KS is 49th => pop. decline cost us 50th!

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I haven't consumed wheat in eons, have celiac disease. Modern wheat is causing the US lots of health problems, and is a huge contributor to the obesity epidemic.

Actually modern wheat is a wonder plant and will cure your celiacs disease and cause people to lose weight.

I think it cures HIV too.

Yep, wonder plant.

But enough about wheat, what's your take on Hosmer's free-agency?

[Mathguy]

I'm thinking of taking a vacation to Florida, somewhere around maybe Venice\Sanibel.

Anybody have some good suggestions?

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

I'm thinking of taking a vacation to Florida, somewhere around maybe Venice\Sanibel.

Anybody have some good suggestions?

Never been to the gulf side of Florida, we spent a few days just north of Miami 2 years back and we enjoyed that a lot. We just got back from a vacation in SE Mexico and it was great, mid 70’s everyday. Awesome beaches and we went snorkeling which I had never done before. Great time.

A little bit of a drive, but if you enjoy anything space, the Johnson Space Center is pretty amazing, but it’s pretty pricey to get it. The rocket launch we were going to watch got delayed a few days, so that was disappointing not to get to see that.

[InchingWest]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

Actually modern wheat is a wonder plant and will cure your celiacs disease and cause people to lose weight.

I think it cures HIV too.

Yep, wonder plant.

But enough about wheat, what's your take on Hosmer's free-agency?

Interestingly enough, there is now a commercial on my local AM radio station promoting salt of all things. I didn't realize that the big-salt industry had an interest in me purchasing more of those 59¢ containers that I might go through once every half a decade.

Ah yes, the wonders of salt. The commercial tells me that salt will make you thirsty and will make you want to drink more water so that you won't get dehydrated. Yes, it actually says that, though I paraphrase. Sounds crazy to me, and hey, every doctor I've ever met really seems to want the average American's blood pressure to skyrocket even more.

[KSinmyrearviewmirror]

Kansas will charge $50 a day for ‘backcountry access’ to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park

Public access to some areas of the state’s newest park will cost more than a weeklong pass for an entire family at the Grand Canyon.

Anyone who wants to walk through fragile rock formations in Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park will have to buy a $50 permit, the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission has decided. The park is expected to open sometime in 2019.

Since I began observing park admission fees as a Park Mgmt major @ KSU, I've been an advocate of FREE admission to public parks, & believed that state & national taxation should eliminate entrance fees. I believe "user fees" should mimic those of Title 36, the principle set of rules and regulations issued by federal agencies of the United States regarding parks, forests, and public property.

As a Corps of Engineers "Park Technician," I collected overnight camping fees; $3, $2 per night in 1975-81; based upon facilities (flush vs pit); but the Corps was mandated to also provide a FREE camping area IF fees were collected.

Just my hunch, but I'd guess that IF there is any M-F daytime staffing at "Little J" it won't be anyone with a geology background. That hunch is based upon KDWP&T putting a fisheries biologist in charge of the bison & elk herds @ Maxwell Game Refuge & a Vermonter over Sand Hills State Park, while the mgr @ Cheney SP couldn't name the grasses & wildflowers @ the park he managed for years, in the slide show he was presenting.

[KSinmyrearviewmirror]

A similar thread @ Rhode Island disputes their Title, citing Outdoor Life (2013):

When it comes to publicly-owned land, Kansas ranks last in the nation.

My wife wonders IF Rhode Island counts the seashore as public land? I could fathom that 50th place could come @ high tide, 49th at low . . .

Constant Tuttle lake flooding damages road, shelter for yacht club
Manhattan Mercury-Dec 7, 2018
Repeated flooding at Tuttle Creek Lake over the past few months has spelled trouble for the Blue Valley Yacht club, a Manhattan ...

So what will Gov-elect Kelly do? I mean, for Secretary of KDWP&T? Joan Finney appointed a postman; Sam The Sham, a radio DJ (now general manager of the KS State Fair).

[KSinmyrearviewmirror]

Nature Conservancy says not so fast on Kansas state park access permit

Read more here: https://www.kansas.com/news/local/cr...#storylink=cpy

The cost of a “backcountry access” permit at Kansas’ newest state park might be back up for discussion after the landowners said they haven’t approved the fee and want to keep it affordable.

