Most hunters don't explore 109,000 acres in a lifetime. That's the total of the Cimarron National Grassland, a wildlife wonderland tucked in the southwest corner of Kansas.
It's possible to hunt bobwhite and scaled quail, lesser prairie chickens and pheasants...all in a half-day hunt.
But it isn't easy. It isn't even easy to get to the Cimarron--which is part of the charm. Elkhart, the major town in Morton County, is almost on the Kansas-Oklahoma line and just a few miles from Colorado.
Liberal, the next nearest town with any size, is more than 50 miles away.
"People in Morton County are friendly and if you ask permission after the crops are out, they'll let you hunt," says Joe Hartman, district ranger for the Grassland.
He asks hunters to deposit a wing from birds they take in "wing barrels," collection barrels placed around the Grassland. "It helps us keep track of hunter harvest," he says.
Bobwhite quail have spread from their stronghold along the Cimarron River corridor. Scaled or blue quail are scattered almost everywhere on the grassland, as are lesser prairie chickens.
"Lesser chickens are down in population and we're restricting the bag," says Mike Mitchener, district biologist for the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department.
But, even with restrictions, chicken hunting should be open in December. Quail and pheasants run through Jan. 31.
Pheasants are up and down, depending on weather, but are more common on private, cropped land.
Smart hunters look for "guzzlers," manmade waterholes. There are 100 scattered over the Grassland and they tend to concentrate birds.
But hunters, smart or otherwise, need to be prepared to walk. Grassland hunting involves long, long hikes. Ask about water sources for dogs and hunters. Boots for dogs are a necessity because of burrs and cactus.
For information and maps, write Cimarron National Grassland, Box J, Elkhart, KS 67950, phone 316-697-4621.
Copyright (c) 1996 Joel M. Vance. All rights reserved.
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