New electronic check-in system in use for 14 Kansas public hunting areas

State officials are hoping a new electronic registration system for some public hunting areas will bring benefits to hunters and those who manage the properties. For many years, hunters have been required to complete paper registration forms when they come and go from many public areas.

“This system is very instantaneous and will save (public land) managers and sportsmen a lot of time, and provide more information,” said Mike Nyhoff, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism public lands supervisor.

Registrations for 14 public areas, including Cheyenne Bottoms and McPherson Wetlands areas, have been available through the state’s iSportsman system since the Sept. 1 opening of dove season. Nyhoff said the 14 areas will also accept traditional paper registrations this year, too.

To use the electronic system, hunters go to www.ksoutdoors.com to create a registration account. Nyhoff said those without access to a computer can call Wildlife and Parks headquarters at 620-672-5911, and a staff member will help get the initial registration completed.

After that, hunters can register for daily access online or with a telephone call. As with the paper system, hunters will first need to provide their names and contact information before they hunt. After the hunt, they will provide information about what part of the public area was hunted, and what game was taken. Nyhoff said registrations can be done in advance, though the department encourages sportsmen to do so no more than the day before, in case their plans should change.

Also, the iSportsman system will not allow users to register for a new day until all of the needed information is gathered from a previous hunt.

Nyhoff said public land managers have used the paper registration system to monitor hunting pressure, harvest figures and overall sportsman satisfaction. The old system, though, often requires weeks to compile the data. Now, those managers can access electronic information in seconds.

“It really frees up those biologists to be out there managing the properties and working on habitat,” Nyhoff said. “It is also going to save us money. The assistant manager at Jamestown figured up we paid him $5,000 for his labor working with the paper registrations last season.”

Wildlife and Parks is paying around $150,000 for the iSportsman system. Nyhoff said the agency plans to expand it into other areas where registration is required. The agency will also use it to educate sportsmen directly.

“We can use it it to get news to hunters, like if whooping cranes are at Cheyenne Bottoms and that pool is closed from hunting, we can let them know right away,” Nyhoff said. “Or, if the cranes have moved on we can let them know as soon as it’s opened again.”

So far more than 2,000 hunters have registered for the new system. About 30 percent of the teal hunters at Cheyenne Bottoms used the system last weekend. The system didn’t perform flawlessly.

Rick Tomlinson, of Great Bend, said he and several hunters weren’t able to complete the check-out process that included listing the birds they’d killed. Nyhoff said it may take a while to get the kinks worked out of the new system, but added hunters can still use the paper card system when needed.

Though iSportsman has been used on several military bases that allow hunting, including Kansas’ Fort Riley, Nyhoff said Wildlife and Parks is the first state game department to utilize the system.

“I know there are several other states that are showing a real interest in how this is working for us,” Nyhoff said. “I know right now, we’re still really excited about it.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 2:45 PM with the headline "New electronic check-in system in use for 14 Kansas public hunting areas."