[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6652508,"mediaKeyId","2490544-59d2de8e6e7dd4d3237571f63c57c5bf","parentId",2490544,"title","Kansas official outlines regional deer trends, control permit rules and barriers to harvest","audioSeconds",2648,"startMs",1148720,"endMs",3797520,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2490544-59d2de8e6e7dd4d3237571f63c57c5bf&start=1148&end=3797","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2490544-59d2de8e6e7dd4d3237571f63c57c5bf/thumbnail_1148720.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6652508/Kansas/Kansas-official-outlines-regional-deer-trends-control-permit-rules-and-barriers-to-harvest","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6652508-ce63dc2a5f9088b50085f9160336bee2/orig.mp4?Expires=1775462858&Signature=j7w5KTr9ODR1ZpoR2ZJv92pmUdRfdFQfHOvkuFJWHNq0kX1NaoWCbLTNKh2QVvIIDHaVslPV2GI7PGgJ3cQYA6aj48Tr0xci1YhSA-DXfQoSKUbuXm601Qry-gT1iXJIwFWDH9IxhVhrgNJ4Ml2I7ihHUI7eTxZC2y4sDb7nE80R4IVHuk7R4nCAjKUkX5euWl4DNh0L9OZcN2ie8CWBVTWqhn~Q3vJnMtT~vUyGHZ1yenHoo1cK5kRLhvMKbfuCRR4ZrVDHTKNAx4hE6H-y5NMhkoeX7KB-gRYULfFuSYJFGfo5JUU6GkHgcAq-Fro6W~WllYIpJ7DjczPAuGSFhQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Kansas Legislature","date","2025-03-04T21:55:35.363Z","article","Levi Jaster, big game program research coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, told a legislative committee that Kansas faces contrasting deer conditions: abundant white‑tailed deer in the east and low or declining mule deer and whitetails in parts of western Kansas.

“Today, we're looking at, you know, declines in Western Kansas... and, as a biologist we'd call overabundance in Eastern Kansas,” Jaster said, summarizing regional differences and noting that habitat and precipitation drive much of the variation.

Jaster described the department's monitoring methods, including roughly 2,500 miles of ground transects used for distance‑analysis surveys conducted in October and November and a framework of 18 deer management units. He said the agency sends about 43,000 post‑season surveys to hunters each year and typically receives 10,000 to 15,000 responses; those voluntary surveys collect harvest data, hunter effort, weapon types and open‑ended comments (the survey yields about 3,500 to 5,000 narrative comments annually).

On management tools, Jaster described the agency's big‑game control permits (sometimes called nuisance permits) for agricultural damage and local population control. He said control permits are usually issued outside the regular deer season but can be issued during the season in specific circumstances; permits are typically issued for 45 days, with an initial allocation of 5–10 tags and extensions or additional tags available when damage continues. Agents named by landowners must hold valid Kansas hunting licenses and be at least 16 years old, Jaster said.

“There are a lot of advantages to... control permits,” Jaster told the committee, describing flexible methods allowed on control permits compared with regular hunting tags, and noting that landowners or tenants may name agents who actually carry out the removal.

Lawmakers pressed officials about barriers that limit antlerless harvests, including lack of access to private land, the decline in processors to prepare venison and cultural preferences for shooting bucks. Representative Roth and others urged the agency to consider season‑structure changes to increase antlerless harvest in places with overabundance and high vehicle‑collision rates.

Committee members read state crash data aloud: one lawmaker said the Kansas Highway Patrol reported six fatalities from deer‑vehicle collisions in 2022 and seven in 2023, with several hundred injuries in each year. Jaster said he is working with the Kansas Department of Transportation to obtain more precise crash locations tied to roads and management units.

On food‑donation programs, agency officials described Hunters Feeding the Hungry, a longtime meat‑donation effort that helps food pantries by covering processing costs for donated deer. Agency staff acknowledged the number of participating processors has declined since the program's peak and said the department is investigating options including mobile harvesting units and other approaches to increase processing capacity.

Committee members asked about whether the state should prioritize managing for “trophy” bucks. Jaster said agency survey responses from hunters reflect demand for older‑age bucks, but he added that increasing antlerless harvest is the most effective lever to reduce population densities where needed.

