By Chris Erwin
MOREHEAD The 8th District Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife town hall meeting began with Commissioner Dr. Jon Gassett going over the long-range goals of the agency. Audience members learned some additional details about the agency’s accomplishments as well as their progress in other areas.
One of the most impressive accomplishments is the acquisition of approximately 10,000 acres of wildlife area that are now available for public access; about 4,000 of the newly owned acreage is in the area commonly referred to as the Golden Triangle of Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky. This area is considered to be the most densely populated area of the state, and the goal was to develop more opportunities for residents with less driving time.
They department has also developed new bank fishing access sites and more than 30 boating access sites throughout the state along with 34 new lake fishing opportunities in and around urban locations through the Fish in Neighborhoods program.
All of these efforts are aimed at increasing the number of people that can enjoy the outdoors without requiring them to drive long distances to do so.
After discussing the department’s goals for the next two years, Gassett opened the floor for questions.
For the next hour, attendees heard many questions about hunting; many of them were related to Elk hunting. This past year they were 68,000 people that paid to have a chance to hunt an Elk. About 800 permits were awarded and from the discussion, it sounded like it would increase to about 900 next year. The department is still working on coming up with a system to increase the odds of individuals who buying a chance but do not get selected from one year to the next.
They were also a small group of people that seem to be protesting the implementation of the Sand Hill Crane season. They stated that they were non-hunters and that they also were against the bear season. While the crowd listened patiently to their arguments, but they didn’t seem to have many supporters. Gassett explained the reasoning behind the decision to open the limited season on both the Sand Hill Crane and bear. Both were to control numbers in a limited habitat.
We also had some anglers who wanted to know if the department could do anything about the rules on Cave Run Lake that requires them to buy a permit to put on a small tournament of less than 20 boats. As it turns out, that is under the direction of the U.S. Forest Service and while they promised to bring the subject up in their meeting with the Forest Service, the decision was under their jurisdiction.
The subject of the Muskie size limit was also brought up, but the Commissioner said that they were still studying it on Cave Run and two other bodies of water that have a 36-inch size limit. It is a trophy fish project and was implemented in 2010. It will most likely run for five years before the project draws any conclusion on the merits of it, Gassett said.
The Town Hall meeting started at 7 p.m. and lasted about three hours. While they were no shortages of people with questions or concerns, I felt that a lot more people should have attended. This is the citizens chance to affect change.
I think as Kentuckians, we can be proud of our Department Fish and Wildlife. They are dedicated to making your time in the outdoors more productive and enjoyable; I hope to see you at the next Town Hall Meeting.
Till next time,
Good Fishing.
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