Sunday.

Novice class rides consist of 4-5 hours of walking and trotting, where both horses and riders will be judged on obstacle ability, and horses will be judged on conditioning and soundness. For more information, visit www.natrc.org, e-mail Erin Glassman at [email protected], or call (620) 617-7221. There will be a 60 rider limit. Discounts will be given to NATRC members.

OCTOBER 17-18

Pull up your boots and saddle up your horse for the 2015 Winter Breeze Benefit Trail Ride to raise funds for improvements to the Rock’n K Horse Campground. The event will begin with a guided trail ride at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a chili cook-off and auction in the evening. Cost to attend is $25 per person and includes the chili dinner, one raffle ticket for door prizes, and Sunday morning breakfast.

Interested parties can become a sponsor for $50 and also get a free event t-shirt. For information, contact Tracy McIntyre at (620) 680-0935 or Sherry Axman at (620) 786-4294.

OCTOBER 23-25

Prairie Longrifles members invite you and your family to join in on some friendly competition at the 36th Annual Fall Shoot, open to shooters of all ages. The event will take place at Mulberry Campground in Kanopolis State Park’s Langley Point Area. Men, women and junior events will include: rifle, pistol, knife and tomahawk throwing, supervised pre-junior shooting, under-the table shooting, and kids’ events. A meal will be provided Saturday evening to all registered guests, free of charge, and to non-registered guests for $3.00.

Event festivities will continue on Sunday with an archery and team pole shoot. For more information, contact Jimmy Lewis at (785) 827-5784, or Barb or Luke Long at (785) 667-4612.

Fall turkey season offers second chance at gobblers

If lady luck wasn’t on your side this spring turkey season, or you simply want to enjoy a unique fall hunting experience, the fall turkey season is an opportunity for a second chance. From Oct. 1 – Dec. 1 and Dec. 14, 2015 – Jan. 31, 2016, turkey hunters may hunt both male and female turkeys in turkey management units: 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Hunters with a fall turkey permit and valid Kansas hunting license may also purchase up to three additional turkey game tags valid in Unit 2, offering plenty of opportunities to stock up this winter.

All hunters must have a hunting license, unless exempt, and a turkey permit. Residents 15 and younger, 75 and older and hunters hunting on land they own are exempt from hunting license requirements. Resident permits are $22.50 for hunters 16 and older and $7.50 for hunters 15 and younger. Resident turkey game tags are $12.50. Nonresident turkey permits are $32.50 and nonresident turkey game tags are $22.50.

For information on turkey hunting regulations, legal equipment, unit maps and public hunting areas, pick up or download an electronic copy (www.ksoutdoors.com) of the 2015 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary and 2015 Kansas Hunting Atlas. Permits and game tags are available wherever licenses are sold and at www.ksoutdoors.com.

Youth pheasant hunt in Baldwin City Oct. 11

The Jayhawk Chapter of the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF) will host a youth pheasant hunt Sunday, October 11 for hunters 15 and younger. The free event will take place at Eckman’s Hunting Preserve, 988 E. 1900 Rd., Baldwin City. To reserve your child’s spot, contact John Hill at (785) 841-9555 or by e-mail at [email protected].

The day’s activities will begin with a safety refresher and warm-up trap shooting. Hunters will then be assigned a two-hour window, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., in which they will be in the field hunting. Shotgun shells will be provided. Mentors and shotguns can be provided upon request.

All participants must bring eye protection and wear hunter orange.

License fees, duck zones and fishing regulations on Commission agenda

The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will conduct a public meeting in Burlington on October 22, 2015 at the Coffey County Library, 410 Juniatta Street. The afternoon session will begin at 1 p.m. and will recess for supper at 5 p.m. The meeting will reconvene for the Public Hearing portion at 6:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend all portions of the meeting.

Items on the afternoon General Discussion agenda include a report on the fiscal status of the agency and state by Secretary Robin Jennison; the upcoming 2016 session of the Kansas Legislature; Kansas tourism, staff report on the Coffey County Lake fishery, the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, and antelope and elk regulations. Workshop items include deer hunting regulations and big game permanent regulations.

The Public Hearing portion will begin at 6:30 p.m. Items to be discussed and voted on by the commission include hunting and fishing fees, big game and turkey permit applications, definitions concerning setline fishing, fishing regulations near fish ladders, length and creel limits and duck zone boundary changes.

Time will be available during 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., October 23, to complete any unfinished business.

Live video and audio streaming of the meeting will be available at 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 Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission meeting is scheduled for January 7, 2016 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan.

