thoughts and ideas...from a 20 year kansas non res hunter

H

HighBrass68

Banned
Good evening gents...

I really enjoy reading all the posts on here and would like to add a few personal comments....if I may?

I'm 42, originally from Nebraska and now call Kentucky home.

Upon relocating to KY 20 years ago....I yearned for the prairie and made my first trip to Kansas in the early 90's...

My first trip was just great...had family in KC and used their home as a base camp....not really close to birds, however it was free lodging and they allowed to kennel my hounds there.

For several days I traveled each morning from KC to scout and hunt new areas....I met great folk each day and gained access to many good spots...

Keep in mind I was a newbie to Kansas and the WHIA program was not yet invented...

Towns like Iola, Garnett, Marsville, Seneca and Clay Center were my destinations.....each within 1-3 hours from KC.

I was amazed at the sheer #s of birds encountered....my best day on quail was near Westphalia. Moved over 12 coveys by 3pm.

Best day on phez was near Marysville....right off of Hwy 36....gained access to a nice looking spot w/ plum thickets and cut milo...it was overcast and temps near 40F

Moved over 50 birds and easily killed 4 roosters before noon.

Fast forward to today......I still travel to Kansas each fall. However I hunt new places now.....much further west....the quail numbers near Iola have drastically declined and the pheasant #s near Marysville are now a fraction of what I first encountered....

I think we all are expirencing the same issues and problems.....resident and non resident alike...

Declining habitat, fewer birds, more hunting pressure and changing farming practices and farm policies....

My home state of Nebraska used to have fantastic pheasant and quail opportunities.....now my friends who live there tell me about ultra clean farms.....plowed road to road, posted and leased sings everywhere.

Iowa....used to harvest close to 1Million birds per year......now less than 200K per year.

Missouri.....3-4Million quail per harvested.......now less than 200K per year.

Oklahoma.....quail #'s in decline and access to land is next to impossible....

Let's pledge to work together and save our rich tradition and great sport!

RP
 
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HighBrass68 said:
Good evening gents...

I really enjoy reading all the posts on here and would like to add a few personal comments....if I may?

I'm 42, originally from Nebraska and now call Kentucky home.

Upon relocating to KY 20 years ago....I yearned for the prairie and made my first trip to Kansas in the early 90's...
Click to expand...

Welcome to UPH. Glad you come to Kansas.
 
I think the farming practices have had the greatest impact on birds. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but conservation dollars have done nothing but increase here in Kansas. Cutting corners out of pivot irrigated fields is just an example of how it affects wildlife. Not to mention the Eastern third of the state has had a noticeable change in weather patterns. We get a ton of rain, a lot of hail, not to mention the common tornado. Quail hunting in SE Kansas used to be great, but not so much anymore... just my thoughts?

Good topic by the way, we've discussed it a few times, but new opinions are always appreciated, as long as they don't border on the insane. :D
 
The Kansas Grassroots Conservation Campaign of Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever is working to increase habitat by putting people on the ground to help landowners develop habitat plans.

See this from Jordan Martincich:

The latest posing is for Fall River-


Dear Grassroots Leaders,



Attached is the Fall River Wildlife Area Habitat Specialist (HS) position announcement – Application Deadline June 24, 2011. The Fall River Habitat Specialist is part of a growing HS partnership in Kansas. Two other HSs are currently located on Perry Wildlife area and Tuttle Creek Wildlife area. These positions are a direct result of the Kansas Grassroots Conservation Campaign and a unique partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.



This is a great opportunity for a conservation minded individual to make a difference for wildlife in southeast Kansas. The incumbent will be focused on combating the challenges facing Kansas’ wildlife tradition.



