Hunting and fishing is big business in Kansas.

According to the Kansasa Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism there’s no place like Kansas for an excellent hunting and fishing experience. Both activities have a substantial impact on the Kansas economy, generating over a half billion dollar annually.

Here are some numbers the department released:

Hunting – $401+ million trip related & equipment expenses annually

Fishing – $211+ million trip related & equipment expenses annually

Kansas has more than 1.5 million acres open to public hunting, with a variety of species to hunt. Waterfowl, pheasant, turkey, deer, and others can be a mixed bag in one trip.

Kansas has higher bag limits than some states for certain species. Kansas also has the range of hunting experiences, from do-it-yourself hunting to guided hunts in premier hunting lodges

The 2014 hunting season looks good. Kansas has one of the best pheasant populations in the nation. Fall harvest will again be among the best in the country. Conditions throughout the spring and summer have reflected a statewide increase in summer brood counts by 70 percent. Some bird numbers:

Quail: Roadside surveys reflect a statewide increase of 50 percent compared to 2013

Turkey – Population trend is stable or slightly increasing in the west and slightly declining in the east.

Waterfowl – American fall flight estimate of breeding ducks is 49.2 million birds – an 8 percent increase since standard surveys began in 1955. In the Central Flyway, there were almost 12.9 million breeding ducks surveyed this spring – 68 percent above the long-term average.

The agency concludes that hunters and anglers on average spend 32 percent more during their stay than the traditional leisure traveler.