Nebraska VS Kansas farmer incentives?

[Brad6260]

With Nebraska having such a poor public walk in program and so few public acres available and Kansas having such a successful and widespread program I am curious what Kansas did to get so many acres enrolled in the various programs by the private landowners to allow public access?

I assume it comes down to money. I see where Nebraska is offering some new per acre incentives to the landowner but I would like to know how one state compares to the other in what is offered to the landowner that allows public access?

Then comes the obvious debate that asks if the "tourist/sportsman's" dollars brought into Kansas at all levels, from state taxes and license fees to the local cafe selling a cup of coffee as a result of these incentives are seen as a worthwhile return on their investment,time and hassles from the standpoint of the farmer/landowner where it all must start from?

I hunted Nebraska for over a decade and consider myself a very considerate and conscientious hunter but the prevailing attitude there became "your not welcome here" and there is no where for you to hunt so go away.

 

[oldandnew]

I too, have hunted Nebraska since the mid 70's. Had many great hunts there, from mule deer and sharptails, to pheasants. The change you see is commercialism. 40 years ago, nobody leased ground in Nebraska, now I can point you to at least two leasing web sites, quoting outrageous prices per acre to hunt there. It starts with waterfowl, and with the rainwater basin and platte river being such hotspots for waterfowl, the key spots got leased, and the rest of hunting went with it. Kansas never had the private restricted waterfowl hunting like Nebraska from east to west, Kansas now going the way of Nebraska 25 years later. Once the landowners find out they can get somebody to pay access fees in the thousands of dollars, for something most of them are giving away free, it's hard to blame them. Problem is with the paying sportsman, not the landowner. For further examples of commercialism gone mad see Texas, ( the granddaddy of them all), and South Dakota. By the way, I believe that Nebraska actually pays more, than Kansas for public access! Admittedly with poorer results! I have always found Nebraskans to be friendly, and welcoming to outsiders.

 

[Brad6260]

O&N,
I don't disagree with most of your opinions here but the fact remains that Kansas due to the higher bird numbers could be much easier for a private landowner to market for private hunting lease purposes and yet they continue to support the walk in programs. Granted the number of acres of walk in drop some each year but the amount of acres that drop off to be converted into private leases are very very small.
So to me it still begs the question of why the Kansas farmers are far more willing to support the public programs vs Nebraskans?

 

[PBuster]

I have wondered this also. Here in CO we are on the incline on WIA's, supposed to be. Does that mean we are paying even more? I doubt it. I think it comes down to how well the land is taken care of. I have noticed in Nebraska or atleast in the SW where i hunt that there is a bunch of CRP grassland, very nice pheasant habitat. Some of this is 6 feet tall and right next to a corn field. It would probably cost top dollar to keep up fields of CRP grassland, ther comes the higher compensation.
In Kansas I have noticed it is more WIA's that are harvested fields of corn or milo and far less CRP grass, although Kansas has way more birds, I think because they leave cover on the edges and have small valleys of cover. But it would cost less to pay a rancher to let people hunt on his land buy buying the WIA rights than to pay him to turn his money making field into a pheasant habitat area (CRP) that returns him nothing but what he is being paid for it as a WIA. That is why I think Nebraska is dwindeling down on land, pay the land owners for tresspass on fields rather than paying for to many CRP fields. Have balance and I have noticed that Neb is more focused on getting CRP fields than getting crop fields. Another thing I have noticed in Nebraska, and this is very unfortunate. Hunters seem to take less care of the WIA, I have seen tresspass, liter beyond control, parking in non-WIA fields. So land owners may just be saying no way, or going to ther own pay to play.
Either way I hope Neb gets a grip on it and can get some more fields enrolled.
Also, both states have been very friendly to me.

PBuster out