Committee hears bill to create upland game bird stamp to fund youth stocking and a 10‑day youth season

At a Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources hearing, legislators heard testimony on House Bill 2547, which would require hunters to purchase an upland game bird stamp before taking grouse, partridge, pheasant, prairie chicken or quail on public land and create a fee fund to pay vendors to procure and release birds for a 10‑day youth season.

The bill, summarized by presenter Kyle, would define the stamp as an annual permit valid until July 1, require the stamp‑holder to sign the stamp, cap fees at $15 for residents and $25 for nonresidents, and deposit fees into an Upland Game Bird Restoration Fee Fund established in section 3. Section 4 would establish a restoration program under which the secretary would enter into service contracts—procured under the state's competitive‑bid statutes—to buy and release mature upland game birds. The bill also authorizes the secretary to adopt implementing rules through the wildlife commission review process (KSA 32‑805). Kyle said exemptions include people not required to hold a hunting license under KSA 32‑9,19 and lifetime license holders.

Supporters: youth access and a fee‑funded model

Representative Sean Chauncey, the bill's proponent, told the committee the measure is intended to expand opportunities for youth on public land. "This program is not to establish a wild population. This program is to put birds out on ground so we can get kids interested in hunting," Chauncey said. He described the plan as a sportsman‑funded program: if the fee fund is depleted, the program would stop; the proposal would not draw on general tax revenues.

Fiscal note and implementation uncertainty

Heather, the fiscal analyst, told the committee the Department of Wildlife and Parks estimates a 10‑year average of about 80,000 upland game bird hunters in Kansas; roughly half hunt only on private land and would be exempt, leaving an estimated 40,000 potential stamp buyers. Using a two‑thirds residents/one‑third nonresident split, she estimated about $400,000 in resident revenue and $330,000 in nonresident revenue, for a total of about $732,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2027. Heather also stated the agency "cannot estimate expenditures for contracting with vendors to purchase and deliver mature birds as required by the bill."

Opponents: stocking is costly and habitat is the long‑term solution

Witnesses and several committee members questioned the effectiveness and cost of releasing pen‑raised birds. Kurt Ratzliff of the Kansas Outdoor Heritage Alliance said, "Releasing pen raised birds is the wrong tool for the job," and urged habitat restoration instead. A member of the committee cited out‑of‑state examples and summarized survivorship concerns: "60 percent are dead the first week," a statistic used to underline high early mortality and limited long‑term reproductive success for pen‑raised releases in many programs.

Committee questions and possible amendments

Members pressed the sponsor on details including per‑bird procurement cost estimates, whether the program should begin as a pilot or with a sunset, how release sites would be selected and publicized, whether releases could interfere with other hunters on shared public lands, and how success would be measured. Chauncey said he would be open to a sunset or pilot approach and suggested the program will likely require a full year to plan, contract with vendors and accumulate funds before releases could occur.

Next steps

The committee closed testimony on House Bill 2547 and collected written submissions, including a written proponent statement from Attorney General Chris Kobach and written materials from the Kansas chapter of the Wildlife Society and representatives of Kansas Wildlife and Parks and Pheasants Forever (marked neutral). The committee plans to review the bill again on Thursday with the possibility of action.

Details in the bill and on the record

Key elements described in the hearing that remain in the bill text include the list of covered species, the annual stamp with resident and nonresident fee caps, the creation of the restoration fund, authority for the secretary to contract for bird procurement and release, the 10‑day youth season limited to hunters 17 and younger accompanied by an adult 18 or older, and the effective date provision making the bill effective upon publication in the statute book. The fiscal note estimates roughly $732,000 in annual revenue but the agency could not estimate program expenditures for purchasing and releasing mature birds.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the bill at the hearing; members indicated several substantive concerns remain to be resolved before any final action.