Jenny Gilbert, Phone: 502-564-3400, Email: fw.publicaffairs@ky.gov

Fish and Wildlife, Hunting, Conservation

This regulation establishes season dates, bag limits, shooting hours, and other requirements for wild turkey hunting in Kentucky.

To regulate wild turkey hunting for the effective management of wild turkeys in Kentucky.

KRS 150.025(1) authorizes the department to promulgate administrative regulations establishing hunting seasons, bag limits, and the methods of taking wildlife, including wild turkeys. KRS 150.390(1) prohibits a person from taking, pursuing, or molesting a wild turkey in any manner contrary to the provisions of Chapter 150 or its administrative regulations.

This administrative regulation will assist in administering the above statutes by defining the seasons, bag limits, and methods of taking wild turkeys in Kentucky.

This amendment will consolidate language from three (3) other regulations for consistency and simplicity for future amendments, including 301 KAR 2:111, 2:142, and 2:144, each of which carry definitions and specific requirements. Definitions are added for consistency with other regulations and to constitute changes, such as what constitutes a legal wild turkey. For spring turkey season, take of female turkeys with a visible beard (hereafter "bearded hens") is made illegal except for youth hunters. For fall turkey seasons, take of any female turkey with archery equipment or crossbow is made illegal. This amendment also accommodates the addition of Green River National Wildlife Refuge to the list of "Special Areas" where turkeys may be hunted per federal or local requirements.

This amendment is necessary to enact changes to turkey hunting regulations.

See 1(c) above.

See 1(d) above.

No.

All hunters that pursue wild turkeys during the spring hunting season will be affected by this regulatory amendment. In 2026, there were approximately 80,000 licensed turkey hunters in Kentucky. All hunters that pursue wild turkeys during fall archery and crossbow turkey hunting seasons will be affected by this regulatory amendment. The number of fall turkey archery and crossbow hunters is unknown. We do know that in 2025, there were approximately 199,089 license holders eligible to have fall turkey hunted, of which approximately 20% (27,437) reported in surveys that they fall turkey hunted.

Adult spring wild turkey hunters will no longer be allowed to take bearded hens, but a subset of them will have the opportunity to hunt turkeys at Green River National Wildlife Refuge per federal requirements. All fall turkey hunters will no longer be allowed to take bearded hens with archery or crossbow equipment, but a subset of them will have the opportunity to hunt turkeys at Green River National Wildlife Refuge per federal requirements.

There will be no additional costs to those identified in question (4).

In theory, turkey hunters could possibly realize some small level of localized turkey population growth resulting from increased survival of female turkeys via the two female-turkey-related regulations changes being made. On average, fewer than 300 bearded hens get taken by hunters legally, statewide, and annually, and fewer than 400 female turkeys are taken by bow and crossbow statewide. Combined, this level of hunter take -- less than 1% of the female turkey population removed each year – does not constitute a significant effect on the turkey population or future opportunities for Kentucky turkey hunters. The effect of adding Green River National Wildlife Refuge to the list of Special Areas regulated will be to add hunting opportunities, but only for youth, senior, and disabled hunters.

This administrative regulation change will result in no initial change in administrative cost to the Department.

There will be no additional cost on a continuing basis.

The source of funding is the State Game and Fish Fund.

It will not be necessary to increase any other fees or increase funding to implement this administrative regulation.

No new fees will be established.

No. Tiering was not used because all persons who hunt wild turkeys are required to abide by the same requirements.

KRS 150.025(1), 150.390(1).

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The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

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No local entities will be impacted.

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In spring seasons, all turkey hunters pursue male wild turkeys (hereafter "gobblers") because of gobbling and strutting behaviors, which bearded female turkeys do not exhibit. For the past 5 years, fewer than 300 hunters per year have taken a bearded hen turkey, and in practically all such cases, take was incidental to hunters’ pursuit of gobblers. Making take of bearded hens illegal will not limit the number of spring turkey hunters, therefore there will be no fiscal impact. In fall seasons, approximately 20,000-30,000 hunters hunt turkeys. The number of them that hunt using each of the legal equipment types (shotgun, archery, crossbow) is unknown. However, KDFWR data show that fewer than 400 turkeys per year are taken with a bow or crossbow statewide. For comparison, 80,000-100,000 license holders hunt turkeys during the spring season and take 30,000-35,000 male wild turkeys. Thus, making the take of female turkeys with a bow or crossbow in fall illegal will have little if any fiscal impact on license sales. The addition of Green River National Wildlife Refuge will add turkey hunting opportunity, but only for youth, senior, and disabled hunters. Thus, this is unlikely to result in an appreciable increase in the number of hunting licenses sold.

KDFWR take and survey data on license sales and hunter participation, no personally identifiable information, and hunting requirements published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These regulation changes will not have a "Major economic impact".

Experience of KDFWR staff.