Seven permits to be sold to raise money for conservation projects; new regulation may attract more bidders

GREAT BEND — Seven Kansas conservation organizations were awarded a 2010 Commission Big Game permit in a drawing conducted at the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting Jan. 7 at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area's Kansas Wetland Education Center, near Great Bend. A total of 108 applications were submitted for the seven available permits.

Winners of the permits include the following:

• National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Tri-County Gobblers Chapter (elk) — Brandon Houck, regional biologist, 620-443-5906, bhnwtf@hotmail.com;
• NWTF Linn County Longspurs Chapter (deer) — Brandon Houck, regional biologist, 620-443-5906, bhnwtf@hotmail.com;
• Pheasants Forever Ottawa Chapter (deer) — Jordan Martincich, 785-242-3175, jmartincich@pheasantsforever.org;
• Oberlin Gun Club (deer) — Gary J. Bruggeman, president, 785-470-1689;
• Ducks Unlimited Valley Center/Ark Valley Chapter (deer) — Roger Zettl, district chairman, 316-722-0951, rzettl@cox.net;
• Mule Deer Foundation National Headquarters (deer) — Robert H. Meulengracht, regional director, 801-747-3344, miles@muledeer.org; and
• Friends of the National Rifle Association Cowley County Chapter (deer) — Rick Chrisman, field representative, 913-294-9956, rchrisman@nrahq.org.

Commission Big Game permits were first awarded in 2006. Winners purchase the permits and typically auction them off at their respective conventions and banquets to raise funds for conservation projects.

A new regulation change this year allows someone who buys a Commission Big Game permit at auction to also purchase another deer permit valid for an antlered deer or, if the Commission Big Game permit is for an elk, to also draw (or have drawn in the past) an antlered elk permit. These would be the only situations in which an individual could have valid permits for two buck deer in one year, or to have previously drawn an antlered elk permit and still be able to obtain another one. No antelope permits were drawn this year, but the same regulation will apply in future years if Commission Big Game Antelope permits are drawn.

The winners in 2009 were the Tallgrass Chapter of Friends of the NRA, which sold their elk permit for $5,601, with $4,508 being spent on shooting clinics and youth programs; the Southwest Kansas Chapter of Friends of the NRA, which sold their deer permit for $5,700, with $4,522 being spent on shooting clinics and youth programs; Colby Community College, which sold their deer permit for $5,750, with $4,565 being spent on Scout Powwow, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and archery projects; Kansas Ducks Unlimited Northwest Kansas Chapter, which sold their deer permit for $6,500, with $5,202 being spent on Jamestown Wildlife Area wetlands; Pheasants Forever Sunflower Chapter #446, which sold their deer permit for $5,000, with $3,927 being spent on Walk-In Hunting Access projects, archery targets, youth programs, and gun club repairs; Ducks Unlimited Kaw River Chapter, which sold their deer permit for $1,900, with $1,341 being spent on Jamestown Wildlife Area wetlands; and Pheasants Forever Smoky Valley Chapter, which sold their deer permit for $4,500, with $3,502 being spent on the Fort Hays State University Shooting Club, youth events, and the Darrell Brown Memorial Hunt. The seven permits sold for $34,951 with $27,569 being spent on conservation and education projects.
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