NEW SYSTEM TO STREAMLINE STATE PARK RESERVATIONS

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System available online April 17; all reservations will shut down April 1-16
PRATT — Have you ever wondered what state park facilities are still available on a busy weekend or wished you could make a reservation in advance from home, when park offices are closed? The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) Outdoor Recreation Management System (ORMS) — available April 17 — will provide that service and much more.

In addition to allowing customers to make reservations from the comfort of home, photos of each campsite and whether it’s available will be hosted online. In most cases, ORMS will save park users money, through reduced service fees and more efficient management. The system also will allow staff to mark sites with problems — such as broken hydrants or electrical issues — until these issues can be fixed. ORMS data will show which sites are used the most, making management planning more efficient. ORMS will allow park staff to look within the system to see what sites are full and who is on that site, making emergency notifications much faster.

For those without computers or who still prefer using a phone, park staff will be able to use ORMS to help callers with reservations.

Reservations made before ORMS is launched will be moved into the new reservation system, so there will be no need to renew existing reservations. A cancellation/reschedule policy will be implemented, similar to the policy for camping cabins. The number of campsites available for reservation will vary by park. The rest will be available through the traditional first-come, first-served method. Shelter and group campground reservations will continue to be made only through the park office where the facilities are located.

In order to implement ORMS, the current reservation system will be shut down from April 1 through April 16. During this time, no reservations will be taken either online or by phone.

On March 31, all state parks will host a Free Park Entrance Day, with open-house in the offices, allowing customers to purchase park permits on the last day of lower off-season pricing. During open house, ORMS demonstrations will offer customers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the new system. Also during the open house, visitors can enter a drawing to win a free one-night stay at a state park or public land cabin of their choice (terms and conditions apply, no purchase is necessary to enter. Call park office for details).

Those who cannot make it to a state park open house March 31 and see a demonstration can go online to Reserve America — www.reserveamerica.com — and familiarize themselves with how to use the system ahead of the launch date. Forty states are currently using the system, so pick one and see what they have to offer.

Among many other benefits of ORMS, park users will be able to make a reservation online from home, be assured to have a site if they have made a reservation, and avoid reservation errors such as double-booking. Park staff will use ORMS to manage walk-in as well as phone sales.

For those sites that can be reserved, users will be able to search for specific locations, sites, dates, and lengths of stay. Searches can be narrowed by amenities such as site size, utility hookups, equestrian facilities, hiking and biking trails, boating facilities, swimming areas, and more. Visitors without a camping permit can purchase one online before leaving home.

State park cabin reservations may already be made online atreserve.ksoutdoors.com or by calling or visiting a state park office. Constituents should continue to use these venues through March 31.

ORMS is much more than a camping and cabin reservation system. It will help KDWPT staff provide better customer service and more accurate visitor information. For more information, contact the nearest KDWPT state park or phone the Pratt Operations Office, 620-672-5911, and ask for the Parks Division.

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Amended Senior Hunting/Fishing License Bill Goes to Senate

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Amended bill gives seniors two options for discounted hunting/fishing licenses

The Senate Natural Resources Committee today amended Senate Bill 314 and sent it to the full Senate. Earlier this year, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) asked the Kansas Legislature to consider eliminating the hunting and fishing license exemptions for persons 65 years of age and older. The committee held hearings on the bill on February 17 and March 1.

The state’s wildlife and fisheries programs are funded by license/permit fees and a federal match from the excise tax paid by hunters and anglers on equipment they buy (these revenues can only be used to fund wildlife and fisheries programs; they cannot be used for state parks). The state’s share of the federal excise tax is based on the number of hunting and fishing licenses sold. Removing the senior exemption or charging seniors a reduced fee allows Kansas to capture the federal excise tax for seniors who hunt and fish. The amended bill would give senior residents two options for buying discounted hunting/fishing licenses. Either option would bring federal excise taxes back to Kansas, and help the agency achieve a more stable and consistent revenue stream.

