Perry Wildlife Area

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Much of Perry Wildlife Area lies within the Perry Reservoir flood pool, thus flooding is not uncommon. The Delaware River bisects the area from north to south with several small creeks feeding it. The area has a diversity of habits with interspersion of Oak-Hickory woodlands, warm and cool season grasslands, man-made wetlands, and several acres of cropland.

In the mid 1970's, 11 marsh complexes were built. Two additional marshes were developed after 2000. These marshes provide about 1,000 acres of wetland habitats. The Kyle and West River marshes can be pumped from the Delaware River to provide habitat for migratory birds during dry years. All other wetlands depend on natural run off, thus water levels may vary from year to year.

Moist soils management is conducted on all marshes which uses water level fluctuations to manage for desirable wetland vegetation beneficial to migratory birds. Periodically, some marshes will be drained in order to conduct dike repairs and control invading woody vegetation and cattails. Management of upland habitats over the years has consisted of converting croplands and cool season grasses to native warm season grasses and forbs, planting of shrub plots, selective cutting of invading woody vegetation, and prescribed burning to stimulate native warm season grasses and forbs.

White-tailed deer and wild turkey are plentiful on the area. Waterfowl numbers vary depending on available habitat, but the area has supported large numbers during both the fall and spring migrations. Mourning dove numbers vary yearly depending on nesting conditions. Ring-necked pheasant can be found on the area with good numbers on the area. Bobwhite quail populations are good on the area, but a good dog is needed due to the dense vegetation. Squirrel and cottontail rabbit numbers are generally healthy and provide some of the most under utilized hunting opportunities on the area.

Non-game species are very plentiful on the area and provide some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities. A wide array of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians can be found on the area.

Fishing for catfish, white bass, and crappie in the Delaware River are also popular activities. Trapping which is allowed on the area, can be a very successful venture due to the wide array of furbearer habitats.

Special Features

  • Handicapped hunting area. Written permission required from manager.
  • Mentor/Youth hunting area designated for youth 16 years and younger accompanied by no more than one adult per youth.
  • Delaware River Boat Ramp located south of Valley Falls.
  • Perry W.A. is heavily used due to its proximity to major metropolitan areas. Opening days and weekends of all seasons are busiest.
Phone:
785-945-6615
Address:
7760 174th Street
Valley Falls,KS    66088
County/Counties:
Jefferson
Area News - Updated: 08/17/2017

Five managed Dove fields are located on the Perry Wildlife Area totaling approximately 60 acres. ALL DOVE FIELDS ON PERRY WILDLIFE AREA ARE NON-TOXIC SHOT ONLY. All fields are sunflowers with the centers of the fields mowed out for hunters to sit around the perimeter of each field. DUE TO A FLOOD EVENT THAT CAUSED A TOTAL LOSS OF THE SUNFLOWER FIELD, WE HAVE NO YOUTH/HANDICAPPED FIELD THIS YEAR.

Maintain safe shooting distances between hunting parties and always know what lies beyond your target. It is highly recommended that hunters where safety/shooting glasses within the dove fields to prevent potential injury due to falling pellets.

Perry Wildlife Area is included in the electronic permitting system iSportsman. This system, which will streamline data gathering for management purposes and be convenient for hunters, has taken the place of the old paper dove survey card system. Hunters can register at any time by going to kdwpt.isportsman.net, and clicking on “Register” to create a permit. Once you obtain a permit and are ready to hunt, click on login, than enter login ID and password to “check-in” daily for hunts. After you are done hunting, you will “check-out” and record any harvest you may have from the hunt. You are also able to check-in/check-out by telephone or smart phone. iSportsman is mandatory for all hunters pursuing any types of game on the Perry Wildlife Area.

For additional information go to: kdwpt.isportsman.net or call Public Lands Section at 620-672-5911.

Field #1:Non-Toxic shot only. Refuge field closed to public hunting/access, will open September 4th. This field is about 13 acres and is located on the North side of 190th Rd. and is the West field of the two north of the road. Field #2:Non-Toxic shot only. This field is about 20 acres and is also located on the North side of 190th Rd. and is the East field of the two north of the road.

