Wildlife and Parks may raise some park fees

The cost of some camping fees at state parks in Kansas may increase in 2017.

Linda Lanterman, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism state park director, made the request to the Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commission at Thursday’s meeting. The requests will go to vote at an Oct. 20 commission meeting in Liberal.

If approved, annual camping permits would rise from $200 to $250 for permits purchased during prime camping season. The increase would be from $150 to $200 for annual permits purchased during non-peak camping months.

The proposal includes raising daily camping fees from as low as $7 for non-peak seasons to a flat rate of $9 per day. The cost of 14-day camping permits would increase from as low as $85 to a flat rate of $110.

Lanterman estimated the changes could result in a $700,000 or more in additional income for the parks.

Game warden pay increase – A representative for the game wardens and park rangers of Kansas told the commission they are not in favor of a condition within a current pay raise offered by the department. The problem, according to the wardens, is that a raise could include a regulation change that would make it easier for officers to get fired.

Under the current system, most Kansas game wardens and park rangers have protection from a wrongful firing through a hearing process with the Kansas Civil Service Board.. The proposed pay raise system would reclassify their jobs so they could be fired by the department with no outside review process. Cannizzaro said law-enforcement officers can be particularly vulnerable to unwarranted firings if they issue a ticket or arrest someone in a position of authority, such as a legislator.

Cannizzaro said it had been about 15 years since most game wardens got a raise. If accepted, the current offer would vary by years of experience and rank. The salary for new hires to game wardens with two years of experience would increase from about $38,000 to about $44,000. Field wardens with two to eight years experience would get a one-time raise of about $1,100.

Worth noting — Tom Bowman, a retired fisheries biologist, asked the agency to put more limitations on blue catfish at Milford Reservoir. The lake has produced blues of more than 80 pounds this year and could produce larger in the future if large fish are protected. Bowman, who stocked blue catfish in the lake initially, said it takes 30 years for a fish to get that size and angling pressure is high on the lake. He suggested a slot limit that would require anglers to release all blue catfish between 25 and 40 inches, and only keep one fish more than 40 inches. Agency biologists will research the matter.

▪ There was debate as per the department’s recommendation to close fall turkey season of much of eastern and south-central Kansas in 2017, based on hunter success rates from the past two spring seasons. Gerald Lauber, commission chairman, said the several hundred hen turkeys shot during a fall season make up tiny portion of the population. Good or bad hatches have more to do with population increases and decreases. Lauber, an avid fall turkey hunter, said he would not want to see the tradition of fall turkey hunting end in Kansas. The topic will go to a vote at the Liberal commission meeting.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Wildlife and Parks may raise some park fees."