News Release: September 1997
Parks and Wildlife sell refuge acres to
developer
Despite protests from environmental groups, the Kansas Department
of Parks and Wildlife has decided to go ahead with the sale of riparian
woodland acres in Pratt County. Wichita developer, Sam Morrison, hopes
that the transaction will end a fifteen month long legal battle between
the state and environmental groups over the Arkansas River site. The development,
to be known as "River View", will be subdivided into two and
three acre lots with water access. Previously the land was part of the
state owned Cottonwood Wildlife Refuge, known for its biodiversity of birds
and one of the last virgin stands of timber in the county. Sewer lines
and road construction will begin next month. Says Morrison, "We have
no intention of cutting down all the trees however the woodland will be
fragmented". The gallery forest has been a favorite spot for local
birders and an outdoor classroom for area schools.
News Release: June 1999
Local Audubon group notes recent decline in woodpeckers
Audubon chapter president Dorothy Waugh reports that various woodpecker
species are unusually scarce or absent this summer. This conclusion is
based on reports by club members who have monitored the species diversity
in the area through the spring and summer. Attention has focused on the
continued development of the River View housing area started in 1997. Says
Waugh, "When the River View riparian zone was a refuge it provided
a niche for healthy numbers of woodpeckers typical for that climax habitat.
Downy, Hairy, and Red-headed Woodpeckers were always well represented.
We would even find a few of the rare Lewis' Woodpecker's nesting in old
snags".
Weekly counts since early May have documented only three
pairs of Downy Woodpeckers and none others. However species of other birds
have remained at carrying capacity with the non-endemic European Starling
increasing.
News Release: September 1999
Feedlot owners complain of grain loss to birds
 Local feedlot owners have noted a sharp increase in numbers
of blackbirds among their cattle pens. While blackbird flocks are a common
occurrence within feedlots due to the availability of feed, the large late
summer increase has caught managers off guard. Says Ray Crockett of Poky
Feeders; "In the past we just put up with them and accepted the grain
loss but this year we'll have to do something different. Killing them all
would be the quickest solution, but I don't know if these birds are protected
by federal law. They just ignore the plastic owls and air guns that have
worked in the past." Crockett estimates there are over 10,000 birds
scattered over the feedlot at any one time and most are starlings.
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