WIHA Map

N

njp158

New member
I'm planning a trip to Kansas in November for some upland bird hunting and had some questions regarding the WIHA map. I got both the hard copy and downloadable version. This map gives me a general idea of where the areas are, but how do I figure out how to actually drive up to the place? The maps include a few main roads, but don't really name any of the roads going to the areas. I've read the section regarding townships being divided into 36 square mile blocks starting at the 40th parallel and all that but I"m still confused. I"m coming from Ohio so basically my familiarity with the area only comes from maps and what I've read. When I leave the hotel in the morning to drive out to my hunting destination for the day how do I figure out how to actually get there without any of the roads leading to the area's actually being shown on the map? I know how stupid this question sounds. I know I can buy a more detailed map of Kansas, but then it won't include the WIHA areas on it so I'd have to kind of guess where they are. I"ve heard that they will be publishing the GPS coordinates for the areas but I don't want to rely solely on this. I've had GPS problems before and have heard at times that these coordinates never get published. I"m guessing there is something really simple I'm missing here but I can't figure it out. Someone please set me straight. Thanks.
 
I don't want to sound over simplistic, but basically find a road you can identify, ( even on the wiha maps, hard surface roads are distinguished), and count mile section roads, or partials till you find it. some roads don't cut through, and you have to deviate north or south, a mile or two, sometimes no road for 1.5 miles. some roads you won't want to use!!! Unless you want to spend the night! you will figure it out. I navigate that way, without any additional aids, without difficulty. they are posted you know? Maybe not perfect but look for signs and you will find them. Good Luck
 
njp158 said:
I'm planning a trip to Kansas in November for some upland bird hunting and had some questions regarding the WIHA map. I got both the hard copy and downloadable version. This map gives me a general idea of where the areas are, but how do I figure out how to actually drive up to the place? The maps include a few main roads, but don't really name any of the roads going to the areas. I've read the section regarding townships being divided into 36 square mile blocks starting at the 40th parallel and all that but I"m still confused. I"m coming from Ohio so basically my familiarity with the area only comes from maps and what I've read. When I leave the hotel in the morning to drive out to my hunting destination for the day how do I figure out how to actually get there without any of the roads leading to the area's actually being shown on the map? I know how stupid this question sounds. I know I can buy a more detailed map of Kansas, but then it won't include the WIHA areas on it so I'd have to kind of guess where they are. I"ve heard that they will be publishing the GPS coordinates for the areas but I don't want to rely solely on this. I've had GPS problems before and have heard at times that these coordinates never get published. I"m guessing there is something really simple I'm missing here but I can't figure it out. Someone please set me straight. Thanks.
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oldandnew and I operate in the same fashion. No GPS or anything of that sort. I simply find one WIHA spot and follow the maps to the others. Often I find one on the highway, then follow the map to the others. Sometimes a county line or blacktop road is available for reference. A small town works just as good. The thing that makes it easy is most of KS is set up on a simple mile by mile grid so like o&n said, if you come to a road you can't/don't want to pass, simply go a mile N or S then continue in the direction you were traveling.

After a visit or 2 you'll have the more navigable back roads dedicated to memory.....point is it's much simpler than you may think at first glance.
 
Maps

It really is pretty simple. We drive from south Georgia and don't have any problem following the maps.
It's a grid. From a spot you know just "go up 2 blocks and turn left". It's done in mile squares. The better the road the darker the line. If the line gets light, "lock it in" or turn around.
 
leeledger said:
It's a grid. From a spot you know just "go up 2 blocks and turn left". It's done in mile squares. The better the road the darker the line. If the line gets light, "lock it in" or turn around.
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This is what I do too. I use my GPS as a backup in case I get turned around. Usually with a mix of GPS and the maps its very easy to find your way around... :thumbsup:
 
it really is easy, no GPS needed, been finding/hunting these walk-ins for over 10 years now, they are plainly marked, relax and have fun!
 
Thanks for the info. Doesn't sound to bad. If you all see some guy wondering around the backroads lost with ohio plates give me a point in the right direction.
 
I learned "the system" in ND & we do it exactly the same over here in CO (find one WIA in a general area & start workin the grid from there) - it just takes a lot of time, gas & ink to check-mark or star/asterisk the good ones & cross out the bad ones, but the upside to such a workout is that it also helps weed out some of the slackers lookin for easy pickins to be laid in their lap! :thumbsup:

With a little practice, you'll also learn how to seek out the kind of parcels many people tend to avoid or overlook...and after enough driving around & beatin the bush - if you are paying attention AND taking notes, you'll soon develop an eye for what makes for a pheasant-haven & won't soon forget the year-after-year honey-hole areas you find on your own compared with some of the crap you'll have to weed thru to find 'em! ;)

Have fun njp-158, you'll do just fine!!! :cheers:

P.S. I usually work with two map booklets side by side - the WIHA one + a detailed state mapsco-booklet broken down by page-numbered section (the first clearly shows all the WIHA's & the latter is very helpful in pinning down some of the specific road names and numbers that you are inquiring about)!
 
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A compass and your odometer is all you need, like the others said. The road names don't really matter as long as you remember where you are on the map. It is also much easier if you have somebody else in the truck with you to keep an eye on the map while you keep an eye on the road.

hen,hen,Rooster- I keep a pen, a highlighter, and a sharpie with my WIHA map. Highlight the good ones, write notes with the pen, and the "waste of time" fields get the sharpie "X" treatment. It's fun to look at last year's map and notes as you get ready for the current season.
 
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I also have a DeLorme Kansas Atlas & Gazetteer in my truck. I have found that atlas useful as I have with their Atlas for Colorado and Alaska.
 
