Wildlife and Parks to formalize 2015 deer seasons

Formalization of this year’s deer seasons will happen at Thursday’s Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commission meeting in Topeka.

Lloyd Fox, Wildlife and Parks big-game program coordinator, will present the plan. Commissioners the following. While commissioners and the public may comment on the topics, but the department makes the final decisions.

▪  After several years of low populations because of drought, poaching and hunting pressure, Wildlife and Parks wants to reduce hunting opportunities for whitetails in units 8 and 16.

For those units Fox, wants a 5-percent reduction in non-resident permits that allow the shooting of a whitetail buck. For all hunters, the number of permits for antlerless whitetails will be reduced to one, from up to four or five some years. The special January season for antleress whitetails will be reduced to three days.

▪  To give the state’s mule deer population a chance to improve, the department wants to eliminate firearms permits that allow the taking of mule deer does in the eastern mule deer zone – units 3, 4, 5, 7 and 16. Resident firearms permits that allow the taking of mule deer bucks would be reduced from 750 last year to 600 for the zone.

Resident firearms permits that allow antlered mule deer and mule deer does will see modest decreases in Kansas’ western mule deer zone – units 1, 2, 17 and 18.

Non-resident opportunities for mule deer bucks will decrease. Non-resident permits for antlered whitetails will remain unchanged from last year, except for units 8 and 16. Resident opportunities for over-the-counter permits that allow them to kill bucks will remain unchanged.

Mike Miller, Wildlife and Parks information chief, said Thursday’s meeting will start discussions of upcoming waterfowl seasons, and possibly changing duck zone boundaries in 2016.

Thursday’s sessions begin at 1 and 6:30 p.m. at the Kansas History Center, 6425 SW 6th Ave. in Topeka. A live webcast is scheduled for www.ksoutdoors.com.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Wildlife and Parks to formalize 2015 deer seasons."