Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission quarterly meeting recap Sept. 4, 2026

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 13, 2026) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to recommend amendments to several fishing, hunting and wildlife regulations and conducted other business in a Sept. 4, 2026, regular meeting as presented in the detailed agenda of the Sept. 4 meeting. The commission members met in person.

Prior to the official start of the meeting, the commission received an informational update about the East Kentucky Habitat Initiative, a department initiative to improve grasslands habitat and habitat diversity for elk and other wildlife on former mining properties in Eastern Kentucky.

In addition to approving the commission meeting minutes from June 12, 2026, the commission members considered several action items. If approved by the commission, proposed regulatory changes are filed with the Legislative Research Commission to be reviewed and considered for approval. After filing, proposed administrative regulation changes are generally subject to a process that may extend over six to nine months. The public can follow legislative developments on these regulations at Title 301 • Kentucky Administrative Regulations • Legislative Research Commission.

The commission approved the following action items, which require legislative approval before they can take effect:

• Amend 301 KAR 1:146 – Commercial Fishing Gear to modify regulations to allow hoop nets and seines for the harvest of invasive carp.
• Add hoop nets and seines with construction and method specifications as a legal commercial fishing gear for invasive carp;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 1:152 – Harvest and Sale of Invasive Carp to modify regulations regarding the harvest of invasive carp.
• Recommend the following changes to the Invasive Carp and Scaled Rough Fish Harvest Program:
• Add reporting of the timeframe of when fishing activities will occur and the commercial fishing gear to be employed to the required call-in information;
• Increase harvest ratio of invasive carp to scaled rough fish from 65/35 to 75/25;
• Recommend eliminating the waiver of commercial fishing license fees for invasive carp only harvest;
• Include hoop net and seine with construction specifications as allowable commercial fishing gear in the Invasive Carp and Scaled Rough Fish Harvest Program and provide methods requirements;
• Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to update list of program participants monthly instead of weekly;
• Recommend the following changes to the Experimental Commercial Fishing Methods Program:
• Expand the program to any Kentucky waterbody open to commercial fishing per 301 KAR 1:150 – Waters Open to Commercial Fishing;
• Require Experimental Commercial Fishing Methods Permit within 30 days of selection for the program or else the selection is nullified and the permit forfeited;
• Add language that upon selection there is a required minimum participation of five experimentation days in the license year or else they are ineligible for the Experimental Commercial Fishing Methods Program the following year;
• Clarify that suspended commercial fishers are ineligible to be unlicensed helpers in either program;
• Remove requirement for daily harvest summary card in either program and require additional data to be reported on monthly commercial fishing report;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 1:155 – Commercial Fishing Requirements to modify regulations pertaining to commercial fishing harvest reporting and overharvest protections.
• Clarify the definition of a hoop net;
• Modify regulations and documents incorporated by reference to allow for transition to online application for commercial fishing licenses and permits and reporting of commercial fishing harvest;
• Strengthen the penalties for non-reporting of commercial fish harvest:
• 1^st Offense: currently - courtesy letter; proposed – warning letter;
• 2^nd Offense: currently – warning letter; proposed – 3-month suspension;
• 3^rd Offense: currently – suspended until all harvest reported; proposed – 1-year suspension;
• Clarify language that convictions of either a federal commercial fishing violation or convictions of the listed state commercial fishing violations are subject to a revocation of the commercial fishing license for 2 years;
• Add the following to list of convictions requiring suspension of commercial fishing licenses:
• Violation of any size or daily limit for the third time;
• Violation of harvesting fish out of season;
• Violation of fishing in any closed waters;
• Except for invasive carp and scaled rough fish, all other fish harvested by commercial fishing license holders must stay in the vessel or attached to the vessel until offloaded once off the water;
• Clarify Lower Ohio River Trophy Catfish harvest permit program eligibility language:
• Must harvest 10,000 pounds of catfish from the mainstem of the Ohio River;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 1:201 – Taking of Fish by Traditional Fishing Methods to add Burley Mathis Memorial Lake in Carlisle County to the Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) Program.
• Add Burley Mathis Memorial Lake to the Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) Program. It is a 5.7-acre lake owned by Carlisle County. It would be added to the “List of Special Lakes and Ponds" that is material incorporated by reference and thus would be managed under FINs Program regulations;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 3:160 – Reciprocal Agreements Regarding Fishing and Hunting to establish a fishing reciprocal agreement with Virginia for the Russell Fork River.
• Establish a reciprocal agreement with Virginia for the Russell Fork River;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 3:010 – Public Use of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), amend 301 KAR 5:022 – License, Tag, Registration, and Permit Fees, and amend 301 KAR 2:049 – Small Game and Furbearer Hunting and Trapping on Public Areas to establish an annual, weekly and one-day dog training permit issued by the department and evaluate and designate tract(s) as Dog Training Area(s) at West Kentucky WMA.
• Require a Dog Training Permit (annual, weekly, one-day) for all trainers at West Kentucky WMA;
• Require a per-day fee for groups that hold a valid WMA Use Permit for a sporting dog or associated event at West Kentucky WMA;
• Exempt participants from the Dog Training Permit when participating in a department-authorized event approved through the WMA Use Permit;
• Establish that unleashed dogs shall be allowed within the boundaries of a designated dog training area year-round, except for one week prior to Sep. 1 through the first weekend of mourning dove season, youth statewide turkey season, opening weekend of statewide turkey season, and, if applicable, WMA deer quota hunts;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity. 

