Commission to Hold Quarterly Meeting May 25

​​​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 17, 2023) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a live video teleconference meeting at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on Thursday, May 25, 2023.

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

Members of the commission will participate in the meeting either in person or via video teleconference.

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.

Action items on the agenda include proposals to:

• Change Simpson County to Zone 2 for deer hunting through an amendment to the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 2:172) that establishes deer hunting seasons and zones, bag limits, legal methods of taking, and checking and recording requirements.
• Update and clarify the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:122) that establishes the species of aquatic life that are prohibited in the Commonwealth.
• Amend the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:115) that establishes the requirements and permitting applicable to propagation of aquatic organisms.
• Amend the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:125) that provides for control of the transportation of fish, fish eggs, live bait and other aquatic organisms into, through and within the state to protect the native fish populations.
• Define “gill net” and “trammel net” through an amendment to the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:146) that establishes the legal methods that may be used by commercial fishers to harvest rough fish.
• Define a new lower boundary for existing special regulations for walleye and smallmouth bass on the Barren River due to the imminent removal of Lock and Dam 1, and add an aggregate limit on blue catfish and channel catfish at Yatesville Lake through an amendment to the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:201) that establishes fish size limits, daily creel limits and possession limits for fishing.
• Add special regulations for hand-grabbing of catfish at Yatesville Lake through an amendment to the state administrative regulation (301 KAR 1:410) that establishes the procedures for taking sport and rough fish by nontraditional fishing methods.

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 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 3 minutes total 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 May 23, 2023. 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 3 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 it 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 meeting agenda.

The commission is a nine-member board, comprised of volunteers who serve four-year terms. It recommends hunting, fishing and boating regulations to conserve fish and wildlife and support related outdoor recreation opportunities in the commonwealth.

The May 25 meeting will be the commission’s first since Greg Cecil was sworn in as the 4th District representative on the board. The Munfordville, Kentucky resident is a lifelong sportsman who has a passion for fishing, small game hunting, deer hunting and waterfowl hunting. He is the principal at Hart County High School.

Following its May meeting, the next proposed commission meeting date is Friday, June 16 in Frankfort

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.