KDWP survey seeks angler input to improve fishing

Could the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) have convinced you to fish more in 2006? Could KDWP programs have made your experience more positive? Whether the answers are yes or no, the agency wants to know what anglers think about this and a wide range of other fishing-related topics. To find out, agency staff have prepared the 2006 Fishing Survey, to be distributed to a randomly-selected number of 2006 Kansas fishing license purchasers this winter.

The survey's 46 questions will attempt to discern what anglers want and need. The survey asks about good fishing spots, as well as types of fish most sought. Questions even cover attitudes about endangered species, specific KDWP programs, and aquatic nuisance species.

"The survey will give our staff biologists a better understanding of angler demographics," says Jim Stephen, KDWP aquatic research biologist, Emporia. "This information will help us direct our management strategies to better accommodate angler preferences.

"We can't improve the angler's experience without input," Stephen continues, "but we really don't know what anglers want unless we ask, and they answer. And attitudes change, too, so we do this every 10 years or so."

If you want a say in how the state's fisheries resources are managed, be sure to fill out the survey if you get one in the mail and send it back as soon as possible. For more information or to receive a survey if you were not among the pool of randomly-selected recipients and would like to participate, phone the KDWP Emporia Research and Survey Office, (620) 342-0658.
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