By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Area wildlife needs help with its habitat. Area landowners may need help creating some of that habitat. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT) is offering financial assistance to create environments where wild animals can thrive. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner said more habitat would not only help the animals, but also benefits hunters.
"Get some of that habitat on the ground," he said. "We're not going to improve our pheasant, quail, turkey, and deer populations if we don't start moving toward some of that, especially with CRP, a lot of that getting broken up now. Some of these habitat practices are going to become pretty critical to help our wildlife along."
KDWPT offers a two-page list of ways it can help offset some costs to increase habitat, from grazing land and hayland practices like prescribed burning and invasive tree control. Leaving brood strips, or strips of untilled, unsprayed crop at least 30 feet in width, can net landowners $60 an acre. KDWPT also offers incentives for CRP and wetland practices.
"These are practices where we're trying to get landowners to try and do some of this habitat improvement to help the pheasant population, help the quail, help the turkeys, help the deer, whatever that landowner is particularly interested in," Wagner said.
Those interested in the Habitat First program can contact their local wildlife biologist to determine a course of action and incentives involved. Wagner said it might take several of the practices to establish good habitat.
CLICK HERE to see all the habitat practices and incentives.
CLICK HERE to find your local wildlife biologist.