Under one option, seniors could purchase a lifetime combination senior hunting/fishing pass, which would likely cost $40.00 (excluding a vendor and convenience fee). The agency believes this is the lowest amount the department could charge and still safely claim the federal matching funds – amortized over 18 years per pass. The cost would be set by the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission through a change in regulation, and the amount could not exceed one-eighth of the fee for a regular lifetime combination hunting/fishing license.

The second option would be for seniors to purchase an annual half-price hunting, fishing or combination hunting/fishing license up to the age of 75, with no license required for those 75 years of age and older. Under the current pricing structure, the senior annual hunting and fishing licenses would be $9.00 each, and the senior annual combination hunting/fishing license would be $18.00 (excluding a $2.50 vendor and convenience fee for each license).

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PADDLEFISH SNAGGING SEASON OPENS MARCH 15

March 8, 2012
Anglers should be aware of rules, areas open; season runs through May 15
PRATT — Many anglers in eastern Kansas look forward to March 15, when the Kansas paddlefish season opens, running through May 15 at specific locations. Once water temperatures near 60 degrees, paddlefish make the annual spawning run. Some snagging areas, such as the Neosho River in Chetopa, require a rise in the river level for paddlefish to be present, so significant rainfall is essential.

Paddlefish may be taken inside Chetopa and Burlington city parks on the Neosho River, on the Neosho River at Iola downstream from the dam to the city limits, on the Marais des Cygnes River below Osawatomie Dam downstream to a posted boundary, and on the Marais des Cygnes River on the upstream boundary of Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area downstream to the Kansas-Missouri border.

Paddlefish may be snagged using pole and line with not more than two single or treble hooks. Barbless hooks must be used in Chetopa City Park. Catch and release is allowed in Burlington, Chetopa, and Iola except that once attached to a stringer, a fish becomes part of the daily creel limit. The daily creel limit for paddlefish is two, and the season limit is six. On the Missouri River (season: March 15-April 30), there is a 24-inch minimum length limit. There is a 34-inch minimum length limit on Marias des Cygnes River.

A paddlefish permit — $12.50 for those 16 and older, $7.50 for youth 15 and younger — includes six carcass tags. Immediately upon attaching a fish to a stringer, the angler must sign a carcass tag; record the county, date, and time of harvest; and attach the carcass tag to the lower jaw of the paddlefish taken. Anglers must stop snagging once the daily creel limit of two paddlefish is reached.

Paddlefish caught outside the paddlefish season or in non-snagging areas may be kept if they are hooked in the mouth only.

Nonsport fish (carp, drum, grass carp, threadfin and gizzard shad, goldfish, gar, suckers including carpsucker and buffalo, goldeye, and bowfin) may also be snagged in waters posted open to snagging during the paddlefish season. There are no limits on nonsport fish.

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WILDLIFE, PARKS AND TOURISM COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 22 IN TOPEKA

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Big game and turkey regulations to highlight public hearing; audio/visual streaming available
TOPEKA — The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will conduct a public meeting and hearing on Thursday, March 22, at the Kansas Historical Society History Center, 6425 SW 6th Avenue in Topeka. The afternoon session will begin at 1:30 p.m. and recess at 5 p.m., and the evening session will begin at 7 p.m.

The afternoon session will begin with time for public comments on non-agenda items, followed by a general discussion period on the following topics:

• Secretary’s remarks;
• Fort Riley presentation;
• 2012 legislative update;
• agency and state fiscal status;
• tourism briefing;
• webless migratory birds;
• early migratory bird seasons;
• commercial mussel harvest;
• prairie chicken seasons;
• Outdoor Recreation Management System (ORMS) update; and
• otter season update.

The afternoon will also include a workshop session, in preparation for potential future regulatory action, covering preliminary recommendations on the following regulations:

• falconry regulations;
• public land regulations;
• KAR 115-25-7 — antelope, open season, bag limit, and permits;
• KAR 115-25-8 — elk, open season, bag limit, and permits;
• KAR 115-25-5 — turkey, fall season, bag limit and permits; and
• KAR 115-25-9a — deer, open season, bag limit, permits, and additional considerations.

