Neosho Wildlife Area News
Area News
Neosho Wildlife Area
This years growing season was very similar to last year. Extreme drought persists throughout this area. We have missed most of the bigger rains here at Neosho, with storms missing the area by about 10 miles to the south or the east. Beginning in the spring we started missing our normal early growing season rains leaving the refuge very low form last years draw down. We have held water all spring and summer and just recently finished pumping for a week into the refuge. It currently sits a few inches higher than where we finished last season, but still over 2 foot below full pool. For reference without some help from rainfall and runoff it would take at least 60 days, 24 hours a day to fill the refuge pumping at the current rates we are able to pump.
No row crops were planted in the wetland pools with anticipation of the drought persisting and budgetary constraints. We got a phenomenal moist soil response with highly desirable smart weeds and wild millets. Unfortunately we turned extremely hot and dry in May and June and some of our vegetation started showing drought stress in late June and early July. The pump was turned on July 9th and ran into the hunting pools the remainder of the month until we finally got some help from mother nature when we received 4.5" of rain over a weekend in the early part of August. The pump was shut down as we had put as much water in the wetlands that we could without hurting the plants. The moist soil vegetation responded great with tremendous seed production and growth. For the month of August, after the pump was shut off, every pool was losing around 2" per week to evaporation and plant uptake. The pump was started back up last week (September 15th) with most of the water going into the refuge. After conversations with Kansas Division of Water Resources (DWR) we are expecting protection orders to be sent out Friday September 22 for the entire Neosho Basin (Council Grove to the state line); meaning we will be shutting pumping efforts down no later than the morning of Wednesday September 27th and there will be no further pumping until significant rainfall occurs (6-10" of rainfall = significant) north of the wildlife area or DWR grants permission. The Neosho River comes out of John Redmond Reservoir, John Redmond is dropping fast and is currently over 2 feet lower than it was all of last year. Water levels are currently better in the hunting pools and refuge than this time last year but unfortunately it may be all we have for the season. The vegetation looks very promising for a great duck season but if we do not get some help from Mother Nature it may be a very long, tough duck season due to lack of water.
We have already had a couple of issues with drones this year. They are not allowed on public land in Kansas.
DAILY HUNT PERMIT:
Hunters can check-in / check-out here, https://ksoutdoors.com/checkin using your licensing login credentials.
NO ACCESS (FOOT, BOAT, ETC.) into the wetlands BEFORE 5:00AM, and MUST be out of the wetlands within an HOUR AFTER SUNSET (LEGAL SHOOTING HOURS).
Other regulations to keep in mind are parking in designated parking areas ONLY, boats must operate at no wake speeds in the boating canals, and watercraft are not permitted within the hunting pools until the day of waterfowl season at 5:00am. Also Pools 4A and 4B are open to NON-MOTORIZED boats only (Note: An electric trolling motor is a motor and will not be allowed).
South Unit
Boards have been in structures since mid May, there has been no run off or any water within the wetlands from vertical rainfall. We will have to receive very significant rainfall in order to pump the South Unit, our water right is a "Junior" water right. The river will have to have significant flow for several weeks to be able to pump any water for 2024.
Hunting Pool Habitat 2024-2025
Pool | Acres | Beans | Corn | Millet mix | Moist Soil | Greentree | Buckwheat |
1 | 350 | 60 | 50 | 15 | 160 | 65 | 0 |
2A | 155 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155 | 30 | 0 |
2B | 190 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 130 | 30 | 0 |
4A | 90 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 83 | 0 | 0 |
4B | 65 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 0 |
5 | 85 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 30 | 20 | 0 |
6 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
9 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
South Unit | 100 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 40 | 0 |
As always, if you have questions please feel free to call the office at 620-449-2539. We are always happy to take your calls and please keep in mind that this is a field office, so if we do not answer please leave a message and we will get back in touch with you as soon as we can.