TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
BY JASON SHRAAD
editor@kansan.com
SPECIAL TO THE KANSAN
More fishing can mean more money, merchandise
When Mike Folkmann and his dad went fishing at Clinton Reservoir last summer, they never expected to catch a fish with a reward attached to it. But when Mike's dad, Keith, unhooked a fish from his pole, he noticed the word "Reward" on a tag fastened to the fish's side.
Folkmann, Lawrence junior,
said he had heard about tagged
fish before, but he and his dad
had never caught one.
"We were just kind of like
"woo hoo, a tagged one," Folkmann said.
Folkmann and other people who fish are reaping the benefits of a program designed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to promote communication between fishermen and the department. The department is tagging 300 crappies at Clinton Reservoir this fall with tags worth $5, $20 or $100 in cash, or merchandise, said Tom Mosher, fisheries research coordinator for the department.
and instructional information printed on them. The markers are similar to nylon ties that attach price tags to clothes. People qualify for a reward by returning the tag and an informational report card about how the fish was caught to the department.
The yellow tags, which are attached adjacent to the fish's dorsal fin, have the word "Reward"
ulation was doing fairly well.
Folkmann said he and his father returned the tag and card and received a hat.
The information from the report cards helps biologists determine when and where fish are caught, and how many fish people catch and harvest. Biologists then use this information to research whether the fish population is being exploited. Mosher said the research indicated that this was not the case and the crappie pop-
"I've caught about three tagged fish in the last year," Suitt said. "I've always got a hat or a T-shirt."
Mosher said the department has awarded $3,600 so far for returned tags and report cards.
Mike Suitt, a retired Lawrence resident, said he went fishing almost everyday.
Scott Campbell, a research associate with Kansas Biological Survey, located on West Campus, said reward incentives were the key to the program's success.
"I know that voluntary surveys sometimes are not very effective. But if you provide fishermen with affordable incentives to report information back to the department, it becomes very useful," Campbell said.
Mosher said the money was well spent because it provided the department with a method of research not otherwise available.
"Anglers are reporting what they catch on hook and line, and how many fish and the sizes they are willing to keep." Mosher said. "A biologist cannot duplicate the effort or desires exerted by hundreds of anglers."
Besides gaining research information, the program improved general communication between fishermen and department officials, said Jerry Schecher, Clinton State Park manager. Schecher said fishermen knew the program would improve lake management and were more willing to share their views if they were already filling out a card.
"They feel more included in the management of the lakes they fish," Schecher said. "They are more satisfied to be involved in the process."
Edited by Steve Vockrodt
TUITION: Decision contingent on student input
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
The $30-per-credit-hour fee would then be permanent for the next 20 years, bringing in an estimated $12 to $13 million per year.
The extra money would render a newly renovated Wescoe Hall, a new Natural Sciences building, enclosed catwalks, more faculty offices and various building renovations across campus.
Wilcox and others have been holding public meetings to talk to various student and department groups about the proposal throughout the semester.
"I am pleased by the quality of discussions we're having in the college," he said. "We see this as just the beginning."
CLAS PUBLIC MEETINGS
The meetings remaining this semester are open to the public but held at group meetings;
5:30-6:30 p.m. tomorrow for the Undergraduate Math Club in 406 Snow Hall
"We are not going to make a decision right away," he said.
"We want to make the decision when the whole student body is here and active."
Even with the meetings so far, some students said they were uninformed about the details of the proposal.
"I didn't even know about it," said Ian Coday, Elsmore junior.
3:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, for the University Council in 109 Blake Hall
Coday said he probably would have gone to at least one of the
5-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, for the Center for Community Outreach at the Pine Room in the Kansas Union
7-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, for Ellsworth Residence Hall in the third floor lobby
8-9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, for the Biology Club in 2031
Haworth Hall
1:15-2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, for women's studies in 213A.
Bailey Hall
3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, for faculty and GTAs in humanities & western civilization in 315 Bailey Hall
5:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8, for theater & film students (location TBA)
4:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec 9, for political science, linguistics and public administration in 206 Blake Hall
1:30 a.m. -1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, for theater & film faculty at the Belays Room in the Burge Union
Source: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
meetings so far this semester if it had been advertised.
Coday also said that he might not have gone to the meetings because he thought the administration was going to do what they wanted to anyway.
"Students often say they're not listened to, and Dean Wilecox and others are trying to overcome
Whether students approve the proposal, the process has specifically included student input and discussion. Bentley said.
that," said Jason Bendley, Olathe junior and CLAS College Assembly member.
HELLIKER: Alarming findings keep him going
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Report of Kansas City. For the past 15 years, he has been at The Wall Street Journal.
In September 2002, Helliker was stunned to discover after a scanning of his chest that he had an nortic aneurysm.
"I had thought an aeurysm was an event," he said.
Nobody dies because of the aortic aneurysm; it's just a bulge in the artery vessels because of weakening tissue, he said. But when the vessel ruptures, people die within seconds.
turned up dozens of cases of medical mishandlings of aortic aneurysms, earned him and fellow Wall Street Journal reporter Thomas M. Burton the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.
Helliker said he searched the Internet to find out more about his diagnosis but only found obituaries.
Most doctors rarely told their patients about aneurysms, he said. He found that aneurysms killed roughly 32,000 people per year and the abdominal aortic aneurysm was the nation's 13thleading cause of death.
Armed with knowledge and a personal connection to the problem, Helliker said he embarked on reporting on a 10-story series about aneurysms and the lack of prevention. The series, which
Winning the Pulitzer was overwhelming for Helliker, who said he had spent months telling himself he wasn't going to get it. But the most rewarding was the response.
"The really gratifying part was seeing how many people remembered who I was," he said.
Edited by Johanna M. Maska
ACCIDENT: Father says he learned from son
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
14-year-old brother, Steve, play baseball, his dad said.
as an easy-going, funny and friendly person.
Friends described Fulbright
He was a sophomore by hours and often had to cut back on classes in order to pay for tuition, his dad said. Fulbright studied business but wasn't sure what he wanted to do for a career. He worked at Best Buy in Lawrence and at the Student Fitness Recreation Center as an official for volleyball and floor tennis.
Fulbright's sense of humor was what Brooke Westfall, Olathe sophomore and his best friend's girlfriend, noticed when she met him. "He cared a lot about other people," Westfall said.
Fulbright's dad said he probably learned more from his son than his son had learned from him. Most of all, his father misses his uplifting attitude.
Fulbright maintained a good attitude even when things weren't going well, and he always had a smile on his face, his dad said.
"He was a better man than I," his dad said.
Visitation for Fulbright will be from 6 to 8 tonight at Lenexa Christian Center, 17500 W. 87th St., in Lenexa. Services will be tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the same location.
Fulbright is survived by his father, his mother, Angie, and his brother, Steve.
Edited by Johanna M. Maska
6.