Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission to hold quarterly meeting March 20 at Salato Wildlife Education Center

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 13, 2026) — The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a meeting starting at 8:30 a.m. (EDT) on Friday, March 20, 2026.

The meeting will take place in the Schaaf Room at the Salato Wildlife Education Center 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 to the top of the department’s homepage at fw.ky.gov before the start of the meeting.

Among the Action Items on the meeting agenda that the commission will consider are:

• Approve the minutes from the Dec. 5, 2025, quarterly commission meeting.
• Promulgate new regulations under 301 KAR Chapter 11 - Administrative to provide transparency in purchasing policies; itemize procurement procedures, contracts and other related administrative services policies; and clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity.
• Amend 301 KAR 2:144 - Fall wild turkey hunting to remove hens from legal take during fall archery season and fall crossbow season and clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity.
• Amend 301 KAR 2:142 - Spring wild turkey hunting to remove bearded hens from legal take during spring turkey season and clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity.
• Amend 301 KAR 2:300 - Black bear seasons and requirements to remove the physical check requirement for harvested bears and require hunters to submit a tooth of any harvested bear to the department, expand the chase-only season beginning the day after spring turkey season through the end of September, prohibit bear chase on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) within the elk hunting zone during the month of September to not conflict with elk archery and gun seasons, expand archery and modern gun seasons in Bear Zone 1 to run a full five days for each season, establish a youth-only bear season opening the second Saturday in October and running two days in Bear Zones 1, 2 and 3, and clean up any other regulations as necessary for conformity.

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

The full meeting agenda can be found on the department’s Commission Meeting Dates webpage on our website at fw.ky.gov or search “Commission meeting dates” on the homepage.

The public may provide in-person comments for up to three minutes about New Business Items and Discussion Items on the meeting agenda during the Public Comments portion of the meeting, time permitting and at the discretion of the commission chair. The public may also provide comments by sending an email to FW.PublicAffairs@ky.gov by 5 p.m. (EDT) on Wednesday, March 17, 2026. Along with their comments, commenters should include “commission 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, if applicable. Emailed comments or a summary thereof may also be read during the Public Comments portion of the meeting. More information about submitting public comments is available on the department’s Commission Meeting Format webpage.

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 March meeting is to be determined.

The Salato Wildlife Education Center is located on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife main campus at 1 Sportsman's Lane (formerly 1 Game Farm Road) in Frankfort, and the center is a one-story building located at the end of the drive. The main entrance is located off U.S. 60, approximately 1½ miles west of U.S. 127.