Signup deadline July 15 for landowners; new counties eligible for incentive payments
PRATT — Landowners interested in the
Kansas Department of Wildlife,
Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) Walk-In Hunting Access Program (WIHA) —
which pays landowners to allow
public hunting access on their land — are
reminded that the deadline for enrollment is July 15. The WIHA program,
which began in 1995, has grown to include more than 1 million acres and
nearly 3,000 contracts with Kansas landowners.
Almost anyone who owns, leases, or manages 80 contiguous acres of land
with suitable wildlife habitat can qualify. A little more than half the
land enrolled in WIHA is federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
grass, but other lands are also considered, including native rangeland,
weedy wheat stubble, milo stubble, and riparian and wetland areas.
After receiving applications, KDWPT biologists evaluate wildlife habitat
on the applicants' land. Payment rates are based on the size and
location of tracts and the number of months the landowner will open the
land to hunting. A 50-percent additional incentive payment is offered
for WIHA in the following urban counties: Butler, Coffey, Cowley,
Douglas, Franklin, Harvey, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Kingman,
Leavenworth, Lyon, Miami, Osage, Ottawa, Reno, Saline, Sedgwick,
Shawnee, Sumner,
Wabaunsee, and Wyandotte.
Counties that have had historically low or are declining in program
participation are also eligible for the 50-percent additional incentive
payment. The following counties are eligible under this criteria: Allen,
Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Chautauqua,
Cherokee, Clay, Cloud, Crawford, Dickinson, Doniphan, Elk, Ellsworth,
Geary, Greenwood, Harper, Jewell, Labette, Lincoln, Linn, Marion,
Marshall, McPherson, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Nemaha, Neosho,
Pottawatomie, Pratt, Republic, Rice, Riley, Stafford, Washington,
Wilson, and Woodson.
Once enrolled, the property is posted with signs indicating access
dates, and a map of the tract will be included in a free atlas provided
by KDWPT. Natural resource officers periodically patrol WIHA properties.
In addition, state law provides protection to private individuals who
lease their land to the state for recreational purposes from liability
for damages or injuries resulting from ordinary negligence.
Lease options include open periods running Sept. 1-Jan. 31 and Nov.
1-Jan. 31, with the option to run through March 31 in areas where
habitat and hunt opportunities are appropriate. A popular spin-off is
the Spring Turkey WIHA Program, with lease dates from April 1- May 31.
For more information, phone 620-672-5911.
