Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission

Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Commission Meetings

Kentucky's Fish and Wildlife Commission (board) meets quarterly in Frankfort to help provide oversight of the department and guide the development of the state's regulations on hunting, fishing, boating and related matters. The Commission consists of 9 members representing a geographic district comprising several counties.

As vacancies on the 9-member Commission arise, the vacancies are filled through a multi-step process. First, the department holds public nomination meetings for qualified hunters and anglers to nominate prospective members of the Commission. Second, Kentucky's governor appoints one of the nominees from the list generated at the public nomination meeting. Third, the Kentucky Senate reviews the nomination for potential confirmation to serve on the commission. More information about the purpose and functions of the Commission and the eligibility of hunters and anglers to participate follows below.

In the fall of 2024, the department is holding nomination meetings to fill three seats on the Commission for service beginning in 2025. This is your opportunity to nominate, vote if more than five nominations are received, or be nominated to potentially serve on this important nine-member board.

The nomination meetings for 2024 include:

Commission Nomination Graphic Credit Reaves

Commission District 1

Date: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
Time: 7:30 p.m. Central Time (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location: Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, 166 Upper Village Drive, Gilbertsville, KY 42044.
Resident Counties: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, and Trigg counties.

Commission District 5

Date: Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location: Boone County Enrichment Center (across from the Boone County Extension Office), 1824 Patrick Drive, Burlington, KY 41005.
Resident Counties: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson and Trimble counties.

Commission District 6

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
Location: Madison County Public Library, 507 West Main Street, Richmond, KY 40475.
Resident Counties: Anderson, Boyle, Casey, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Jessamine, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Powell, Rockcastle, Scott and Woodford counties.

Doors open at 6:00 pm local time, and the meetings begin promptly at 7:30 pm local time.

Next Quarterly Commission Meeting

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2026
8:30 a.m. EDT

Previous meeting videos, minutes, and agendas available on our Commission Meeting Dates page.

Commission

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission is nine-member board, comprised of volunteers who serve four-year terms after being nominated by licensed hunters and anglers, appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Kentucky Senate.

Per statute, the Commission “shall at all times keep a watchful eye upon the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and advise the Commissioner to take such action as may be beneficial to the department and in the interest of wildlife and conservation of natural resources.”

Commission members are governed by Kentucky statutes and regulations pertaining to boards and commissions, and are accountable to the hunters and anglers in their districts. Commission members seek to be responsive to their constituents and represent the interests of all the sportspersons in their districts. They communicate with stakeholders, relay vetted requests for changes to regulations or statutes to the Commission body, and make recommendations to the Commissioner.

The members of the Commission are required by law to meet in Frankfort, quarterly, or as often as may be necessary for the transaction of business. These meetings are announced on the department’s website under the Quick Links on the left-hand side of the page. At its January 2020 meeting, the Commission announced a new meeting format to make meetings more efficient, reduce costs and increase opportunities for public input.

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Appointment of Commission Members

No later than 30 days before the expiration of a Commission member’s term on Dec. 31, the Commissioner shall select the time and place for a public meeting in that Commission district to select up to 5 nominees to submit to the Governor. The location of this meeting is within the district of the member whose term will be expiring.

New in 2026: Pursuant to KRS 150.022 and 301 KAR 11:002, to be nominated for a seat on the Fish and Wildlife Commision, an individual must:

Complete an application and submit it to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife so that it is received at least fifteen (15) days prior to the nomination meeting for your district. The application must provide the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources with information set out in KRS 150.022. The application must be notarized.
The Department-developed application is available for download here, or a hard copy may be requested by contacting the Department by mail or in person at 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, or by telephone at 502-564-3400.
Completed and notarized applications may be submitted via email to FW.PublicAffairs@ky.gov or physical copies may be delivered to 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.
Eligible nominees must be a current resident of the district; not be a convicted felon; for at least the previous five consecutive years (not including the current license year) held both a hunting and fishing license in Kentucky; be well informed about wildlife conservation and restoration; and be either an experienced hunter, angler, trapper or biologist. Note that legal participation while license exempt no longer meets the requirements to qualify as a sportsman or sportswoman.
Attend the nomination meeting in person.
Be nominated during the nomination meeting. Any individual who is present at the nomination meeting and a sportsman or sportswoman of the district (including the applicant themselves) may nominate an applicant by verbally announcing the nomination when called to do so and completing the nominator form during the meeting. To be a sportsman or sportswoman of the district, the individual must be a citizen and resident of the district and have held a Kentucky hunting, trapping, or fishing license in each of the two previous license years (not including the current license year).
Accept the nomination by completing the nominee form required during the meeting.
Be one of the top five vote recipients if more than five qualified individuals are nominated. If less than five individuals are nominated, no vote will take place and the names of all nominees will be submitted to the Governor.

The names of up to 5 nominees (those receiving the highest vote totals in the event of more than 5 nominees) are submitted to the Governor, along with a current resume for each nominee, and the Governor shall appoint one from the names submitted. After receiving the list of nominees, the Governor shall appoint a successor no later than Jan. 20. Appointees are then subject to Senate confirmation during the applicable legislative session.

The Commission member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years subject to confirmation by the Senate. Each of the members shall be appointed for a term ending on Dec. 31 of the fourth calendar year following his or her appointment, except that a member’s term can continue until his or her successor is duly appointed and confirmed by the Senate, but no later than 1 year following the expiration of the member’s term. If after 1 year a successor has not been duly appointed and confirmed by the Senate, the commission member’s seat for that district shall be vacant until a successor is duly appointed and confirmed by the Senate. A member shall serve no more than 2 full terms, not including any partial term that a member may additionally serve.

For complete details of the statutes and regulations pertaining to the office of Commission member, please refer to KRS 150.022; KRS 150:023; KRS 150.170 and 301 KAR 4:001.

Meeting Format

At its January 2020 meeting, the Commission announced a meeting format that will make meetings more efficient, reduce costs and increase opportunities for public input. Previously, committees comprised of a few members each met during the months preceding the quarterly meetings, and often recommended regulation changes for vote the following month. The newer format includes a 3-step process wherein proposed regulation changes are typically introduced at one meeting as new business items, then become discussion items at the next meeting, and then may be voted on for promulgation as action items at the subsequent meeting. This allows 6 months or more for raising public awareness and garnering stakeholder input, as well as affording more time for research by staff and Commission members on proposed changes. For more information about this meeting format click here.