Agency staff offered to provide the committee with written guidelines for big‑game control permits and to supply data and annual reports from Hunters Feeding the Hungry. The department said its deer committee meets regularly to review season structures, permit quotas and management recommendations.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget 03/04/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Levi Jaster, big game program research coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, told a legislative committee that Kansas has contrasting deer conditions—declining mule deer and low whitetail numbers in parts of western Kansas and overabundance in parts of eastern Kansas—then described surveys and permit programs the agency uses.","taxTitle","Senate, Committees, Legislative, Kansas","taxId",15103,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6652511,"Kansas wildlife officials say causes of statewide turkey decline unknown; fall harvest halted in 2023",525,160,525560,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2490544-59d2de8e6e7dd4d3237571f63c57c5bf&start=0&end=525","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2490544-59d2de8e6e7dd4d3237571f63c57c5bf/thumbnail_160.jpg","/articles/6652511/Kansas/Kansas-wildlife-officials-say-causes-of-statewide-turkey-decline-unknown-fall-harvest-halted-in-2023","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6652511-5e589da2e2b4fcac412737824efcc93c/orig.mp4?Expires=1775462858&Signature=lpYb6N7XVKvPvlzxyLFrLbeWLpaJFkGkxp55sSmvIoeMX-STnklii3Zz8jAE7ImoAwBJ2djktsdanxfWI6eOAtG4-1myVM37YytwPPV5HZzDn0tUCubRJ0rFN2bu8gQIlHRZdqOR6lQahdRPkx2kSkK-L9Xwblcl7s477z4-zHJVeWYkHvuMY6JQ4J244fg3ntQkCXBpAG00iBhqtFRUobjWI2Y68fDbR8eyv7vXCPvn6hhP-s1nqF3FPqGSgbaCSl25o4Px8i7b6WPbegWtzXQ19TG5aT9BCyRim1a1PLBTiFUkzzH7saUG-GeAXECEzPYh~rOgeTwoTwTpHvyTvw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A wildlife specialist from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks told a legislative committee that scientists do not yet know the causes of a range‑wide decline in wild turkey numbers and described a new, statewide multiyear research project aimed at finding answers.

“The take home message is we really don't know,” the turkey specialist said, describing hypotheses ranging from reduced reproductive success and loss of nesting habitat to changes in predator communities, weather patterns, farming practices and disease.

The agency has stratified Kansas into three study regions—eastern, central and western—and is working with the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Kansas State University on a paired design that compares public wildlife areas and private lands in each region. The specialist said the study will focus on brood and nest survival and hen survival, noting that “the female component is much more important than the male component for wildlife populations in general.”

Officials told the committee the department halted fall wild turkey harvest beginning in 2023 because of concern that fall harvest of hens could be additive mortality rather than compensatory. “We did close the fall turkey season,” the specialist said, adding that the decision was made by an internal committee taking biological, legal, economic and human‑dimensions factors into account.

The specialist described the agency's use of an adaptive harvest strategy that incorporates data such as hunter success rates and the proportion of adult males (toms) versus juvenile males (jakes) in harvests to allow managers to increase, as well as decrease, hunting opportunities if populations recover.

Committee members asked whether avian influenza had affected turkeys in Kansas; the specialist said the department is conducting disease sampling but was not aware of confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza detections in turkeys and would consult the agency disease ecologist for confirmation. Representative Long asked about bird flu; the specialist replied, “I'm not aware that we've had HPAI ... in turkeys.”

Lawmakers and committee members urged continued study and regionally tailored responses. One committee member said the stratified study design was appropriate because “there's not a one‑size‑fits‑all for turkeys or any wildlife” across Kansas' differing landscapes.

The department provided a handout with a map showing six turkey management units and asked committee members to defer to the agency's working committee on timing of any reopening of the fall season. When asked whether there would be a fall season in 2025, the specialist said, “That decision I believe we don't have any plan for a fall season at this point.”

Officials said neighboring states had also reduced turkey hunting opportunities because of similar declines. The specialist emphasized the agency's goal of managing healthy populations in both numbers and distribution and said research results will inform future adjustments to harvest policy.

For now, the department's publicly stated management actions include the 2023 closure of the fall season and the ongoing multiyear study with Kansas State University. The agency told the committee it will consider localized adjustments—such as different opportunities in areas with higher population densities—within the constraints of avoiding an overly complex tag and permitting system for hunters.

The committee thanked agency staff for the presentation and for providing study materials.

","Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks officials told a legislative committee the causes of falling wild turkey numbers are not yet known, described a new statewide multiyear study, and said the agency closed the 2023 fall turkey season as a precaution.","actionData","errors"]

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Kansas official outlines regional deer trends, control permit rules and barriers to harvest

Kansas wildlife officials say causes of statewide turkey decline unknown; fall harvest halted in 2023