The commission will recess at 5 p.m., then reconvene at 7 p.m. at the same location to hear general public comments on non-agenda items, followed by a public hearing on regulations and Secretary’s Orders. Evening public hearing topics include the following:

• KAR 115-4-2 — big game and wild turkey, general provisions;
• KAR 115-4-4 — big game, legal equipment and taking methods;
• KAR 115-4-4a — wild turkey, legal equipment and taking methods;
• KAR 115-25-9 — deer, open season, bag limit, and permits; and
• Secretary’s Orders for deer.

Time will be set aside in both the afternoon and evening sessions for public comment on topics that are not on the agenda. If necessary, the commission will recess on March 22 and reconvene at the same location at 9 a.m., March 23, to complete unfinished business.

Live video and audio streaming of this meeting will be broadcast through the KDWPT website, www.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 commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 26, at the Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 East 29th Street North in Wichita.

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MEADE HATCHERY PROJECT PRODUCING BASS EARLIER

Early propagation program helping bass survival and growth rates
MEADE — Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) fish culturists are producing largemouth bass earlier, giving them a head start on bass hatched with traditional hatchery methods or those hatched in the wild. Now in its fourth year, a bass propagation project at Meade Fish Hatchery, near Meade State Park, is coming to fruition. The project’s first year, 2009, was met with several setbacks, but after some revising of techniques, Meade Hatchery biologists Jason Vajnar and Josh Jagels were able to produce 750,000 fry more than 45 days earlier than normal in the spring of 2010.

In 2011, the hatchery produced 2 million early-hatched bass, which were stocked primarily in Hillsdale and Cedar Bluff reservoirs, with a few stocked in smaller impoundments on a trial basis. The goal for 2012 is 2.5 million fry. Of those stocked this year in Hillsdale and Cedar Bluff, approximately 100,000 in each lake will be marked finglerings, so biologists can separate early-propagated bass from wild-spawned bass during testing later in the year. In addition, Herington City Lake, an impoundment with virtually no historical natural bass recruitment, will receive 600,000 seven-day-old fry.

Typically, hatchery and wild bass spawn in mid-June, too late to eat young gizzard shad — a primary prey species for bass, which hatch earlier and are too big for young-of-the-year bass to feed on. This results in slower growth rates and smaller year-class bass that are more vulnerable to winter die-off after the growing season ends in fall.

“We want to emphasize that while we are hopeful for the long-term success of this project, it is still experimental,” says KDWPT Fisheries Section chief Doug Nygren. “We will monitor progress for the next few years, and if it’s producing significant numbers of additional largemouth bass for anglers, we’ll expand the program. If not, it will be discontinued.”

The concept of hatching bass earlier in the year is relatively simple. KDWPT fisheries biologists have built a climate-controlled building — called the Bass Propagation Facility — for the process. Here, they can manipulate water temperature and photoperiod (length of light in a day) in hopes that mature breeding bass will spawn approximately six weeks earlier than normal. If the parent bass respond as expected, their fry will be reared in raceways to fingerling size by the time wild-hatched bass are still in the fry stage.

Both fry and young fingerlings are stocked in lakes, where they feed on zooplankton until young shad are available.

Kansas boasts 24 large reservoirs, but few of them provide consistent largemouth bass fishing opportunities. Fishery managers have struggled for years to maintain bass populations in reservoirs, but in most cases, it’s been a futile battle. Kansas anglers catch plenty of largemouth bass, but most come from the tens-of-thousands of farm ponds and small lakes that dot the state. When the reservoirs are new, wooded draws, weedy farm fields, and grasslands are flooded, providing excellent largemouth habitat. During this time, largemouth bass flourish and grow quickly, but after five or six years, populations decline.

In the past, biologists have tried stocking more largemouth bass, but this did not result in increased numbers of large bass. Biologist have determined that lack of aquatic vegetation (plentiful in small lakes and farm ponds) in large reservoirs is the missing ingredient. Aquatic vegetation is important for newly-spawned largemouth to hide from predators and feed. Vegetation harbors insect larvae, minnows, and panfish species that are important food sources for largemouth bass. Biologists have transplanted vegetation and even fenced off coves in attempts to reestablish vegetation, but results have been limited.

