Land Maps
Shown here is a portion of one of our Association map sheets from the Membership Online Map issue containing around 200 Association published map sheets showing all leased land. This picture is to show some of the conditions to be encountered.
The maps we provide have several navigation aids not found on other maps. They include road quality indicators, bridges, cemeteries and of course lease land locations. These navigation aids are necessary for traveling our country roads that do not have street signs or names.
The common question do we provide GPS coordinates and the answer is no as the variance in receivers and various map programs is too great to put ourselves in a position of getting hunters to the wrong farm. This is a case where the old fashion way, incidentally cheaper for the hunter, is to use paper maps.
The black and white barred roads are paved. The hash marks whether stripes or diagonal flags indicate improved dirt surface or gravel. Two parallel road edge markings without any symbol within them are merely dirt roads that are impassable during wet weather.
Highway intersections, cemeteries and bridges are the most useful landmarks. In addition to using the vehicle's mileage counter.
The solid black small squares indicate houses that are occupied. The hollow small squares are unoccupied buildings such as barns.
Additionally, the maps have 1 mile grids shown as single edge solid black lines. These will help gauge travel distance.
The sample above is just a segment of a single map sheet. Other data on the map sheet contains leased land location identifiers, leased acreage amount, written driving instructions from Kansas City, predominate game species. Between the Association map sheets and the state highway maps anyone requiring more than these resources to find the properties simply does not belong on a do it yourself hunt.
Once arriving at the properties they are posted with the Association's unique posting signs.
Shown below is a sample of just one map sheet. The red blocks and text do not appear on the issued sheet and are used here to show acreage amounts.
The acreage per map sheet varies according to how much we can place on a single 8x11 inch sheet before we shrink it down to where the bifocal generation may begin to have trouble reading it.
All maps are posted to an online password protected web site given to members on successful application for membership. As land contracting is a year round job having the maps on line is the only sure method to ensure all members have access to all the current maps throughout the year. this one benefit does have a consequence as members before each hunt must check the online maps to ensure they are using the most current maps. The Association staff will add and drop between 12,000 and 22,000 acres each year as caused by land sales, changing farming practices, CRP contract changes etc., and while a map sheet may have been edited for as simple a change of 80 acres it may also have had thousands of acres changes.
The last piece of local requirements for the do it yourself hunter is our lodging listing providing a single printable "yellow page" type listing of near by motels, campgrounds, wrecker, veterinarian and meat lockers available near our lease land.
Form our private land, our recommendations of where to hunt for what the hunter is after and our lodging listing we ensure all that hunt with us have a plan long before they leave home.
Sample at 1/2 scale showing how in the central Midwest land is organized into 1x1 mile sections and then sub parts of that section and so are the roads.
