Thursday, February 13, 2025
Dear Editor,
CAWKER CITY – I am an outdoor enthusiast that uses many Kansas outdoor resources. I have a home in Cawker City, KS and hunt and fish mostly at Glen Elder Wildlife Area and Reservoir. I recently sent this request to the Gov., our Senator and our Representative.
Low water and drought over the past six or seven years has caused the lake level to lower and expose our boat ramps. The weight of the boat ramps over drying mud has caused many to collapse making them dangerous or unusable.
Our Wildlife Area Manager has been working to get these repairs budgeted for six years. There is a painstaking process in place for project approval and prioritization within KDWP that takes up to two years. Then if approved the capital improvement is added to the budget cycle which takes another two years to be funded. Then when approved and prioritized and budgeted it goes to the KS Department of Administration for bidding and engineering approval.
This is where our capital improvement projects back up. I understand that with all the huge infrastructure projects and Federal money available that these big projects get the priority, and I totally support that effort.
Unfortunately the little (by comparison) projects languish in backlog. These small projects are important to us users and the local rural communities that depend on hunters, fishers and outdoors enthusiasts for seasonal income.
In our case, this boat ramp is the third busiest on the second biggest lake in Kansas and usually supports high usage because of its location six miles up the lake from the nearest usable boat ramp in the State Park.
With the low water conditions right now, this boat ramp could be repaired or replaced by local contractors at a very reasonable cost because the damaged area is high and dry. This project like many others requested by the Department of Wildlife and Parks is fully funded by user fees and Federal matching funds. There is no Kansas tax money used for these projects.
What I’m asking on behalf of the hunters and fishers of Kansas that have paid the fees and the special Federal taxes on sporting equipment; is there any way that these projects can be completed outside the backlogged bidding process?
I am told that the Department of Administration is backlogged up to six years. With the six years we have already waited this seems like an inordinate amount of time and effort. When the lake fills back up these boat ramp projects become way more expensive. An added expense we could save and use for other needed repairs.
Kevin L Couillard, Cawker City