Please help us promote these important partnership positions by either posting the job announcement or forwarding this on to someone that may be interested. Interested applicants may apply on-line at: www.pheasantsforever.org/jobs



Have a great day,



Jordan Martincich | Kansas Regional Representative

Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever | 1740 South Willow Street | Ottawa, KS 66067
p. (785) 242-3175 | m. (816) 560-1070 | JMartincich@pheasantsforever.org



Help save Kansas' wildlife tradition by supporting the Kansas Grassroots Conservation Campaign today!



www.PheasantsForever.org ♦ www.QuailForever.org ♦ PF Blog ♦ On The Wing ♦ Fan Page






HERE IS A LINK TO THE FIELD STAFF- IF YOU WILL PAGE DOWN TO THE FARM BILL BIOLOGIST YOU WILL SEE THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY ADDED FIVE HERE IN KANSAS. EXPECT GOOD THINGS TO HAPPEN WITH THIS STAFF ON THE GROUND.

http://www.pheasantsforever.org/page/1/fieldstaff.jsp
 
K-State Extension/Kansas Forest Service was REALLY HELPFUL to me last year in helping me to evaluate the habitat on my property. :thumbsup: The agent came out and walked all over the farm with me, and helped identify good/bad trees, good/bad grass, etc,. He evaluated the soil on several different areas of the property and told me what plants would survive best in the sandy areas versus the good loam.

Afterwards he sent me an aerial photo of my land with suggestions about where I should plant trees and shrubs, and where I should do some clearing out. It was a great experience for me, and I was blown away by his knowledge about the various native plants. The evaluation and report was totally free of charge. I also emailed him at least a half dozen times, and always got a prompt and helpful response.

Then I took his suggestions and ordered "conservation" seedling trees and shrubs from the Kansas Forest Service that I planted this Spring. I got 250 trees/shrubs this year, and will continue to add more each year until I finish all of my habitat projects (although probably not 250 again at one time). I paid for my plants out of pocket, but I think if you go through the right channels, like talking to the folks that MR BYRD suggested, you can even get some of your trees and shrubs paid for.

Anyway, just wanted to report that I had a great experience working with Kansas Forest Service.:thumbsup: I wish PF had a local biologist last year when I was planning my projects, but unfortunately they didn't for Wabaunsee county. Hope to work with them in the future though...

There are pheasants in a CRP field a mile or two from my property, so I can only hope that, "If I build it, they will come."
 
Hi Reed! Glad to see you found the pheasant board. Yeah, ag changes, fescue, cedar invasion, elms, locust, cheat, brome, thistles, comodity prices, and leasing are putting the hurt on those of us that follow dogs through life. We put a fair number of them airborn last fall though. Myron, thanks for listing my retirement job on the site!!! :) Naw, I just hope that these new positions can keep from getting caught up in the politics of working on government ground and do the habitat work. It didn't go bad in a day and it'll take as long to fix it. The best we can do is educate ourselves and be prepared to share that knowledge. Everybody, take a kid hunting!!! Strength in numbers!!! It worked against Custer:)
 
hunter94 said:
$7 corn trumps CRP payments, it's all about the money now for most operators.
Click to expand...

That certainly is true. One thing the Pheasant Forever Farm Bill Biologist will address to those landowners willing to let them take a look is underproductive areas of the farm(s). Prairie Drifter made mention on another thread that if a farmer would do a harvest map, he would see areas that are just not productive. The high commodity prices at the moment may prevent large blocks of land from going into or being re-enrolled, but if some of the non-productive areas could be put into good habitat, we can still produce a good number of birds. One thing that will suffer when big blocks of CRP go back into production, is the ability of KDWP to get acres into the WIHA program.
 
Hey Troy, good to hear from you.
Really enjoyed hunting w/ you last Dec....you have some fine setters!

Sorry pup did not pan out for you::(

Bilbo....thank you for your thoughts too!

Bird hunting is wonderful sport, a great tradition and just damn fun.

I am so thankful that my dad took me pheasant hunting all those years ago on a cold winter day in Nebraska.....just 30 miles west of Omaha.

Will never forget that day....Dad w/ his old Ithaca dbl 12 and our black lab attie chasing birds 100 yards ahead.:)
 
Can't help what isn't in your control. Too bad, could have been a very good dog if they hadn't ruined him. I'm covered up with pups now anyway. Never a shortage round here. Wish we were back in that patch right now. It's 100 here and heavy as hell. Could take some good grass and a cold wind. Wouldn't care if the roosters snuck back in behind us like they did that day. Might just go around twice.
 
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