Ice storm, snow could be good news for Kansas wildlife

Any hunter worth a box of 7 1/2 shot knows a severe ice or snow can decimate quail numbers. Sometimes so many freeze or starve it takes many years for a population to recover.

Jeff Prendergast doesn’t think that’s much of a problem after last weekend’s winter storms. In fact, the ice and snow could be a heck of good deal in the long run.

“I’m pretty sure we lost some birds,” said Prendergast, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism pheasant biologist. “but the moisture we got for production cover next spring is probably more important than any losses we may have seen.”

The biologist said Kansas quail probably took a hit in areas of marginal habitat. With the high populations of the past few seasons, there are quite a few birds living in such areas when the storm hit.

Fortunately, the abundance of food this winter and how quickly the weather warmed, should make it easy for birds that survived the initial threat of being covered in ice.

“Most of the birds this time of the year are in good enough shape they could last several days in good cover,” he said. “But most of (the ice)was gone in a day or two so they should have done pretty well.”

Larger and stronger than quail, pheasants should have weathered the storms even better. Good nesting and brood conditions in a spring are usually far more important to pheasants than some severe winter weather. Hence the snow, ice and rain of last weekend could greatly help next year’s hunts. Prendergast said Kansas hadn’t had much precipitation since last summer, and the two and three inches of moisture that fell on much of Kansas last weekend was well timed.

“This should help with a better wheat crop for (nesting) pheasants,” he said, “and the moisture should help pasture conditions for the quail. Our winter weather may have impacted the population but good habitat and weather for the hatch this coming year is usually more important. We need the cover for good nesting success, good brood-rearing success.”

Controversial hearing postponed — The hearing for a woman cited for illegally keeping a mule deer as a pet has been postponed. Kim Mcgaughey, of rural Ulysses, was given a ticket by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks game wardens in December concerning “Faline,” a mule deer doe she and her family had cared for for 22 months. That same day, game wardens shot the deer near Mcgaughey’s driveway, while her family watched and shot video of much of the event.

Kevin Jones, KDWPT law-enforcement director, said the hearing was postponed at the judge’s request because of scheduling problems. Wildlife and Parks has yet to learn when the hearing will be held. If guilty, Mcgaughey could be charged with a class C misdemeanor, which could carry a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in the Grant County jail.

Wildlife and Parks said the deer had to be shot because capturing it would have endangered game wardens. They were also concerned moving it to another location could spread chronic wasting disease, a disease that’s fatal in deer. In some parts of the Rocky Mountains, CWD is blamed for large decreases in localized deer populations.

State law prohibits the public from keeping any wild animal. One reason is fear the animal could have lived better in the wild. Another is out of concern people could get injured by things like pet deer or raccoons.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Ice storm, snow could be good news for Kansas wildlife."