During the first attempt, the biologists learned important lessons. For the second attempt, breeding bass were removed from outdoor hatchery ponds and brought to indoor tanks in November 2009. Water temperature and lighting was adjusted to mimic winter — 40-degree water and 10 hours of light followed by 14 hours of dark. On March 11, 2010, the lighting was changed to 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark to replicate the diurnal cycle of May. The water was warmed to 68-70 degrees. On March 25, it was warmed to between 70-72 degrees. Until this point, the male and female bass had been kept in separate raceways. On March 25, the sexes were put into the same raceways but kept separated by a screen. Bass could then react to the pheromones given off, allowing gonads to develop. On April 2, the screens were pulled and the sexes were allowed to mingle. Spawning mats (artificial nests) were placed on April 9, and on April 14, the first spawns were collected. The result was that the Meade Hatchery produced nearly 750,000 fry in 2010.

The process is constantly being refined. Water quality is monitored carefully in spring. Staff watch levels of ammonia and un-ionized ammonia carefully, and whenever set parameters are exceeded, they make adjustments. The water heating system is now improved so that the temperature doesn’t fall during the night. Correspondence with the Florida Bass Conservation Center in Florida and biologists in Texas also helped Vajnar and Jagels make the program a success.

The success of this project depends on the survival rate of stocked bass through their first year. If it works as hoped, Kansas anglers should be catching bigger and more of their favorite sportfish in the future.

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12TH ANNUAL COUNCIL GROVE SPRING TURKEY HUNT APRIL 7

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Young hunters ages 11 through 16 invited; registration deadline March 23
COUNCIL GROVE — Many young Kansans have not yet experienced the thrill of a Kansas spring turkey hunt. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) — in cooperation with Council Grove area chapters of the National Wild Turkey Federation and Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — hopes to change that. On April 7, the organizations will conduct the 12th Annual Council Grove Spring Turkey Hunt.

“We’ve designed this event to entice beginning turkey hunters into the woods in search of a spring gobbler,” says Council Grove Wildlife Area manager Brent Konen. “It provides participating hunters age 11 through 16 with an opportunity to become involved not only in the hunt but also in its preparation, so they learn a lot more than just how to shoot a turkey.”

Participants will pattern their shotguns and scout for turkeys the evening before the hunt. The morning of the hunt, they will be guided to area locations on public and private land where encounters with these magnificent game birds are likely. Program volunteers will arrange transportation to hunting sites and will be available to assist in the hunt.

The event will also include door prizes, a turkey hunting presentation, and a hunter’s breakfast and lunch.

“Kansas turkey hunting prospects are good, and the excitement of the spring hunt can spark a passion for the outdoors that lasts a lifetime,” says Konen. “Participants are also encouraged to explore historic Council Grove and scenic Morris County while visiting the area.”

Lodging is available in nearby Council Grove, and camping is available at Council Grove Reservoir. Registration is required by March 23. For more information or to register, phone Konen at 620-767-5900.

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WESTAR ENERGY GREEN TEAM NOVICE TURKEY HUNTS APRIL 1-17

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Registration deadline March 23; preference given to inexperienced hunters

PRATT — Staff at Jeffrey Energy Center (JEC) are inviting youth who have not harvested a turkey to participate in the center’s spring hunt April 1-22 at JEC, about 45 minutes northwest of Topeka.

Youth must be accompanied by an adult mentor, preferably one who does not have turkey hunting experience. These trips will be guided by veteran hunters and will take place in enclosed blinds around small crop fields scattered throughout the plant’s property, where turkeys are abundant.

Youth 12 through 17 years old are eligible. All they need is a Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism turkey permit and a shotgun; no special clothing, calls, or decoys are needed. A hunting license and hunter education certificate are only necessary for hunters 16 years or older.

Hunts will take place primarily in the mornings and on weekends, but weekdays and afternoons are possible based on volunteer guide availability. Registration is open through Friday, March 23, or until all slots are filled. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis with preference for inexperienced mentors. For more information or to apply, phone Barb Cornelius at 785-575-8125.

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