Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission to hold quarterly meeting May 21 in Frankfort

​FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 14, 2025) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a meeting starting at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.​​

The meeting will take place in the Administration Building on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources campus in Frankfort, and it is open to the public.​​

The meeting will be livestreamed and archived on the department’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/FishandWildlifeKY. A link to the livestream will be posted on the department’s homepage at fw.ky.gov before the start of the meeting.​​

​​The commission will receive informational updates on the spring 2025 turkey season, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and recommendations for the 2025-2026 deer season, and the department’s Black Bass Genetics and Thoroughbred Bass program. A quarterly financial update will also be presented.

Among the Action Items on the commission’s meeting agenda is a boating-related proposal to create definitions and regulations to define the waterbodies where wakesports will be allowed (301 KAR 6:001 and 301 KAR 6:030), as well as a fishing-related item to consider a request to stock first generation hybrid bass (F1), offspring from a cross-breeding of Florida Bass and Largemouth Bass, in Paintsville Lake in eastern Kentucky. ​​

The commission will consider proposed changes to 301 KAR 2:176 to better address regulations regarding wildlife causing damage to property, as well as a proposal to amend 301 KAR 3:120 to allow take of deer by licensed nuisance wildlife control operators. Commission members will also consider changes to the permitting and related provisions in regulation pertaining to wildlife rehabilitators (301 KAR 2:075).​​

​​Hunting-related Action Items on the agenda include: updates to a license purchasing regulation to use current terminology or clarify other unclear or outdated provisions (301 KAR 5:030); modifications to furbearer hunting and trapping seasons (301 KAR 2:251); and updates to deer zones for selected counties where deer densities have increased (301 KAR 2:172).

​​The commission will also consider several updates or additions to deer hunting on Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), state parks, other public lands and federally controlled areas (301 KAR 2:178), including increasing hunting opportunities and simplifying quota hunts on selected WMAs; adding language to specify that hunting access on public lands may be controlled by signage as needed; adding recently acquired properties to the regulation; revising language to allow the Kentucky Department of Parks to conduct deer quota hunts as desired within the statewide deer season framework; and adjusting hunting provisions at Green River National Wildlife Refuge, Grayson Lake WMA and West Kentucky WMA.

The commission may also take action on a proposal to transfer the deed of the Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area from the department to Meade County Fiscal Court to better provide the public with some of the historic recreational opportunities allowed there, while still maintaining public fishing and hunting access in partnership with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. If approved, the department would retain about 40 acres that encompasses the public shooting ranges, and would continue to manage the rifle, pistol and archery target shooting facilities at the site.​​

​​Finally, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife is seeking the commission’s approval to conduct an elk research project in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF). The study will evaluate the efficacy of habitat work for improving the nutritional value of forage within Kentucky’s 16-county elk zone in southeastern Kentucky. The research would be funded 100% by RMEF and would not require department funding, except for staff time while working on the project.

​​Several Discussion Items and New Business Items will also be presented, but action on those items is anticipated at future meetings of the commission.

The full meeting agenda can be found at fw.ky.gov. On the homepage, click on the “Commission Meetings/Agendas and Recaps” link.​​

​​Public comments for the meeting will be handled as follows:

​​In Person:

• In-person attendees who would like to comment on “New Business Items” or “Discussion Items" on the agenda will be asked to sign up on the public comment request form on the table at the meeting room entrance by 9 a.m. (EDT) on the day of the meeting, and specify their county and state of residence, organization represented and position held if applicable, and the specific agenda items they intend to address in their comments.
• During the “Public Comments" time on the agenda, attendees who have signed up to comment will each have up to three minutes (total time per person) to offer comments about the “New Business” or “Discussion Items” that they have specified to address on the sign-up sheet.

​​Email:

• People may email comments about “New Business Items” and “Discussion Items" on the agenda to FW.PublicAffairs@ky.gov through 5 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 19, 2025. Please include “commission meeting" in the email's subject line. In the email, commenters should include their first and last name, county and state of residence, and organization represented with position held in the organization, if applicable.
• Emailed comments will be distributed to all commission members at least 24 hours prior to the meeting for their review individually. Time permitting and at the discretion of the commission chair, emailed comments will be read by department staff for up to three minutes total per commenter during the “Public Comments" time on the agenda, provided the commenter does not speak during the public comments time during the meeting.
• Anonymous comments submitted via email will be distributed to the commission members but may not be read during the meeting
• The commission will review all emailed comments, and questions will receive an email response.
• Contact information is not required for emailed comments but will be necessary if information is requested, and other than name and affiliation that information will not be publicly disclosed if provided.
• The commission chair reserves the right to not read publicly or allow any comments that are considered libelous, profane, derogatory of others, repetitive or not relevant to the new business or discussion items on the meeting agenda.

​​The commission is a nine-member board, comprised of volunteers who serve four-year terms. Commission members are nominated by active hunters and anglers at public meetings, appointed by the governor, and confirmed by the Kentucky Senate. The commission recommends hunting, fishing and boating regulations to conserve fish and wildlife and support related outdoor recreation opportunities in the commonwealth.

The next quarterly meeting date following the May meeting is to be determined.​​

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's main campus is located at 1 Sportsman's Lane (formerly 1 Game Farm Road) in Frankfort​, and its Administration Building is a large, two-story brick building about ½ mile north of the campus entrance. The entrance is located off U.S. 60, approximately 1½ miles west of U.S. 127.​​​​