My silent symphony
Phil Taunton
Friday, June 22, 2007
I’ve been to a three-ring circus, a couple of rodeos and several places Wifeus forced me to go and stay late into the night during our college dating days.
I’ve had my share of good fortune in competition with bird dogs, with hunting and fishing adventures and even participated as an athlete in some championship sporting events, in both high school and college.
But I can honestly say I can’t remember enjoying those experiences any more than I did participating as a volunteer in last Saturday’s Symphony in the Flint Hills, near Eskridge in Wabaunsee County.
Even though I was amid a crowd of some 6,000 people, concert-goers, patrons, musicians and volunteers, I found myself all alone on the vast prairie, reflecting how our unsettled land used to be. As I ferried people to the concert area from the parking lot, I wasn’t driving a golf cart — I was a pioneer in a covered wagon along with others, helping settle our great country.
In my mind’s eye, the majestic native grasslands, higher than a man’s chest, and dainty wildflowers were a sight to behold. And the herds of buffalo stretched as far as the eye could see.
There was a diverse crowd out on the prairie Saturday and all seemed to be having a great time. Linda Jones, another volunteer from Emporia, related to me she carted people that were from as far away as Chicago, with most being from the Kansas City area. Linda could only imagine some of these people were experiencing the vastness, the remoteness and the beauty of the Flint Hills for the first time in their life.
“To just hear about the Flint Hills is one thing,” she said, “but to experience the raw nature of its beauty, its history and tradition is something they will remember and hopefully help preserve forever.”
The event consisted of several educational activities throughout the day with the grand finale being the 82-member Kansas City Symphony giving a 90-minute performance lasting until sunset. An afternoon full of opportunities to learn about and experience grassland culture and heritage also was part of the program.
Workshops were given every 20 or 30 minutes, and the topics included:
• Prairie plants and flowers
• Geology of the Flint Hills
• History of cowboys and historic ranching in the Flint Hills and Wabaunsee County
• First-person interpretations by regional historians in 1880’s costumes
• Birds of the prairie and the mid-continent flyway
• Modern-day ranching in the Flint Hills
• The native tribes of the area and the Wabaunsee story
Activities one could participate in and where your imagination could run wild were:
• Bird-watching hikes accompanied by Kansas Audubon member guides
• Petting zoo with symphonic instruments provided by the Kansas City Symphony Auxiliary
• Authentic horse-drawn covered wagons for rides out into the prairie
• Guided wildflower and native grasses walks led by Kansas Native Plant Society members
Symphony in the Flint Hills, Inc., plans to produce an annual symphonic concert series in different locations each year within the natural landscape of the Flint Hills of Kansas. Next year’s event will be June 14 in Morris County. Better plan now and get your reservations early.
Quail Unlimited,
KDWP to conduct
habitat demo
Quail Unlimited (QU), in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP), will conduct a Habitat Techniques Demonstration Day at 8:30 a.m. on July 18. The event will be held at Hillsdale Wildlife Area, near Paola, on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property managed by KDWP. The site is just an hour away from this year’s annual Quail Unlimited National Convention being held July 19-21 in Overland Park.
To answer some of the most common questions QU and KDWP staff receive regarding quail habitat management, the event will feature a “before” habitat management scenario. This scenario more closely resembles that which many landowners today are typically facing — natural plant succession resulting in loss of habitat.
Hands-on, how-to demonstrations of different quail management practices will be offered. Participants will be divided into groups and guided along a demonstration trail to multiple management-practice stations. Equipment and tools will be on site for participants to see first-hand how they work and how to use them, as well as recommended techniques and desired outcomes.
Habitat management topics will be discussed and demonstrated, including edge feathering, invasive tree removal, brush piles, native warm-season grass drill set-up, adjustment, calibration, and use, food plots, chainsaw safety, wildlife habitat appraisal, strip disking, herbicide application, calibrating hand-held and ATV sprayers and prescribed burning.
Weather permitting, a prescribed burn demonstration is scheduled following lunch, which will be provided.
Demonstration Day is open to the public, but reservations must be made online, by phoning Connie Dean at (803) 637-5731 ext. 223, or by e-mailing cdean@qu.org. The cost is $35 per person whether driving separately or riding the tour bus (limited seating available on a first-come, first-served reservation basis). Tour buses will leave the Overland Park Convention Center, courtyard Level, north main entrance at 7:30 a.m. and return at approximately 4 p.m.
Special on-site transportation will be made available for those who have difficulty walking. Prior arrangements must be made by calling Bob Peterson at (417) 359-5807.