Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission to hold Lands and Wildlife Committee meeting Nov. 4, 2026

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 28, 2026) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a Lands and Wildlife Committee meeting at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.

The committee meeting will take place in the Camp Kentucky Afield lodge at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Green River Lake campus near Campbellsville, Kentucky, and it is open to the public. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Green River campus is located at 244 Kentahten Trail, Campbellsville, KY 42718. The main entrance is located off State Park Rd., approximately 1 ¼ miles east of Lone Valley Rd.

At its Oct. 14, 2026, special-called meeting, the commission established three new committees, including the Lands and Wildlife Committee, the Enforcement, Boating and Fisheries Committee, and the Licensing, Operations and Public Outreach Committee. These committees will give the board more opportunity to further evaluate and discuss items of business pertinent to the operations of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Committees will only discuss items that have been approved and assigned to the committee by the full commission. There will be no discussion of items not on the assigned agenda.

The Lands and Wildlife Committee is comprised of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission members Jay Smith (Chair), Josh Cummins and Walter Robertson. Members of the Lands and Wildlife Committee will participate in the meeting in-person.

The committee was assigned several agenda items including:

• Adjustment of Deer Modern Gun Quota Hunts on WMAs
  • Amend 301 KAR 2:178 - Deer hunting on public properties.
  • Move the modern gun quota hunts from the first weekend in November to the second weekend in November.
    

• Modifications to Deer Hunting on Public Lands
  • Amend 301 KAR 2:178 - Deer hunting on public properties.
  • Prohibit the use of handheld thermal imagers for taking white-tailed deer on wildlife management areas (WMAs) statewide;
  • Blue Grass Army Depot: remove 15-inch minimum outside spread rule on antlered deer for youth hunters;
  • Bluegrass Station: add to military installation list to facilitate future management and hunts;
  • Fishtrap Lake WMA: remove quota hunt and allow take under statewide regulations
  • Grayson Lake WMA: remove quota hunt and allow take under statewide regulations;
  • Green River Lake WMA: create a new archery quota hunt for the Smith Ridge Campground in Taylor County which is currently closed to hunting;
  • Twin Knobs and Zilpo recreation areas: remove mobility impaired firearms quota hunt and change location to Camp Webb.
    

• Modifications to Deer Hunting Seasons
  • Amend 301 KAR 2:172 - Deer hunting seasons, zones, and requirements.
  • Start archery season on Sept. 1 annually;
  • Allow concurrent use of crossbows during the entire archery deer season for residents only;
    • Non-residents may only use crossbows during current crossbow season dates that opens the third Saturday in September;
  • Allow single projectile shotgun (i.e., slug) use during both muzzleloader seasons;
  • Change deer hunting zone designation from a 4 to a 3 for the following counties: Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Knott, Knox, Lee, Leslie, Magoffin, Owsley, Perry and Whitley counties.​
    

• Modify Additional Deer Permit
  • Amend 301 KAR 2:172- Deer hunting seasons, zones, and requirements.
  • Change additional deer permit allowance from two deer per permit to unlimited antlerless deer per permit;
  • Change to be only valid in Zone 1 counties;
  • Price to be the same as current additional deer permit.

The public may provide in-person comments for up to 3 minutes about each item on the meeting agenda following the introduction of each topic, time permitting and at the discretion of the committee chair. The public may also provide comments by sending an email to FWPublicComments@ky.gov (please note updated email address) by 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. Along with their comments, commenters should include “Lands and Wildlife Committee meeting” in the subject line and provide their first name and last name, county and state of residence, and organization represented with position held in the organization (such as office held, board member, or general dues member), if applicable. Emailed comments or a summary thereof may also be read during the public comments allotted time for each agenda item, time permitting and at the discretion of the committee chair. More information about submitting public comments is available on the department’s Commission Meeting Format webpage.

The Oct. 14, 2026, special-called meeting agenda may be found on the department’s Commission Meeting Dates webpage online at fw.ky.gov or search “Commission meeting dates” on the homepage.

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 of the full commission will be held Dec. 2, 2026, in Frankfort, Kentucky.

This notice is intended solely to advise the public of the meeting. The official agenda controls the matters to be considered by the Commission, and any description contained in this notice should not be construed as modifying, supplementing or superseding the agenda.​