From bats to bald eagles to beetles, service aims to educate Kansans Knowing that education is the key to fostering a commitment to stewardship and the wise use of our natural resources, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks created the Wildlife Education Service (WES) in 1981. The WES utilizes field staff, educational programs and res ... Read More

Final action planned at March, April meetings of Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission Many Kansas hunters are interested in season dates for the fall 2006 hunting seasons. Some season dates have already been established for the 2006 seasons, while others will be established later this year in public hearings conducted by the Kansas Wildlife ... Read More

KDWP and Kansas Legislature websites offer up-to-date reports The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks website is the place to go for the latest news on KDWP-related bills in the 2006 Kansas Legislature. Department staff regularly update information on bills under consideration in the legislature, to provide current reports on legislatio ... Read More

Seven conservation groups drawn from 59 applicants Seven Kansas conservation groups are winners in the first-ever drawing for Commission Big Game Permits. Fifty-nine organizations applied for the seven available permits, which were drawn and announced at the Jan. 19th meeting of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission in Kansas City. Commis ... Read More

Cheyenne County Fairgrounds site of Feb. 2 informational discussion The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will conduct an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds in St. Francis. KDWP and Kansas Animal Health Department officials will discuss the occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a deer tak ... Read More

Laboratory testing verifies state’s first occurrence of disease in wild deer PRATT -- The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa has verified the preliminary lab test conducted last week, which was positive for Kansas’ first occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild deer. Tissue samples from the deer, taken by a re ... Read More

Canada g oose season extends into February; light goose hunting through April The duck seasons are completed, but excellent goose hunting opportunities exist for Kansas hunters. Canada goose season runs through Feb. 12. The light goose season runs through Feb. 12, but a federal conservation order extends light goose hunting through April 30. ... Read More

Exhibit on display at Colby's Prairie Museum of Art and History through Feb. 28 The award-winning exhibit on playa lakes, "Playas: Gems of the Plains,” is open at the Prairie Museum of Art and History, 1905 S. Franklin, Colby, through Feb. 28. The display is a traveling exhibit of the Northwest Texas Museum Association. The exhibit had ... Read More

Follow-up lab testing, confirmation underway in Iowa USDA lab Preliminary lab testing has identified what may be the first occurrence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a wild Kansas deer. Tissue samples from a whitetail doe taken by a hunter in northwest Kansas (deer management Unit 1) during the December firearms season tested positive fo ... Read More

Improving hunting and fishing is goal of survey The National Shooting Sports Foundation and American Sportfishing Association are looking for information on participation and purchasing behaviors of hunters and anglers. The organizations have set up two web surveys – one for hunters and one for anglers . The interactive surveys provide a wa ... Read More

Online reporting form, toll-free telephone number enable citizen involvement With natural resource officers spread thin across Kansas, it’s often difficult for them to respond to reports of violation as quickly as they’d like. Operation Game Thief provides an effective tool to help these officers do their jobs. The program provides a toll-fr ... Read More

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 16th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Offices will reopen for business Tuesday, Jan. 17th. Read More

New creel & length limit format among many new features Printed copies of the 2006 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary booklet are now available, and anglers can enjoy a number of new features. Prominent among these is a new format for listing length and creel limits. Instead of the sometimes difficult-to-read chart featured in previous i ... Read More

KDWP website offers both hunting license and spring turkey permit The 2006 spring turkey season runs April 12-May 31, and hunters across the state are already making preparations. In addition to perfecting calling skills and patterning shotguns or practicing with bows, they soon will be able to obtain a turkey permit on the internet. Downloa ... Read More

2006 big game seasons highlight workshop session discussion The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission will conduct a public meeting Thursday, Jan. 19, at Cabela’s, located at I-435 and State Avenue W in Kansas City, Kansas. The afternoon session will begin at 1:30 p.m. The evening session will begin at 7 p.m. All sessions are open to the publ ... Read More

Boating safety course graduates can get new card for no charge KDWP now offers a durable plastic card upon successful completion of the Kansas Boating Safety Course, replacing the paper cards that have been issued in the past. These cards will last longer and won’t become illegible if they get wet while boating. Anyone who currently has the pap ... Read More

Journal entries trace challenges, successes of natural resource law enforcementThey’ve been known in the past as game wardens, game protectors, and conservation officers. These days, KDWP’s law enforcement responsibilities are carried out by Kansas Natural Resource Officers. They each have a variety of responsibilities and seasonal variation in ... Read More

Lake being drained for repairs; length and creel limits suspended The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is draining Douglas State Fishing Lake (SFL) for repair of the dam and valve-intake line. Rather than waste fish currently in the lake, KDWP will open it for public salvage Jan. 7-15. Legal methods of salvage include rod and r ... Read More

Trophy deer law imposes automatic $5,000 fine On Thursday, Dec. 1, natural resource officer Dan Melson, Eureka, received a call from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks' (KDWP) Pratt Operations Office regarding a deer poaching report. An anonymous caller had phoned the KDWP Law Enforcement Division claiming that a rural Severy reside ... Read More

Property offers trails, fishing, Kansas River access, day-use potential It is official. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks started 2006 off by assuming ownership of a donated 76-acre tract of land that will become the state’s 24th state park. A development group -- 21st Century Ad Astra, L.L.C. -- donated the property to KDWP. The d ... Read More

Public invited to view, learn more about America's national bird With the arrival of winter, bald eagles have been migrating into Kansas. This provides bird watchers a number of opportunities to observe this magnificent avian predator. To improve such opportunities, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks -- in cooperation with the U.S. ... Read More