Changes effective Jan. 1, 2008, also include deer permit changes
COLBY -- The Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission has approved a reduction in fees for youth big game, turkey, and paddlefish permits. The commission took the action at a public hearing in Colby Oct. 18.

Effective Jan. 1, 2008, permit fees for youth 15 and younger will be reduced to half the current price. Affected permits include the following general resident youth permits:

• either-sex elk permit -- $125;
• antlerless-only Elk permit -- $50;
• deer permit -- $15;
• antlerless-only Deer permit -- $7.50;
• antelope permit -- $20;
• turkey permit -- $10; and
• paddlefish permit -- $5.

“This is just one more step we’re taking to remove barriers preventing young Kansans from participating in hunting and fishing,” said Mike Miller, who coordinates the department’s hunter recruitment and retention efforts. “By making these youth permits more affordable, we hope to ease the financial burden on families with sons and daughters interested in taking up these outdoor recreational pursuits.”

The commission also approved reducing the cost of 24-hour fishing licenses, which are available to resident and nonresident anglers of all ages, from $5 to $3.

The changes in youth deer permit fees were recommended by the department’s Deer Task Force, which assembled a variety of recommendations regarding deer permitting and hunting approved by the 2007 Kansas Legislature. The same regulation, which establishes license and permit fees, was amended to accommodate a variety of those recommendations, including the following:

• eliminates the whitetail antlerless-only deer game tag ($10) and whitetail antlerless-only permit ($30), replacing them with an antlerless only permit priced at $15;
• establishes a $30 Special Hunt-Own-Land permit available to a landowner’s siblings, lineal ascending or descending relatives and their spouses, regardless of residence (one per 80 acres owned or operated); and
• establishes a nonresident mule deer stamp, available in nine western Kansas deer management units, at an additional cost of $100, to nonresidents who choose to enter a draw which would distribute the limited number of mule deer stamps available.

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