Dove fields #1 and #2
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 Field #3 and #4:Non-Toxic shot only. These fields are across the road from one another right at the intersection of Finney Rd and 170th Rd South of the wildlife area office. These two combine for a total of about 16 acres. 

Dove fields #3 and #4
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Field #5: Non-Toxic shot only. This field is located just Southeast of the intersection of 150th and Geary Rd. and totals about 10 acres.

Dove field #5
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All Dove Fields at Perry Wildlife Area 

2017 Dove Fields
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Detailed maps and information will be posted on the Perry Wildlife Area web page and the front door of the wildlife area office.

General Information
Phone:
785-945-6615
Address:
7760 174th Street
 
Valley Falls, KS    66088
County/Counties:
Jefferson
Perry Reservoir & WA (PDF 928.15 kB)

Manager: Andrew Page

Phone: 785-945-6615

Special Regulations
  • Camping, horse-back riding, ATV riding, and target shooting are prohibited activities. See Public Lands Regulations Summary for additional restrictions.
  • All vehicles must stay on maintained roads and parking areas. Off-road driving is prohibited.
  • Please do not park in front of or block gates and field accesses.
  • Refuge areas are closed to all activities from October 1 through January 15.
  • Motorized boats are prohibited from use on all marshes except for the east and west pools of the Kyle marsh complex.

Here is a complete list of Public Land Regulations or you can download the regulation summary.

History

The Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks has leased 10,500 acres of land at the north end of the Perry Reservoir Project from the U.S.Corps of Engineers since 1970. The area is operated and managed by the Department for wildlife management and public hunting opportunities.

Perry Facilities
Delaware River Boat Ramp
  • Type of Facility: Boat Ramp
  • Location of Facility: N39 19.114 W095 26.490
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    Boat ramp is located on the Delaware River.

Lassiter Marsh
Northwest Marsh
Hayward Marsh
  • Type of Facility: marsh
  • Location of Facility: N39 22.783 W095 30.094
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    xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' ><paragraph>20 acre wetland</paragraph></s xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' >

    20 acre wetland

Headquarters Marsh
Reichart Marsh
Kyle Marsh
  • Type of Facility: marsh
  • Location of Facility: N39 17.741 W095 27.082
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    xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' ><paragraph>300 acre wetland complex including marsh and oxbow.</paragraph></s xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' >

    300 acre wetland complex including marsh and oxbow.

West River Marsh
  • Type of Facility: marsh
  • Location of Facility: N39 18.692 W095 26.650
  • Click for more information
    xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' ><paragraph>200 acre wetland complex</paragraph></s xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' >

    200 acre wetland complex

Upper Ferguson Marsh
Lower Ferguson Marsh
  • Type of Facility: marsh
  • Location of Facility: N39 17.860 W095 25.291
  • Click for more information
    xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' ><paragraph>100 acre wetland</paragraph></s xmlns:xhtml='http://ez.no/namespaces/ezpublish3/xhtml/' >

    100 acre wetland

East River Marsh
Mitigation Marsh
Perry Waterfowl Report - 02/15/2018
Waterfowl numbers
A waterfowl survey was conducted on 02/14/2018 and around 6,000 ducks were observed and 2,000 Dark Geese were observed mainly around Lake Perry. Some wetlands are beginning to open up and the Delaware River remains frozen and portions of Perry Lake are beginning to open up, mostly out away from shorelines. 

*DON'T FORGET TO USE THE ISPORTSMAN ELECTRONIC PERMIT SYSTEM WHEN HUNTING AT PERRY WILDLIFE AREA. THIS IS A FREE AND REQUIRED DAILY HUNT PERMIT SYSTEM THAT ALL HUNTERS MUST USE WHEN ACCESSING THE AREA. 

Mallard Migration Rank = 5 (0 = no mallards 10 = peak migration)
Lake level 0.75 feet above conservation pool.
Habitat conditions
Water levels are not adequate in the Kyle Marsh for launching of boats. We will hold water in West Kyle Marsh this season and will be dependent on rainfall and runoff to fill it. As of now we will not be pumping any water into the Kyle Marsh this duck season to allow for continued draining and drying of the East unit for renovation work. West River marsh has had a significant amount of water pumped into both the upper and lower units and will have huntable water for opening weekend.   

