Kansas Aquatic Biodiversity Center opens in southeast Kansas

The Kansas Aquatic Biodiversity Center had its grand opening Thursday at the Farlington Fish Hatchery in southeast Kansas.

The opening event marked the culmination of more than 10 years of planning and work on the center, designed to house some of the state’s most imperiled aquatic species, according to a news release from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

The KDWPT will operate the facility with the goal of breeding and reintroducing the state’s most endangered species into areas where their populations have greatly declined because of human activity. The agency says it also will be a holding facility for animals in immediate peril due to a decline in the quality of their habitat.

The KABC will begin breeding more common species in the next few months in order to develop procedures and get the rearing systems up and running before working with more imperiled species. Once they are ready, the staff will begin working with a few select species that the agency determines are in vital need of population restoration.

Robin Jennison, the KDWPT secretary, told Thursday’s crowd that the facility could have a quick impact by raising and releasing aquatic wildlife currently on a threatened or endangered species list. He said it would be vital in restoring species in the case of an environmental disaster, such as a chemical spill, and could house the surviving wildlife during such an event.

KABC manager Dan Mosier noted that the facility, which cost $853,000 to construct, is currently working on a research project concerning alligator snapping turtles with a Missouri university.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment provided more than half of the funding for the facility, largely with funds collected from mitigation agreements with corporations responsible for past ecological disasters.

“KDHE is proud to partner with the KDWPT on this crucial aquatic biodiversity facility. This facility will allow for critical research and production work with species that are in need of conservation,” Leo Henning, director of the KDHE’s environment division, said in a news release.

The Farlington Fish Hatchery is located at 101 Hatchery Road in Farlington, which is below the Crawford State Fishing Lake Dam in Crawford County. The KABC will not be open to the public, but tours may be given by prior arrangement by calling (620) 362-4166.

RATLIFF WINS CLASSIC BRACKET ON MILFORD — Campbellsville University senior Nick Ratliff, 21, battled the elements to pull off the win Thursday at the 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket on Milford Reservoir near Junction City, punching his ticket for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic.

Ratliff held off West Virginia junior Nolan Minor on the third day of the event, posting a bag of 13 pounds, 8 ounces, compared to Minor's 13-4 bag to clinch his berth in the Classic, set for March 15-17 on the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn. Not only did the victory give Ratliff an opportunity of a lifetime to fish in the Bassmaster Classic — the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing — he also won a fully-rigged Toyota Tundra, a Nitro Z20 bass boat and a $7,500 tournament stipend courtesy of Carhartt.