PRATT – The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission will hold a virtual public meeting on August 5, 2021. The public is invited to attend the afternoon and evening sessions virtually via Zoom, during which time participants will be able to ask questions and address the Commission. Time is set aside at the beginning of both sessions for comments on items not included in the meeting agenda. For specific instructions on how to participate virtually, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission/Instructions-to-Participate-in-Virtual-Meeting. To watch live video/audio stream of the meeting, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission/Watch-Meetings-Here.
Items to be discussed by commissioners during the afternoon and evening sessions include:
General Discussion
- Big game regulations concerning tagging, transport, legal equipment, management units, application procedures, and permit descriptions will be open for discussion; No changes are currently being proposed. Deer seasons for 2022 will also be discussed with proposed dates following that traditional structure.
- Commissioners will also hear a presentation on Kansas’ R3 (recruit, retain and reactivate) Action Plan, which is still under development and will provide a roadmap for the Department to attract and maintain outdoor participants with an emphasis on the hunting, fishing and shooting sports. An update on the Community Fisheries Assistance Program will inform commissioners on the status of the program that ensures community-owned lakes are open to fishing with no additional angler fees. And commissioners will learn about the Interactive Walk-in Hunting Access, or iWIHA, program that is providing access to hunters in more urban areas while limiting hunting pressure through an electronic check-in system.
Workshop Session
- Updates to personal floatation device (PFD) regulations will be discussed, including a proposal for new PFD type designations that are consistent with current U.S. Coast Guard designations. All serviceable PFDs currently in possession will continue to be legal, but any new PFDs will include updated labeling.
- KDWP staff will present data from the 2021 turkey seasons and begin discussion on the 2022 spring and fall turkey seasons, including season dates, bag limits, legal equipment and taking methods. Proposed season dates for 2022 spring and fall seasons will follow the structure of past seasons. Raising the minimum age for participation in the spring youth season to 17 will be proposed to maintain consistency with other youth seasons.
- And, staff will recommend allowing the use of a shot-shooting handgun with a minimum barrel length of 10 inches for legal equipment during spring and fall seasons.
The Commission will recess at 5 p.m. and reconvene at 6:30 p.m. to continue the Workshop Session. - Fisheries staff will present proposals to change select length and creel limits for 2022, and an amendment to the bait regulations that would add Asian carp, skipjack herring, emerald shiners and threadfin shad to the list of dead species that may be sold commercially for fishing bait.
- There are no regulations scheduled for a commission vote at this time, so a Public Hearing will not be conducted during the August 5, 2021 meeting.
The Deer Permit Quota/Management Session, originally scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., has been postponed to a later date. - To view the August 5, 2021 meeting agenda and briefing book, visit https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission/Meeting-Schedule/August-5-2021. An interpreter for the hearing impaired can be requested by calling the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 1-800-432-0698. Any individual with a disability may request other accommodations by contacting the Commission secretary at (620) 672-5911.
- The next KDWP Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 23, 2021, at the Rolling Hills Electric Cooperative in Beloit.
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