Fish and Wildlife Commission to hold meeting September 22, 2023

​​​​​​​​​​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2023) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a meeting at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on Friday, Sept. 22, 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.​​​​

​​​​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:​​​​

• Amend the state administrative regulation 301 KAR 1:150 (Waters open to commercial fishing) to remove water bodies open to commercial fishing that have low use and harvest and define a new upper boundary for waters open to commercial fishing on the Green River.
• Amend the state administrative regulation 301 KAR 1:155 (Commercial fishing requirements) to expand locations with trophy catfish harvest regulations, modify trophy catfish harvest permit regulations downstream of Cannelton Lock and Dam, and fix formatting of material incorporated by reference called, “Monthly Report of Commercial Fish Harvest in Kentucky.”​
• Amend the state administrative regulation 301 KAR 3:030 (Year-round season for wildlife) to remove wild pigs from the list of species with year-round seasons, but still allow landowners incurring damage from wild pigs to retain rights to shoot.
• Amend the state administrative regulations 301 KAR 2:030 (Commercial guide license) and 301 KAR 5:022 (License, tag and permit fees) to clarify the commercial guide definition, create harvest reporting requirements, modify requirements and application for a commer​cial guide license and increase commercial guide license fees.
• Amend the state administrative regulation 301 KAR 3:100 (Special commission permits) as commission members and some recipient conservation organizations have requested the commission reconsider the current requirement in regulation that special commission permits for elk be randomly assigned an elk hunting unit.
  

The Commission also plans to set elk permit numbers for the 2024 season, consider clean-ups to license agent regulations and vote on qualifying non-profit organizations’ applications for 2024 Special Commission Permits for deer, turkey, elk and waterfowl for fundraising to support projects in Kentucky.​​​​

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-per​son 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. (ET) 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 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. (ET) on Sept. 20, 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 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. It recommends hunting, fishing and boating regulations to conserve fish and wildlife and support related outdoor recreation opportunities in the commonwealth.

Following its September meeting, the next quarterly meeting date has tentatively been set for Friday, Dec. 1.

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.​