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News Items
 | Arkansas River Corridor Access Plan is studied -
The City of Wichita and the Kansas
Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) have formed a coalition to fund
development of a Master Plan for recreational access to the Arkansas River.
The project partners believe the Arkansas River can become one of the longest
recreational access systems in Kansas and perhaps the United States. The
consultant team of Applied Ecological Services, Inc. (AES) and Patti Banks
Associates (PBA) have been retained for this project. The proposed
corridor is 100 miles long and stretches from above Hutchinson to Oxford.
Three open houses are scheduled on February 12 and 13 for the public to learn
more about the plan. Dates and locations are
 | Date: February
12, 2007 - Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
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Location 1: Oxford, KS at the Oxford High School Commons
Area, 515 N. Water Street |
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Location 2: South Hutchinson, KS at the Mennonite Church,
808 S. Poplar St. |
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Date: February 13, 2007 -
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
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Location: Wichita, KS at Minisa Park Shelter, 704 W.
13 th St. |
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Click the icon to download the fact sheet on the corridor project
Click the icon to download the notice for the open houses, which includes
locator maps
| USDA
Studies Cheney Reservoir - Cheney Reservoir, from which the City of Wichita draws a
major portion of its water supply, was chosen as one of 20 watersheds across the nation to
be part of a five-year, in-depth study of environmental benefits of conservation practices
implemented through the 2002 Farm Bill. The study will be looking at manure
management of animal feeding operations, wildlife habitat, benefits to Conservation
Reserve Program acres, and sediment and nutrient loss through irrigation. One reason
Cheney was chosen was because extensive data and computer modeling already exist, thanks
to a local Citizen's Management Committee. 9/04 |
| Ranching
Practices are Changing - Ranching isn't what it used to be. The land has been
overgrazed, the soil overworked and livestock prices are low. This combination is
forcing some ranchers to find alternative uses for their land. Drought has also
played a part in the changes. Cedar trees are using up the water the grass needs to
grow, so trees are being cut down, herds are being rotated more frequently to avoid
overgrazing and some ranchers are opening up their land for deer hunters (at a price, of
course) just to survive economically. By encouraging innovation, conservation and
wildlife officials hope to ensure healthy land and a healthy economy for many years to
come. |
| NPDES -
(National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) The EPA has recently
proposed tighter regulations for "concentrated animal-feeding operations" or
CAFOs. In 1998, a National Water Quality Inventory found that 40% of the waterways
are impaired. Agriculture was identified as one source that was contributing to the
impairment or deterioration in 60% of these rivers and streams and in 30% of the impaired
lakes. Municipal point sources were also identified as a factor. Agricultural
activities that cause non-point source pollution include confined-animal facilities,
grazing, plowing, pesticide spraying, irrigation, fertilizing, planting and harvesting.
These activities can pollute water with sediment, nutrients, pathogens, pesticides
and salts. For details regarding permit applications affecting the Arkansas River Basin,
see NPDES page. |
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This page was last updated
02/09/07
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