Game Wardens, KHP Troopers to conduct checkpoints

Joint effort will check drivers’ licenses and possession of wildlife

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) game wardens and Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) troopers will conduct one or more joint checkpoints in central Kansas on Sunday, October 11, 2015. Deer, dove and duck seasons will be underway. Checkpoints are intended to help enforce state and federal wildlife laws, as well as the state’s driver’s licensing laws.

KHP troopers will operate the first stage of the checkpoints to be sure drivers are properly licensed to be driving. If a driver does not have a valid license, appropriate enforcement actions will be taken. Travelers should not expect major delays from this portion of the checkpoints.

Occupants of vehicles in the first check lane will be asked if they are hunters or are transporting wildlife. If yes in either case, drivers will be directed to a nearby KDWPT check lane where Kansas Game Wardens will check for required licenses and permits, count the game and gather biological, harvest, and hunter success information. This portion of the checkpoints should also cause minimal delay.

The following locations may be used if weather conditions and manpower allow:

US-81 at milepost 161, Ottawa County

US-56 & K-46 intersection, McPherson County

K-156 at milepost 165, Ellsworth County

US-281 & US-50 intersection, Stafford County

K-156 & US-56 intersection, Pawnee County

US-281 & K-4 intersection, Barton County

Additional wildlife checkpoints will occur around the state during the fall and winter hunting seasons.

Pintails, redheads and mallards, oh my

The 2015 Kansas duck season is about to kick off – are you ready for the marsh madness? Before you throw on your waders and start unraveling decoys, there are a few things you need to know. iSportsman, the free and convenient electronic check-in system, is now offered at 23 locations throughout the state. If you have yet to create an account, consider signing up at www.kdwpt.isportsman.net. Federal Waterfowl Stamps, required of all waterfowl hunters age 16 and older, have increased in price and can be purchased for $26.50.

All hunters who are required to have a hunting license must also have a State Waterfowl Permit, $7, and a Kansas Harvest Information Program (HIP) Permit, $2.50, before hunting ducks, geese, or mergansers. Licenses, stamps and permits, except for Federal Waterfowl Stamps, may be obtained wherever licenses are sold and online at ksoutdoors.com. Apart from post offices, Federal Waterfowl Stamps may also be obtained online from www.duckstamp.com and www.usps.com.

Federal and state waterfowl permits are not required to hunt coots, doves, rails, snipe, woodcock, or sandhill cranes; however a HIP Permit is required.

2015 DUCK SEASONS

YOUTH WATERFOWL SEASONS

High Plains Unit: Oct. 3-4, 2015

Low Plains Early Zone: Oct. 3-4, 2015

Low Plains Late Zone: Oct. 24-25, 2015

Southeast Zone: Nov. 7-8, 2015

(Bag limits for the youth seasons are the same as during the regular seasons and include ducks, geese, coots and mergansers.)

HIGH PLAINS UNIT

Oct. 10, 2015-Jan. 4, 2016 and Jan. 23-31, 2016

LOW PLAINS EARLY ZONE

Oct. 10-Dec. 6, 2015 and Dec. 19, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016

LOW PLAINS LATE ZONE

Season: Oct. 31, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016 and Jan. 23-31, 2016

LOW PLAINS SOUTHEAST ZONE

Nov. 14, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016 and Jan. 9-31, 2016

Hunters may take six ducks daily, including no more than, 5 mallards, of which only 2 may be hens; 3 wood ducks; 3 scaup; 2 pintails; 2 redheads; and 2 canvasbacks. Possession limit is three times the daily bag limit.

Hunters taking mergansers may possess up to five a day, only two of which may be hooded mergansers. Possession limit is three times the daily bag limit.

For more information on Kansas duck hunting, visit www.ksoutdoors.com and click “Hunting,” “Seasons and Limits,” then “Migratory Bird Seasons,” or pick up a copy of the 2015 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary wherever licenses are sold.

Youth ages 12-18 invited to memorial upland bird hunt

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism staff, in cooperation with the Smoky Hill Pheasants Forever #424 Chapter, invite youth to an upland hunt Oct. 10. The event will take place at Hays City Sportsman Club and will be held in memory of former chapter volunteers, Darrell Brown, LaVern Steiben, LeRoy Culbreath, and Sid Carlile. There is no cost to attend.

Youth ages 12-18 are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to harvest at least four birds. Pointing dogs will be available.

In addition to the hunt, participants will receive instruction on a variety of topics including training and hunting with dogs, field safety and gun handling, preparing birds for cooking, and upland bird habitat. The D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program will also be incorporated into the event.

This special hunt is a part of the Kansas Hunter Recruitment and Retention Program, “Pass It On.”

For more information, or to register your child for this event, contact Shayne Wilson at (785) 628-1415, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.