New 2020-2021 WIHA map is out

The new atlas lists properties I hunted last year that I definitely want to return to. I was worried we would lose a bunch but thankfully don’t see much change. Anyone notice much change?
 
A lot of the WIHA is still WIHA but the CRP expired and is now full of cattle. I saw several CRP fields last night that have been sprayed and is ready for the plow. Many have been scalped and hayed. Some of my favorite patches are history.
 
westksbowhunter said:
A lot of the WIHA is still WIHA but the CRP expired and is now full of cattle. I saw several CRP fields last night that have been sprayed and is ready for the plow. Many have been scalped and hayed. Some of my favorite patches are history.
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not surprising, the CRP fields were forecast to decline by 1 million acres over the next 12 months.
better scout the walk in ground ahead of time as some may be scalped or plowed by season opener. Bummer.
 
so let's get real folks. if the KDWP failed to delete these properties that have been decimated of cover, then a lot of hunters who show up and find this as a common condition, they are gonna be plenty pissed off!!
 
The KDWP has no control of that. You could enroll a rock quarry into WIHA. I would think those WIHA that are full of cattle will have the signs pulled by the landowner before season.
 
I don't know if landowners will pull signs. If they are still enrolled in the program, the signs will still be there. I've seen a few WIHA with cattle on them.
 
I have seen some pitiful WI hunting areas, just going to be some sour grapes on opening day, I would guess scouting pre season would be very wise.
 
Landowners can unenroll any time they want. If I'm not mistaken, the signage, not the maps is what determines legally if a piece is open to hunting.

More and more WIHA is unhuntable, which makes sense, since more and more private ground in Kansas is also incapable of sustaining wildlife. Such is life, we are told, no one has any choice but to rape and scrape. To question that is un-American, I've been informed. Anyway, enjoy it while you can. It's not going to get any better and no one cares enough to do anything about it except complain about out of staters.
 
According to the USDA numbers 502,000 CRP acres expired this year. But 450,000 acres were accepted for re-enrollment or sign up. Kansas PF/QF Facebook posted this evening that cattle grazing in some Gove Co CRP is helping the bird habitat greatly. The drought map has receded nicely in much of the state over the summer. Are things really that dire or are some of the old standbys simply falling out of the programs and guys are disappointed??


Kansas BHA podcast #20 with the WIHA director Wes Sowards is a great reference as to what landowner/producers can and can’t do. Some great info about the direction of the program. Clears up many of the WIHA misconceptions. One of the hosts gets a little bent about some habitat destruction on enrolled parcels as well. I don’t like to see it anymore than the rest, but how many of you actually believe a producer heads into a year hoping to have to graze/hay CRP ground or break a WIHA contract? I’ve been around the ag community most of my life and don’t think those are usually on the spring planning radar.


At the end of the day we’re lucky anyone signs up in the program. To have a consistent 1,000,000+ acres to play on is pretty damn awesome. Ask Oklahoma or Nebraska or E Colorado how their publicly accessible private lands program is going. If a few acres aren’t what you’re looking for, keep driving.
 
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KBaird said:
According to the USDA numbers 502,000 CRP acres expired this year. But 450,000 acres were accepted for re-enrollment or sign up. Kansas PF/QF Facebook posted this evening that cattle grazing in some Gove Co CRP is helping the bird habitat greatly. The drought map has receded nicely in much of the state over the summer. Are things really that dire or are some of the old standbys simply falling out of the programs and guys are disappointed??


Kansas BHA podcast #20 with the WIHA director Wes Sowards is a great reference as to what landowner/producers can and can’t do. Some great info about the direction of the program. Clears up many of the WIHA misconceptions. One of the hosts gets a little bent about some habitat destruction on enrolled parcels as well. I don’t like to see it anymore than the rest, but how many of you actually believe a producer heads into a year hoping to have to graze/hay CRP ground or break a WIHA contract? I’ve been around the ag community most of my life and don’t think those are usually on the spring planning radar.


At the end of the day we’re lucky anyone signs up in the program. To have a consistent 1,000,000+ acres to play on is pretty damn awesome. Ask Oklahoma or Nebraska or E Colorado how their publicly accessible private lands program is going. If a few acres aren’t what you’re looking for, keep driving.
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Having never been to Kansas ( coming in Jan.,some of those evil non- residents ) Va. has nothing even close to this program so we are extremely excited about it ! Thanks in advance to all the resident hunters who maintain and promote this !!
 
Enjoy your trip birddogs! The fact is though, general Kansas resident hunters have very little to do with the maintenance and promotion of WIHA lands. These are private lands leased to the KDWP and paid for largely with Pittman Robertson dollars. The 2020 US hunting data shows non resident tags and licenses will bring in $10.5 million more to Kansas than residents will pay this year. These dollars are a big piece of the pie when PR monies are tabulated and divvied out. If KS didn’t have the nonresident demand it does, it’s pretty safe to say the WIHA program wouldn’t be where it is.
 
hunter94 said:
not surprising, the CRP fields were forecast to decline by 1 million acres over the next 12 months.
better scout the walk in ground ahead of time as some may be scalped or plowed by season opener. Bummer.
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What confuses the hell out of me on here is there are some landowners that say that the CRP maxed out the new signup or something like that - I dont know exactly what they said but it makes no logical sense unless I just cant comprehend what I've witnessed. 08-2012 or so a LOT ....A LOT of CRP came out in S Central and SW KS where I like to frequent - a lot of it was just close enough together they were perfect patches of cover that the birds did well - when it left it left behind more ISLANDS of cover and the birds were not as spread out or as plentiful.

I haven't driven around in SW or NC Ks at all I dont even bother with S Central KS anymore - people obsessed with horns and a never ending pp measuring contest or outfitters have leased everything and commercialized vast swaths

Anyways I'll try to stay positive - I've got a place I like to go that I can still get to and should for the foreseeable future - but moving to New Mexico, AZ, NV or SE Colorado will probably continue to be the areas I have my sights set on -- escaping the sweat fest humidity here would be nice too.
 
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