Our new marsh pump project that will pump the Reichart and Northwest Marshes has been awarded and construction will begin the Winter of 2017. It is unlikely that the pump will be complete in time for this years waterfowl season.

Expected hunting success Poor to Fair
Comments
With only one flood event in early spring, conditions were favorable for getting work done in many of the wetland pools this season. Everything from tree/brush removal, disking, spraying, and seeding were done in many different pools this summer.  
Habitat Condition Rating (HCR): 1-10; 1-Poor habitat, 5-quality habitat, 10-Exceptional habitat

Reminder: Gas powered boats are only allowed on the River, Lake, Sunset Ridge, Kyle East and West and Rucker wetland pools.  Electric powered boats are allowed in all marsh pools.

Kyle: Again, we will not be pumping Kyle Marsh this season for renovation work needed in the East Unit.  Kyle West: We will be holding water in this unit and relying on rainfall/runoff for filling to the level to launch boats into. We will update this report as the water levels change. The west unit did dry down significantly this season to allow for some spraying of non-desirable plants which also allowed for some good response of native wetland vegetation around the edges. The majority of the unit is still open water like most years. HCR - 5

West River: Once again, with help from the Leavenworth Ducks Unlimited Chapter we were able to spread Millet and Sorghum in both the upper and lower units of West River. A significant amount of tree/brush removal was conducted in both the upper and lower units of West River along with some cocklebur spraying.  North- HCR-9, South- HCR-8. Pumping has begun and will continue until full pool is reached throughout the season.

Upper Ferguson: We performed a late draw down in this unit that promoted excellent native wetland vegetation. We also got in and sprayed some cocklebur and perennial smartweed which allowed the millets and annual smartweeds to dominate. This is our refuge marsh and closes October 1st through January 15th. Some of the best native vegetative growth on the area. HCR-10.

Lassister: Water was held in Lassiter West and water levels are still up near full. HCR-4 by holding water we sacrificed our chances for good native vegetative growth and good amounts of cattails and Lotus began to show up as well. Lassiter East was drained and half of it has corn planted in it. We will not begin collecting water in this unit until the corn is harvested. HCR - 8

Northwest: Nearly all woody vegetation was removed from within this unit. Corn was planted in this wetland to provide food for ducks and also to hep with the Reed Canarygrass issue that was covering most of the wetland. The new water control structure is installed in the East part of the wetland. We will not begin collecting water in this wetland until the corn is harvested.  HCR-8  

Headquarters: This wetland was drawn down to allow for some milo planting and native vegetation to grow and we got a good response. HCR-8. 

Mitigation: Mitigation marsh was drawn down this spring and the vegetative growth was decent. Some American Lotus and Cockleburs were sprayed in this unit as well. HCR-6.

Hayward: Hayward has been drained all summer but has reached full pool with recent rains. The vegetation growth has been good this summer with some German Millet spread as well. HCR-8.

Reichart: This unit was drawn down and a significant amount of brush/tree removal occurred. We also sprayed some non-desirables and spread some millet. This unit also has corn planted in it to help with reed canaraygrass issues and other than the ditches of the lower unit, we will not begin to collect any water until the corn is harvested.  HCR-8. 

Zebra Mussels have been confirmed in the lake. Be sure to dry boats and equipment before moving to other waters.

Perry WA has transitioned to a daily permit system called iSportsman.  Hunters will need to register via PC prior to hunting at Perry WA. Hunters will be able to login via PC, smartphone, or call in from cell phone or landline phone each day prior to hunting to get a daily permit, and report back similar to the paper daily permits.  Please visit https://kdwpt.isportsman.net/ to register prior to hunting season.

Please remember to fill out the permit with accurate information. THIS INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CURRENT AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE AREA. FILL OUT ONLY YOUR INDIVIDUAL HARVEST EFFORTS, i.e., NOT A GROUP HARVEST TOTAL.