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Pheasants Forever is hosting an upland bird habitat tour at the Byron Walker Wildlife Area, west of Kingman on Friday.
Much of the event will be demonstrating the importance native grass, plant diversity and wild flowers play in providing good habitat for pheasants and quail, especially when raising broods of young chicks. Ways to improve stands of Conservation Reserve Program grasslands and the importance of pollinator insects will also be discussed.
The morning will include short nature hikes through the wildlife area to see how similar management programs have improved area gamebird habitat.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Mary Liz Jameson, from Wichita State University’s Department of Biological Sciences, are also participating.
Participants are to meet at wildlife area headquarters, 8685 W. Highway 54, Cunningham, at 8 a.m.
For information contact Zac Eddy at 620-338-7132 or zeddy@pheasantsforever.org.
Conservation donation — A square-mile of land, 640 acres, in western Kansas has been donated to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever by a Colorado Springs man.
Rob Peterson has made the gift in memory of his father, Robert Peterson, Sr., who died of cancer in 2010.
According to the conservation group, Rob Peterson is making the gift to honor the great memories he has of hunting and fishing with his father, and their joint love of the outdoors.
Habitat work is on-going on the land near Cimarron. Rob Peterson will continue to manage and enjoy the land. Upon his death it will be transferred to the conservation groups, who will then manage it for prime habitat and public access.
This is at least the second sizable Kansas property given to Pheasants Forever. In 2008 Wallace Weber made a similar arrangement, donating 1,700 acres in Russell County.
Such land donations are part of Pheasant Forever’s Grassroots Conservation Campaign.
Prairie chicken permits — For the first time, Kansas prairie chicken hunters will need to buy a special permit before hunting the birds during the 2012-13 seasons. The permits should be available online or at regular license vendors before the first seasons open on Sept. 15.
Jim Pitman, of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, said the $2.50 cost is for the vendor’s handling fees.
Wildlife and Parks requested the permits so they can better track prairie chicken hunting trends, and survey prairie chicken hunters at the end of the seasons. The regulation was approved by the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission on June 21.