• Amend 301 KAR 2:221 – Waterfowl Seasons and Limits to change the special youth waterfowl season and the special veterans and active military personnel waterfowl season dates to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in February.
• Change the Special Youth Waterfowl Season dates from the Saturday before Thanksgiving and the second Saturday in February to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in February;
• Change the Special Veterans and active Military Personnel Waterfowl Season from the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the second Sunday in February to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in February;
• Clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity.
  

In addition, the commission voted to establish a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission committee meeting structure, including committee purpose, oversight and responsibilities. Committees will be determined and organized per this decision at a future meeting.

The commission also voted to award 2027 Special Commission Permits for black bear, deer, turkey, elk and waterfowl to qualifying nonprofit organizations for fundraising to support projects in Kentucky. The recipients are posted on the department's website at Special Commission Permits Awarded 2026.

Finally, commission members voted to move forward with the acquisition of one unnamed property following discussion in closed session. The commission also heard discussion items that will be considered further at its next quarterly meeting in September.

The meeting was livestreamed on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources' YouTube channel, where a replay of the Sept. 4, 2026, meeting is available for viewing.

Business items on the commission's meeting agenda that include proposed changes to regulations typically follow a three-step process at successive quarterly meetings, with items introduced first as new business, then proceeding for further discussion, and finally appearing as action items (at the commission's discretion). This general stepwise process allows for adequate time for public awareness and comment on proposed regulatory changes. Agendas for commission meetings are posted at fw.ky.gov in advance of the meeting dates, and details about meeting logistics and submitting public comments are included therein.

Individuals or organizations may contact their district representative on the commission about any pertinent topic of concern. Contact information is available on Kentucky Fish and Wildlife's district commission members webpage. Procedures for submitting public comments about current business items via email or in person are outlined in the agenda for each meeting, which is generally posted on the agency's website one to two weeks before the meeting date.

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member board comprised of volunteers who serve four-year terms, recommends hunting, fishing and boating regulations on behalf of the anglers, hunters and other wildlife-related stakeholders in the commonwealth. Any recommendation by the commission to amend or create a state administrative regulation must receive legislative approval before becoming law. Both proposed and recently enacted amendments are posted on the department's Administrative Regulations webpage.

Following a special-called commission meeting on Oct. 14, the next quarterly commission meeting will be held in December 2026, in Frankfort, Ky. An agenda and meeting location will be posted on the Commission Meeting Dates webpage on the department's website at fw.ky.gov when available.