Audubon of Kansas features one or more roadside wildflowers each week during the growing season, and other roadside vegetation views at other seasons of the year. AOK has been a longtime advocate of responsible roadside management by the Kansas Department of Transportation. Smarter practices along roadsides mean more money in the Kansas budget, as well as an increased variety of prairie plants along our roadsides. Kansas Roadside Wildflowers of the Week highlights the wildflowers that are blooming at the given time of the year, or other plants of special interest.
Prairie Blazing Star
Click here to see a list of all KS Roadside Wildflowers of the Week
We all want the State of Kansas to have sufficient funds to support education and fulfill other important obligations. Thus; many of the budget cuts are troubling. However, there may be one small sliver of silver lining surrounding the revenue shortfall clouds. Maybe, just maybe, we can use this occasion to impress Governor Parkinson, KDOT, and KTA staff, and members of the Kansas Legislature that this is a great time to eliminate excessive - often ecologically destructive - mowing along state highways and the Kansas Turnpike, and to adopt the limited mowing practices recommended by a broad base of conservation organizations.............Read More
The newest Prairie Wings Issue Provides a retrospective look at AOK's successes in 2009. It also provides a glimpse at the challenges that lie ahead, in 2010 and beyond.
For years the "nature myth" that the rise of Wild Turkeys has caused the decline of Bobwhite Quail in Kansas has diminished the success of Wild Turkeys in the plains. Do Wild Turkey really have the appetite of a Velociraptor, and have a hunger for quail? Find out here.
The November/December 2009 edition of AUDUBON magazine features an excellent article by Ted Williams about the heroic efforts of two western Kansas landowner families who are standing on the front lines for wildlife conservation in the 21st Century. These landowners have stood their ground to protect the rights of landowners to have Black-tailed Prairie Dog colonies on their property and all of the associated wildlife species that depend on the presence of this “keystone” species. The habitat created and prey base that prairie dogs provide is important for Burrowing Owls, Ferruginous Hawks, Golden Eagles, Swift Foxes and absolutely vital for the survival of Black-footed Ferrets in the wild..................................................Full Story
This was the question AOK posed to children at the 14th Annual Kaw Valley Eagles Day Festival held each January in Lawrence, KS. Alongside Audubon of Kansas' information booth, we worked with children of all ages to help them draw their "dream bird". Click here to view the ornithological world if children ran it!
Audubon of Kansas loses dedicated member, Jan Garton
Audubon of Kansas lost a dedicated member this week with the death of Jan Garton. Jan was a dedicated volunteer and long time leader of the Northern Flint Hills Audubon Society in Manhattan and Kansas Audubon Council. We extend our sympathy to Jan's sister and brother and their families. She will be greatly missed.
Please read about Jan's tireless efforts to save Cheyenne Bottoms in an article published on November 10, 2009 by The Hutchinson News or click here for the
printer friendly version.
Pesticides Deadly to Prairie Dogs Also Threaten Imperiled Animals
Defenders of Wildlife and Audubon of Kansas sue to prevent secondary poisoning of wildlife like the endangered black-footed ferrets, bald and golden eagles, and ferruginous hawks
Summary:
Defenders of Wildlife and Audubon of Kansas filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the EPA for approving pesticides Rozol and Kaput-D for use on prairie dogs, the main food source for endangered black-footed ferrets, in violation of numerous federal laws without consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The blood-thinning chemicals can last for weeks in prairie dogs -- also poisoning endangered black-footed ferrets and protected birds, such as bald eagles and the ferruginous hawk.
Click here to read the AP article in the San Antonio Express
Lawsuit Filed: Audubon of Kansas
Challenges EPA on Rozol Threats to Raptors and Other Predators
Tons of Rozol have been used in recent years in a misguided attempt to eradicate prairie dogs in some Kansas counties where County Commissioners, urged by the Kansas Farm Bureau, are using century-old statutes to force landowners to kill these native mammals on private land. Secondary poisoning with Rozol is a threat to swift foxes, American badgers, ferruginous hawks, golden and bald eagles that frequently feed on prairie dogs in the Great Plains. Black-footed ferrets rely almost exclusively on prairie dogs for food.
Audubon of Kansas has teamed up with Defenders of Wildlife in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court against the EPA for approving pesticides Rozol and Kaput-D for use on prairie dogs, the main food source for endangered black-footed ferrets, in violation of numerous federal laws without consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We have provided here links for you to read the complaint, and letters from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Audubon of Kansas is a leader in stressing smart roadside management in Kansas. Learn what we are doing to keep the state from harming beautiful prairie alongside our roads.
To view an album of Kansas roadside wildflowers and habitat, Click Here.
Industrial Wind Development in Native Prairie
Audubon of Kansas has been a continuing leader and advocate for the conservation of the Flint Hills and responsible siting of Industrial Wind Development.
*Audubon of Kansas is a leading source for information on Mountain Lions in Kansas
Mountain lions have been seen and reported for many years in Kansas. Read up on the latest news involving these furry felines in Kansas.
Audubon of Kansas Sanctuaries
Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie In cooperation with local community partners, Audubon of Kansas manages and protects Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie--30 acres of native prairie that overlooks the Wabaunsee County countryside and holds a rich history involving the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony, the underground railroad and early military expeditions.
Hutton Niobrara Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary Located along the scenic Niobrara River near Bassett, Nebraska, Audubon of Kansas manages a 5,000-acre wildlife sanctuary and working ranch preserving the wishes of the late Harold and Lucille Hutton. Expanses of Sandhills prairie interconnects with wet meadows, wooded ravines and gallery forests along the meandering river. Audubon of Kansas combines wildlife and grassland conservation practices begun by Harald Hutton with responsible cattle grazing, and plans to develop a visitor center and recreational opportunities for public education and enjoyment.
We invite you to participate and contribute to our conservation
efforts and keep Audubon of Kansas moving forward. Your tax-deductible
contributions and volunteer efforts sustain our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
and are essential to all aspects of our work—from advocacy,
legislative liaison, education, and support of wildlife-friendly
landowners, to our office staff, publications and website. We
need your commitment!
Copyright 2010
Audubon of Kansas, Inc.
210 Southwind Place
Manhattan, KS 66503
(785) 537-4385 aok@audubonofkansas.org
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Tons of Rozol have been used in recent years in a misguided attempt to eradicate prairie dogs in some Kansas counties where County Commissioners, urged by the Kansas Farm Bureau, are using century-old statutes to force landowners to kill these native mammals on private land. Secondary poisoning with Rozol is a threat to swift foxes, American badgers, ferruginous hawks, golden and bald eagles that frequently feed on prairie dogs in the Great Plains. Black-footed ferrets rely almost exclusively on prairie dogs for food.
