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KDWP staff reviews history and data on nonresident waterfowl use; commissioners say legislation may be required
Summary
KDWP staff reviewed a multi‑year history of public‑land pressure from nonresident waterfowl hunters, electronic check-in data and other states’ approaches. Commissioners noted the legal and fiscal limits on rulemaking and said legislative action may be the most reliable pathway to statewide nonresident restrictions.
Staff summarized the department’s multi-year review of nonresident waterfowl use at public wetlands and the limits of agency rulemaking capacity.
Ryan Stuckey, KDWP public lands director, presented survey and electronic check-in data showing a long-term rise in nonresident participation. He said nonresident purchases of waterfowl stamps increased from roughly 5,000 a year in the mid-2000s to about 18,000 in 2024; nonresidents accounted for about 42% of duck stamps in 2024. Staff also reviewed electronic daily check-in data at specific public wetlands that show some public sites are used by nonresidents at high percentages during peak weeks.
Stuckey told the commission that the department considered several approaches used elsewhere—statewide nonresident permits, zone-based permits, daily lotteries, and draw systems—but that a 2024 state law (House Bill 26 48, cited by counsel) created a low economic-impact threshold ($200,000) that complicates agency-only regulatory limits because any regulation projected to exceed that threshold in its first five years must be ratified by the Legislature. Counsel and staff said that constraint is the central legal hurdle to a statewide ban or major restriction via KDWP-only regulation.
Commissioners discussed a range of options including licensing guides, limiting daily bag limits, drawing more public allocations, and targeting specific high‑pressure properties with local restrictions. Several commissioners said they consider legislation the most durable path for broad statewide change; Commissioner Will Carpenter and others urged continued dialogue with legislators and stakeholders.
Ending Staff said they will produce a comprehensive report with updated electronic check‑in data and analysis for the commission; commissioners asked staff to continue exploring targeted, property-level approaches and to prepare materials for possible legislative proposals.