The land is owned by The Nature Conservancy, which bought the land in 2016 and agreed to make Little Jerusalem a part of the state park system, while retaining ownership of the land. Kansas’ parks department would manage the park and help protect the unique attraction expected to open to the public in 2019.

“The Nature Conservancy is committed to keeping access to Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park affordable,” The Nature Conservancy in Kansas posted and pinned to the top of its Facebook page on Friday night after The Eagle’s story on the permit prices was published on Kansas.com.

“We have not yet agreed to special access permits or associated fees and plan to continue to work with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to ensure all fees are reasonable,” the post says.

The permit, which was passed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism on Thursday, would restrict access to areas of Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, allowing only those willing and able to pay $50 to walk through the fragile rock formations. Officials said the permit price would help protect the rocks from deterioration from “unfettered access.”

An official with the state’s Parks Division said she plans to meet with leaders from The Nature Conservancy in the next week to discuss the permit fees.

Little Jerusalem is more than four-hour drive west of Wichita, between Scott City and Oakley. Trails around the park would be open to the public without the permit and children 16 and under would get the access permit for free under the regulation that passed Thursday.

Linda Lanterman, director of the Parks Division of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism said if the permit price is to be changed, it will have to go back through the commission, which voted unanimously to approve it on Thursday.

The committee that considered the permit — called a “backcountry access pass” — told the commission before the vote that it had concerns that it was too expensive, but it didn’t make any suggestions for a different price, Lanterman said in a phone interview on Saturday.

She also said no one from the public voiced any concerns about permit price when it came up at multiple commissioner meetings in the past.

“The public has an avenue to voice their concern at the commission meeting. We presented it three of four times and didn’t have anyone from the public say that they had a problem with it,” Lanterman said.

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/cr...#storylink=cpy

Lanterman oversees a staff of 120, 26 Kansas state parks and an annual budget of $12 million. *She began her service with the department in the Human Resources Section, then served as the assistant chief of the Licensing Section and assistant director of the Parks Division. She graduated from Wichita State University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Administration degree in Accounting.

WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LINDA LANTERMAN DIRECTOR OF STATE PARKS
KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE, PARKS AND TOURISM BEFORE
THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERIOR, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
APRIL 5, 2017

To be competitive in today’s leisure market, it is important that we address the changing needs and expectations of our customers. Some of the land use policies of the federal agencies need to be modernized so our parks can compete for the nation’s young family’s leisure time. Among the immediate changes we recommend concerning our federal landlord partners are more flexible lease agreements, more streamlined processing of concessionaire contracts and the ability for our department to retain all net proceeds arising from the hosting of special events** designed to attract visitors. On some
USACE properties we have both state parks and USACE parks. Efficiency could be improved if these two levels of government parks were not duplicating services.


*Ted Cable Professor of Recreation Resources (retired after 34 years @ KSU) ~ 2000 told me that when KDWP&T asked him how to improve the caliber of employees, ~ 1984, his advice was "to stop hiring Kansans."

**Country Stampede @ Tuttle Creek State Park => pays a fee for thousands to trample the landscape & compact the soils far beyond "normal" park traffic. Guessing Lanterman hates that the Corps gets any $. I've never been to The Stampede, but have heard the music @ my house several miles away, far into the night.

https://www.kfdi.com/event/country-stampede-2019/

[WiseManOnceSaid]

Originally Posted by KSinmyrearviewmirror

As a former Nat. Resource & Park Mgmt major @ KSU, I've long held an interest in Kansas public lands. For years, it was common knowledge that KS was 50th in per capita public lands; lands used for recreation, and as such are counted as positive for Quality of Life issues when companies consider locations attractive to top-notch employee prospects.

In the last year. someone commented on a KS thread elsewhere, that KS was now 49th! It has taken me some Googling to find documentation:

US States Land Ownership by Percentage:
Rank / State / % that is Public Land / % that is Private Land

49 / KS / 1.9% / 98.1%
50 / RI / 1.5% / 98.5%

Public and Private Land Percentages by US States : Facts & Information : SummitPost

How did this happen? Did KSDWP&T finally sell Lake Inman* for private resort development?

*Lake Inman is a small lake in McPherson County, KS. With a surface area of approximately 1/4 square miles, it is the largest natural lake in the state.

Honestly, I believe KS beat Rhode Island by losing population! What a novel approach to increasing per capita public lands in KS without taking lands off the tax rolls by adding parks or something like the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (I witnessed the locals fight that back in '79).

Ummm congrats?!?