Kansas Journals: February 2013

Once a month the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism distributes this brief newsletter, providing tourism updates from throughout the state of Kansas. Highlights include a title, brief descriptor and a link for more details.   Not all highlights will be of interest to everyone. They are simply intended to entice new story ideas in the areas of agritourism, outdoor, culinary, cultural, history, heritage and more. For more information contact Cathy Kruzic at cathy@kruzic.com or 303-320-6849.

Penguin Landing Set to Open at Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina: Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure has announced plans to bring a traveling exhibit featuring live penguins from April through September of 2013. Penguin Landing will create a unique opportunity for visitors to get up close and personal with African penguins. Guests can also learn about the plight of penguins in the wild, what conservation efforts are currently taking place to preserve their future, and what they can do to help wild penguins. Penguin Landing will be located in the Earl Bane Gallery within the wildlife museum and will initially welcome four young African black-footed Penguins (also known as jack-ass penguins because of their "bray"), from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. For more information contact Vickee Spicer, vickee@rollinghillswildlife.com.  

Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever Raise over $10 Million for Kansas Upland Birds through Grassroots Conservation Campaign: Pheasants Forever (PF) is proud to announce the results generated by the Kansas Grassroots Conservation Campaign. During the past three years, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever and the organizations' partners exceeded expectations by raising more than $10 million for Kansas' upland hunting tradition. Recent Kansas milestones generated by the campaign include positive impacts on over 500,000 habitat acres, significantly increased Outdoor Youth Mentoring opportunities, and assistance in hosting more than 115 Landowner Habitat Workshops across the state. The long-term objective of the Kansas Grassroots Conservation Campaign is to positively impact more than 1 million acres of Kansas habitat. For more information on grassroots initiatives and improvements contact Jordan Martincich, (785) 242-3175.

Wakarusa Brewery to Open in Eudora, KS: Kansas adds another gem to its long list of home-grown products with the scheduled opening of Wakarusa Brewery in Eudora in November, 2013. The Wakarusa Brewery will offer a few flagship beers with a mix of crafted seasonals, including ales, pale ales, stouts and IPAS and an occasional dry hard cider. To learn more about the brewers and track progress on the project visit http://wakarusabrewery.com/. 

For more information on the entire state of Kansas, visit www.TravelKS.com.