Seven permits to be sold to raise money for conservation projects

LAWRENCE — Seven Kansas conservation organizations were awarded 2011 Commission Big Game permits in a drawing conducted at the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting Jan. 6 at the Dole Institute, 2350 Petefish Drive in Lawrence. Ninety-one eligible applications were submitted for the seven available permits.

Winners of the permits include the following:

• National Wild Turkey Federation, Neosho River Struttin' Toms Chapter (deer) — Brandon Houck, regional biologist, 620-443-5906, bhnwtf@hotmail.com;
• National Wild Turkey Federation, Smoky Valley Strutters Chapter (deer) — Brandon Houck, regional biologist, 620-443-5906, bhnwtf@hotmail.com;
• Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Southeast Chapter (elk) — C. Douglas Blex, chapter coordinator, 620-289-4663, dblex@kaws.org;
• Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, I-70 Chapter (deer) — John Bond, 785-463-5804, jbond@kaws.org;
• Ducks Unlimited, El Dorado Chapter #027 (deer) — Roger Zettl, district chairman, 316-722-0951, rzettl@cox.net;
• Ducks Unlimited, Johnson County Chapter (deer) — Gary Mellard, area chairman, 913-851-1349, gary_mellard@yahoo.com; and
• Safari Club International, Kansas City Chapter (antelope) — Rodney D. Heinsohn, treasurer, 913-236-4490, rodney.heinsohn@sci-us.com.

Qualified applicants must be local nonprofit conservation organizations or Kansas chapters of national organizations based or operating in Kansas that actively promote wildlife conservation and the hunting and fishing heritage.

Commission Big Game permits were first awarded in 2006. Winners purchase the permits and typically auction them at their respective conventions and banquets to raise funds for conservation projects. After a permit is sold by an organization, the amount of the permit is subtracted, and 85 percent of the proceeds are sent to KDWP to be used on approved projects. After the projects are approved, the money is sent back to the organization for the project. The other 15 percent may be spent at the organization’s discretion.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks regulations allow 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. One antelope and one elk Commission Big Game permit are offered in the drawing.

In 2010, permits were won by two National Wildlife Federation Chapters — Bonner Springs (elk permit sold for $9,500) and Mound City (deer permit sold for $5,500); Ottawa Pheasants Forever (deer permit sold for $3,500); Oberlin Gun Club (deer permit sold for $5,500); Ark Valley Ducks Unlimited (deer permit sold for $5,500); National Mule Deer Foundation (deer permit sold for $14,000); and Cowley County Friends of NRA (deer permit sold for $3,500). The permits sold for $47,000 — just $2,000 shy of the record, the first year the drawing was held.
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