TOPEKA – The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will conduct a public meeting in Topeka at the Kansas Historical Society History Center, 6425 SW 6th Ave. on March 24, 2016. The afternoon session of the meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and recess at 5 p.m. The evening session will convene at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend both sessions and time is set aside at the beginning of each for discussion of non-agenda items.

The afternoon session will begin with Secretary Robin Jennison’s report on the agency and state fiscal status and a review of the 2016 Kansas legislative session. The General Discussion portion of the meeting will include reports on the Lesser Prairie Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan, iSportsman daily permit program, a new Walleye Initiative, commercial guiding on public lands, and potential changes to threatened and endangered species regulations.

The afternoon will conclude with a Workshop Session that will cover 2016 migratory bird seasons and regulations. Waterfowl hunting regulations are usually discussed at the June and August meetings. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has changed its regulation cycle and released waterfowl regulation frameworks for the 2016 seasons in December. Waterfowl regulations and seasons will be voted on at the Commission’s April meeting. Deer hunting regulations on Fort Riley will also be discussed during the March Workshop Session.

The evening portion of the meeting will convene at 6:30 p.m. for the Public Hearing. Items to be discussed and voted on by the Commission include the Public Lands Regulations reference document, as well as regulations for antelope, elk and deer hunting. Secretary’s Orders for deer permit quotas will also be presented.

Time will be available during the afternoon and evening sessions for public comment on non-agenda items. If necessary, the commission will reconvene at the same location at 9 a.m., March 25, to complete any unfinished business. Information about the Commission, as well as the March 24 meeting agenda and Briefing Book can be downloaded from the KDWPT website: http://ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission/Upcoming-Commission-Meetings

Live video and audio streaming of the meeting will be available at ksoutdoors.com. If notified in advance, the department will have an interpreter available for the hearing impaired. To request an interpreter, call 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 Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission secretary at (620) 672-5911.

The next Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commission meeting is scheduled for April 21, 2016, Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita.

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