If you have a county you like to hunt or a home area you might try to contact the county seat and see if you can get a plat map for cross reference and who owns what land. Some times if you ask for permission from the land owner to hunt his walk in he might let you hunt some of his non-walk in ground. Just a little advice from a Kansan.
 
RoosterTim said:
If you have a county you like to hunt or a home area you might try to contact the county seat and see if you can get a plat map for cross reference and who owns what land. Some times if you ask for permission from the land owner to hunt his walk in he might let you hunt some of his non-walk in ground. Just a little advice from a Kansan.
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Not trying to be a jerk here, but if you read the back of the WIHA book (at least in year's past...don't have time to verify this year's at the moment) they've specifically requested we NOT ask permission from WIHA landowners. I believe it eludes to the fact that some of them have enrolled their land in WIHA to avoid visits from hunters. I'm sure you never noticed in there so I'm certainly not trying to "call you out" or anything.

back to work for now, but I'll open it and read it in a bit
 
KB

Just looking at last years atlas and I see nothing about contacting landowners. It's the same as cold knocking IMO. Just be kind, cutious and respectful and you never know what will happen. Also I think the plat maps are easier to read than the WIHA.
 
@Byrd - the CO DeLorme is what I use in tandem alongside the CO WIHA map booklet, works like a charm! :) I'll be broadening my horizons a bit & doing a little adventuring with the same set of KS paper-cousins in the western part of what I hear is your wonderfully hospitable & bird-laden state this season! Hope to finally get a chance to meet you in Marshall Dillon & Miss Kitty country at the local pub/steakhouse with all the boys in mid-Jan! (wish there was a tip of the hat button on here)

@Toad - Right On Bro, sounds like you've got it on lock-down!!! :thumbsup:

I usually try burning up the miles at the beginning of the season in order to go ahead & knock out all the sharpie "X" treatment early-on! :D During this same time, I also highlight some of the really "sweet"-looking cover (the ones with all of the right surrounding ingredients) to come back to that looks likely to hold birds later in the season when the weather is right & all the yea-hoos are long-gone... ;)

After that I start slowly picking it all apart as I hunt & writing the details in the WIHA booklet throughout the remainder of the season - with my own personal system of stars, asterisks, harvest #'s, birds seen in the area, phone numbers, ect...It is amazing (and also sometimes downright depressing after all that hard work) how much things can change from year-to-year! :( But the little boogers can usually be found one way or another somewhere nearby in a real honey-hole of a general overall area, or down the road if it's time to move on...HERE'S TO A MANY-ROOSTERED YEAR FOR ALL!!! :cheers:

@RoosterTim - Think I might add a CO & KS plat book to my arsenal this year (it could help save a lot of running around asking all the neighbors & who owns what when it comes to private)...I never ask anything when it specifically comes to WIHA's though - I think that was supposed to be at least part of the point for them in the first place & KB is at least partially right. If hordes of WIHA hunters suddenly start going to the landowner asking for more, some might dis-enroll! Just a little food for thought - but right you are about kindness, caution, & respect & "you never know"...
 
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RoosterTim said:
KB

Just looking at last years atlas and I see nothing about contacting landowners. It's the same as cold knocking IMO. Just be kind, cutious and respectful and you never know what will happen. Also I think the plat maps are easier to read than the WIHA.
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Yeah, I just went through it and didn't see it either. I know I saw it somewhere...maybe in the WIHA book maybe not. I'm sure it won't cause any major problems so long as they behave in the manor you've described. I personally would ask other folks before I asked WIHA enrollees b/c the only reason I would ever enroll property in WIHA is to get people to quit knocking on my door and the payment would be a side benefit! If they're like me they don't like to have their mornings, mid-days, after noons, or evenings interupted.
 
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Using the WIHA Atlas

A few years ago the WIHA hunting maps were county by county and easier to use in that format. Now the maps are arbitrary rectangles with several partial counties shown on each. To make the maps more useful, I recommend that you get out the scissors and Scotch tape and create county WIHA maps. The county seat and small towns along the major routes are a good reference point from which to count the sections. You will probably be staying in a county seat anyway and they are typically in the middle of the county. Also, if the section line on a WIHA map is light gray, there is no section road. Black section lines indicate a section road whether paved, improved, or merely graded. Also some of the larger WIHA areas that consist of several sections or parts of several sections without roads along the section lines are often rough grasslands without good bird habitat. But if a large, multi section WIHA has section roads, it will likley be a collection of tilled fields and CRP patches.

It is not expected nor customary to tell a landowner/occupier that you are entering a WIHA area. In fact, you simply won't find anyone living on most of the WIHA tracts.

Hope you and yours have fine hunting in the great and hospitable state of Kansas, my home place.
 
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Signs

The WIHA areas are pretty well marked with signs so you shouldn't get too lost when your driving around. The properties will be marked with the KDWP WIHA white signs.

Good luck!
 
kansasbrittany said:
Yeah, I just went through it and didn't see it either. I know I saw it somewhere...maybe in the WIHA book maybe not. I'm sure it won't cause any major problems so long as they behave in the manor you've described. I personally would ask other folks before I asked WIHA enrollees b/c the only reason I would ever enroll property in WIHA is to get people to quit knocking on my door and the payment would be a side benefit! If they're like me they don't like to have their mornings, mid-days, after noons, or evenings interupted.
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You are correct. The older WIHA books asked you not to contact the landowners and ask them for permission on their other land. Of course, the WIHA book doesn't tell you who the landowner actually is, so that's probably why they cut it out of the current books. But I would say that anytime you are treating the land and the landowners respectfully, you shouldn't be burning any bridges for the rest of us.
 
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