Hunters have found that what’s good for Fort Riley is good for them.
The thick brush, rugged terrain and overgrown fields used to train soldiers also provide outstanding wildlife habitat for quail, pheasants, deer, turkeys and even elk.
The 101,000-acre Army base is located in northeast Kansas. The Kansas City Star reports that hunting is permitted on large chunks of acreage on the base where training is not taking place.
John Hill is president of the Jayhawk Chapter of the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, a conservation group dedicated to promoting upland game-bird hunting and habitat improvement for the birds. The Kansas quail population has dropped sharply over the years. But Hill says he knows he can still return to Fort Riley and stand a chance of flushing quail.
