Environment
Monarch butterflies qualify for endangered list, but officials may not take action until 2024
TOPEKA — Federal officials have declared the monarch butterfly “a candidate” for endangered status but punted on taking any action for several years, despite the winged insect’s rapidly declining population, to focus on other species awaiting designation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan calls for an annual review of the monarch’s status to determine […]
Pandemic restricts access to malfunctioning weather equipment, compromising accuracy
Temperatures recorded at a western Kansas weather station in late September captured the attention of a researcher looking for the first measurable snowfall in the Midwest. Analysis by Brian Brettschneider, a research physical scientist with the National Weather Service Alaska region, led him to a cooperative observation station 13 miles north-northeast of Tribune in Greeley […]
Conservation project aims to restore Ogallala Aquifer through naturally occurring landforms
The future of water availability in western Kansas is receiving support from a multimillion-dollar project aimed at using existing land formations to recharge a major underground water source. Final details of the Groundwater Recharge and Sustainability Project, or GRASP, are being worked out within the offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation […]
Kansans blast Evergy’s ‘discriminatory’ fee proposals for solar panel use
About 100 Kansans voiced concerns during a virtual public hearing Thursday night regarding proposals from Evergy to alter the rate structure for solar energy customers, and on the future of renewable energy in the state. The Kansas Corporation Commission invited public feedback as part of its review to accept Evergy’s proposal for a $3 per […]
U.S. Mint releases new coin honoring Kansas’ Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
TOPEKA — The U.S. Mint on Thursday released a new coin set honoring Kansas’ Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, the only site within the National Park Service dedicated to the natural history of the tallgrass prairie. The quarters feature a regal fritillary butterfly against a backdrop of bluestem and Indian grass — both of which are […]
Why Kansas politicians of both parties should embrace the Green New Deal
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Stan Cox is a research scholar in ecosphere studies at The Land Institute in Salina and author of The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the […]
Thank you, Kansas governors, for the moratorium on wind development in tallgrass heartland
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Jim Hoy is director emeritus of the Center for Great Plains Studies and professor emeritus at Emporia State University. His latest book, “My Flint Hills,” has […]
Kansas adds to Flint Hills Trail in Osawatomie for bikers, riders, hikers
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined local officials in Osawatomie to recognize improvements in Miami County to the Flint Hills Trail used by cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. The 117-mile trail stretches from Osawatomie to Herington and cuts through five counties in east-central Kansas. It is the seventh-longest rail-to-trail in the United States. Flint Hills Trail […]
Restoring full $8 million for Kansas water programs harder than turning a faucet
Revision of Kansas tax revenue estimates in November will offer clue as to whether State Water Plan budget cut can be reversed by Legislature, governor.
Gov. Laura Kelly, Invenergy outline economic jolt of electric transmission project
Gov. Laura Kelly, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers tout potential of Invenergy's plan for transmission line to carry Kansas wind power to the east.
KU, Haskell and K-State to collaborate on $6 million intermittent stream research project
KSU, Haskell and KU in Kansas will collaborate on $6 million, four-year NSF research project on water-quality issues of intermittent streams.
Deal strikes balance between Quivira Wildlife Refuge, agriculture producers
Officials say a new agreement benefits both a national wildlife refuge and local agriculture producers in central Kansas, and it involves the extraction of several invasive plant species in the area along with water augmentation for a local creek. Water usage at the 22,135-acre Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Stafford, Rice and Reno counties has […]