Kansas now more hunter friendly

Dec. 11–The state’s attitudes about deer and hunting have shifted towards supporting hunters and sportsmen, according to Chris Tymeson, chief attorney of Kansas Wildlife, Parks Tourism.

While Kansas has had game wardens since the 1880s, the Department of Fish and Game wasn’t official established until 1905. Fifty years later, the Kansas parks department was established with Kanapolis State Park as the first state park. The state now hase 26 parks.

In 1987, then Gov. Mike Hayden signed an executive order merging the State Parks and Resources Authority and the Kansas Fish and Game Commission to form the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. More recently, Gov. Brownback reorganized the department in 2011 by including tourism, which was a marketing division pulled out of the Commerce Department.

Tymeson said moving tourism under Parks and Wildlife was a good fit because out of the states’ top 10 attractions, eight of them are based on natural resources. Hunting is also a major attraction. He said the collateral economic impact of hunting in Kansas is estimated at $350 million.

As the chief attorney, Tymeson’s work primarily is in drafting legislation and regulations that affect wildlife and parks. However, he also does minor litigation, organizes hearings and regularly speaks to constituents and answers letters about questions and concerns. He also clarifies what statutes say, particularly in regard to hunting.

When asked about deer populations, Tymeson said the population was “on the rise” in the 1990s because no one was allowed to harvest does at the time, but since that changed in 2000 the population has “leveled off” and “is staying steady.”

Deer/vehicle accidents indicate that populations may have slightly decreased. Those accidents were at their highest in 2000 with 10,200 in the state; last year they were 9,300 in the state; and this year they are estimated to be about 8,800. However, Tymeson said that’s a lot better than some states like Wisconsin, which has around 50,000 deer/vehicle accidents a year.

An area that has a lot of deer is the along the US-36 corridor, near the Nebraska-Kansas state line where there are a lot places hunters simply can’t access deer. Because of high population, the area has extended seasons for white-tailed antlerless only (until Jan. 19) in units 7 and 8, which includes Clay County and areas north and west. The rest of the state can hunt anterless deer until Jan. 12.

The regular firearm season runs from Dec. 4 to Dec. 15; but Kansas has one of the longest archery seasons in the nation, from Sept. 16 to Dec. 31. In Unit 19 (the corridor that runs generally from Topeka to Kansas City), bow hunters can hunt anterless deer until Jan. 31.

Fort Riley also has an extended regular deer hunting season that runs until Dec. 22, an early extended deer archery season that started Sept. 1, and a season for elk that runs Dec. 1 to Dec. 31.

Tymeson said his department deals with a lot of deer poaching, “which at time runs rampant.” However deer aren’t worth nearly as much as people think — a good 10-point rack sells for about $500.

“To really get something for it, takes something exceptional and world class,” Tymeson said.

New regulation will allow smaller ammunition

Allowing deer to be harvested with smaller-caliber bullets is a new regulation that will take affect in the next deer hunting season.

Currently the rule requires .243 caliber to be able to harvest deer; that will change to .223 caliber and any center-fire rifle.

Tymeson said 35 other states already allow the smaller ammunition, which is sufficient to kill a deer with a well-placed shot within the distance limitations.

He said the state trusts hunters to do the right thing, such as sighting in their weapons even though regulations don’t technically require that.

Tymeson, who is an avid hunter himself, called the smaller ammunition “a recruitment tool,” and cited teaching his son to shoot with the smaller bullet that have almost no recoil before using bigger ammunition as a reason someone might want to shoot with .223 caliber bullets.

“Do I expect a huge migration to smaller bullets?” he asked. “No, it’s allowing some freedom of choice in what you can shoot with, that’s all.”

KDWPT fights feds on listing bird as threatened

In answering a question about lesser prairie chickens, Tymeson said the department is fighting against a federal move to list to the bird as threatened by proposing range plans and other efforts to increase populations.

The lesser prairie chicken ranges in five states, but 60 percent of the birds are in Kansas, most of them in the southwest part of the state. Listing them as threatened would essentially ban hunting of the birds and any look-alike birds, including greater prairie chickens.

The season for hunting prairie chickens in Kansas runs Nov. 16 and runs through Jan. 31 in the northwest and east units. It ends Dec. 31, 2013 in the southwest unit. Kansas is the only state where lesser prairie chickens can be hunted. is the only state where lesser prairie chickens can be hunted.

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