Cottonwood Connections November 2022 | Page 8

Do you have a creek, river or stream running through your pasture? Do you need an alternative water supply so your cattle have a clean, constant water source? Are you interested in soil health through no-till or implementing cover crops and possibly grazing the cover crops?  The KSU Big Creek Middle Smoky Hill River Watersheds is looking for farmers and ranchers to partner with to help implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) on your property for water quality protection and improvement and to improve your bottom line.  Our focus area is in the Big Creek and/or Smoky Hill River areas.  We’d love to visit with you to see if we can partner with each other.  Call or email Stacie Minson, KSU Watershed Specialist at 785-769-3297 or [email protected]

Do your Part with our $$$$....Protecting Local Creeks, Streams, & Rivers

The severe drought has affected most aspects of our lives. Crops are struggling and water is scarce for livestock. In Barton County, is also means that there is little water at Cheyenne Bottoms, the largest inland marsh in the United States and a major resting point for many migratory birds on their way South. So, what happens when the Bottoms has little to no water? Where do the birds go? And when will they come back? How does this effect other wildlife, and subsequent hunting, in the area? 

On November 8th, starting at 6 PM, join K-State Research and Extension at Cheyenne Bottoms Education Center, located at 592 NE K 156 Hwy, Great Bend, KS for a program over wildlife and the drought. Drew Ricketts, KSRE Wildlife Specialist, will talk about how drought affects the pheasant population and migration patterns of waterfowl. Chip Redmond, assistant meteorologist for the KSU Weather Data Library and manager of the Kansas Mesonet will be showing us the drought patterns and the weather outlook for the next year. We will also have Mike Oldham, Wildlife Refuge Manager at Quivira and Tom Bidrowski from Cheyenne Bottoms on hand to answer questions about the wetlands areas. 

There is no fee to attend, but we do need an RSVP for a meal count by November 4th. Contact Alicia Boor at [email protected] or 620-793-1910, or Wendy Hughes at [email protected] or 620-257-5131. This program is sponsored by Eldridge Fencing, Kansas Trophy Experience, The Original Kansas Trophy Whitetails, and Fowl Plains.  

Wildlife and the Drought