The War on Kansas Wildlife WE NEED YOUR IMMEDIATE HELP!!

There seems to be a concerted effort in the 2014 session of the Kansas Legislature to dismantle wildlife conservation in Kansas. One bill will repeal the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1975. Another bill will eliminate permanent conservation easements in Kansas. And yet another bill prohibits U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and all federal employees’ involvement in conservation of prairie-chickens and nonmigratory wildlife in Kansas. It’s little wonder that we get the feeling there is a War on Kansas Wildlife. We need the immediate assistance of all KWF members to fight these onerous bills.

However, there are a couple of bills that deserve our support. Let’s look at the pending bills one by one.

H.B. 2118 was passed by the House in 2013 and that eliminated environmental reviews on preservation of historic properties. Senator Larry Powell, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, co-opted H.B. 2118 by gutting the original language and inserting the complete repeal of the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1975. This was done in a committee meeting that was not scheduled ahead of time and thus no public debate or testimony. The substitute bill was voted out of committee on the same day it was created and sent to the full Senate.

Now known as the Senate Substitute for H.B. 2118, it may be debated by the entire Senate this next week. If it passes the full Senate, the Speaker of the House, Ray Merrick, will have to decide if this bill has been 'materially altered' which is against House and Senate rules. This decision is completely up to the Speaker and it will take 70 votes to reverse his decision.

We need everyone to contact their state Senator and ask that they not vote for Senate Substitute for H.B. 2118.  The bill has to be stopped, ideally by Senate President Sen. Susan Wagle and Ranking Majority Leader Sen. Terry Bruce, who can keep it from being voted on.

Let your senator and the Senate leadership know that a survey of Kansans was conducted by Responsive Management regarding Kansas Residents' Opinions on Threatened and Endangered Wildlife and Actions to Protect Wildlife. They found 73% agreed with the statement, “Wildlife that is threatened and endangered in Kansas yet abundant in other states should still be protected in Kansas.” They also found the most support is for having an official state list of threatened and endangered wildlife in Kansas (90% strongly or moderately support) and for the state imposing stiff fines on those who harm endangered wildlife or their habitats (88% strongly or moderately support).

Tell your Senator to vote NO on Senate Substitute for H.B. 2118.

Here is a site for looking up your senator and representative….http://openkansas.org/

S.B. 323 is a bill that originated in the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. It will eliminate permanent conservation easements designed to protect prairies, wetlands, agricultural land, etc. in Kansas. Conservation easements will be limited to the landowner’s discretion, or at the longest, his/her lifetime. If S.B. 232 is enacted, it will end the use of conservation easements to protect Flint Hills (and other) prairie lands by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Kansas Rangeland Trust, the Kansas Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and others. Efforts by Ducks Unlimited to preserve our valuable wetlands via the Wetland Reserve Program will essentially be shut down in Kansas. Likewise, Department of Defense funding for conservation easements in the "buffer area" around Fort Riley would be halted.

If SB 323 becomes law, Kansas will be one of only two states to limit conservation easements. Tell your Senator to vote NO on SB 323.

SB 276. This bill originated in the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, at the request of Secretary of State Kobach. This bill is an anti-USFWS involvement in conservation of prairie-chickens and nonmigratory wildlife in Kansas. As written it would preclude any federal employee to implement federal programs that benefit resident wildlife. It is written broadly enough to keep the Farm Service Agency from issuing subsidy payments to landowners as part of Farm Bill programs, like the Conservation Reserve Program, Grasslands Reserve Program or even the commodities programs.

SB 276 passed the Senate a while back and a hearing was held in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee but it has not been debated or voted on in that panel. Please contact your state representative and have him/her vote against SB 276 if it comes up for a vote. This is especially true if your representative sits on the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Tell them to vote NO on SB 276.

The two bills that deserve our support deal with land acquisition by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Kansas has too little public land available for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation access (KDWPT owns 0.27% of Kansas). Kansas currently ranks 49^th among the states, behind only Rhode Island, in percentage of the state available for public outdoor recreation. Both tracts are adjacent to land currently owned or leased by KDWPT and will be open to hunting and other outdoor recreation activities important to KWF members.

SB 366 would authorize the KDWPT to purchase a parcel of land containing 397 acres in Cherokee County. It will be purchased using Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) settlement funds which are used to mitigate damages to the environment and natural resources in the Tri-State Mining District.

SB 370 would authorize the KDWPT to purchase a parcel of land containing 484 acres in Pottawatomie County, adjacent to the Tuttle Creek Wildlife Area. Acquisition of this land will improve public access to a 3.5-mile portion of that public hunting area that is currently inaccessible to the public, expanding hunting, wildlife viewing and hiking opportunities in the northern Flint Hills region. Governor Brownback has identified the need for additional trails in the Flint Hills as a part of his tourism plan.

Both SB 366 and SB 370 passed the Senate and sit in the House Committee on Appropriations. Please contact Chairman Rep. Marc Rhoades and ask that the committee work and pass the two bills out of committee. If your representative sits on the House Committee on Appropriations let them know you support both SB 366 and SB 370. Regardless let your representative know to vote YES on SB 366 and SB 370.

Please contact your state representative and senator as soon as possible. Votes on these important bills could happen at any time. Your support is critically important. Thank you in advance for everything you can do.