Dear Kansas Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever supporters,
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever encourage you to make your voice heard at an upcoming series of Kansas Water Office meetings to discuss the State Water Plan. Beginning June 17, the Kansas Water Office will hold six input meetings across the state. See more information here: Meeting Details PDF
RSVP for the meetings here:
RSVP for Kansas Water Office Input Meetings
Why is This Important?
These meetings provide opportunities to steer the state’s ongoing efforts to improve water-related access, quality, and resources through funding opportunities and new projects. See more on Governor Kelly’s historic increase to the state water fund:
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Water serves at the center of conservation culture, and remedying the water challenges in Kansas is an important priority for continued and critical conservation work.
Outreach and input by citizens most effected by the ongoing water challenges across Kansas is imperative.
Please see helpful talking points below as to why conservation efforts and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s work is essential:
- Efforts to restore native grasslands and wetlands will enhance soil health and water retention, reducing runoff and improving groundwater recharge.
- The implementation of buffer strips along waterways will help filter pollutants and sediments, ultimately improving water quality.
- Promoting no-till farming and cover cropping will reduce soil erosion and conserve soil moisture which is crucial for maintaining water resources in the often drought-prone region of Kansas.
- These conservation practices also support Kansans’ quality of life by cultivating wildlife habitat; hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts contribute more than $1.8 billion to the state’s outdoor recreation economy.
Thank you for your interest in supporting conservation in Kansas. If you choose to participate in the listening sessions, please let us know! Send us a note at
advocacy@pheasantsforever.org.
For more information on conservation practices that improve water quantity and quality, contact PF & QF Kansas state coordinator Tyler Rafter at
TRafter@pheasantsforever.org.
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TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY:
- Personalize your comments
- Describe how current water issues impact your life locally
- Provide brief and concise statements/facts, plan to keep your remarks under 5 minutes
- Bring a script, you don’t need to memorize your statement or speak on the fly
- Dress respectfully
TEMPLATE FOR ORAL COMMENTS AT INPUT MEETINGS:
Hello, my name is {NAME], and I am a citizen of {CITY}, Kansas, as well as a member of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, an organization deeply invested in conservation and habitat. I am encouraged by the continued legislative interest and future success of a comprehensive state water plan because {include specifics as to how this issue affects your life/your interests/your community; your knowledge on the issue; why it is important to Kansas/your community.} I urge the Water Office to consider the importance of conservation practices on both public and private working lands when drafting the State Water Plan, for instance {insert preferred PF & QF talking points, see above}. Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today and to inform the state’s efforts to address our collective water and natural resource challenges.
Advocating for Conservation
It takes good habitat to produce abundant wildlife and opportunities to hunt—but it also takes robust public funding and sound conservation policy. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s dedicated Government Affairs team works in Washington D.C. and state capitols across America to create and secure funding for programs that benefit the uplands, from the rugged backcountry to the neighboring farm’s “back 40.” Thank you to our chapters, volunteers and members for the generous grassroots and Legislative Action Fund (LAF) support that makes this work possible.
To learn more about PF & QF’s policy priorities and ways you can help advocate for conservation, visit
this page or email
advocacy@pheasantsforever.org