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KDWP shortens trout season and adjusts creel limits as agency cites rising stocking costs
Summary
After a public hearing, the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks commission adopted fisheries regulation changes that shorten trout seasons for type 1 and type 2 waters and move several creel and size-limit adjustments into a statewide standard; staff cited rising trout purchase costs and permit revenue shortfalls as the rationale.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks commission on July 16 approved a package of fisheries regulation changes after a public hearing that staff said are needed because commercial trout costs are rising faster than permit revenue.
Assistant Director of Fisheries Management John Reinke told commissioners the department is proposing to shorten the trout season for type 1 trout waters from Nov. 1–April 15 to Dec. 1–March 31; type 2 waters would change on the same schedule. Reinke said the department purchases trout from commercial vendors and the price increases have outpaced permit revenue, leaving the trout program financially strained.
"Price keeps increasing; it's outpacing our income from permit sales," Reinke said during the presentation. He summarized options staff are pursuing: buy fewer trout, shorten the season to improve fish densities for anglers, expand marketing to increase permit sales, and propose an increase in the trout-permit fee at a later meeting.
The commission voted 7–0 in a roll-call vote to adopt the fisheries package, which also included several statewide creel- and size-limit changes and a number of site-specific edits to the Kansas special length-and-creel-limits reference document. Among the adjustments staff listed were new or standardized statewide limits for blue catfish and multiple reservoir-specific changes (Cheney, Lovewell, Marion County Lake, Perry, Wilson among others) that shift exemptions into the statewide standard.
Reinke said a department survey of 500 trout anglers showed anglers value January and February as the most important months of the trout season; staff used that feedback in recommending a season that centers on those months. He also presented a revenue-versus-cost graph and said the trout program’s costs are currently outpacing revenue by roughly 25%.
The commission’s vote followed a public comment period in which several audience members spoke about funding, enforcement and local conditions.
Ending KDWP said the fee adjustment for the trout permit will be proposed separately at a future meeting; staff listed a proposed increase from $12 to $17.50, plus a $2.50 processing fee (a $5.50 total increase) as the likely fee-change proposal to be considered at an upcoming commission meeting.
