A new bill in Kentucky would allow the Department of Agriculture to appoint nearly half of the Fish and Wildlife Commission. Under House Bill 395 (HB 395), Kentucky’s governor would make five appointments to the commission, and the Commissioner of Agriculture would make four.

Currently, the nine wildlife commissioners represent the nine wildlife districts of Kentucky. Every four years, licensed hunters and anglers nominate five candidates for their district, the governor appoints the candidate of their choosing, and the Kentucky Senate confirms the selection. With HB 395, the Commissioner of Agriculture would handle the appointment of four out of the nine commissioners. 

Agricultural interests can interfere with effective fish and wildlife management, as well as what sportsmen and women want. Should the bill be passed, the Fish and Wildlife Commission would no longer be working in the best interest of the Kentucky hunters, anglers and trappers who fund wildlife management for the state.

“While the language in HB 395 sounds like it would create an independent fish and wildlife agency, in truth, it would more likely result in a department largely controlled by agricultural interests, and no longer responsive to its paying customers, the sportsmen of Kentucky,” said Dillon Barto, manager of state services at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Kentucky hunters, anglers and trappers who pay for licenses, permits and who are responsible for federal Pittman-Robertson funding for the state, deserve a Fish and Wildlife Commission devoted to the best interest of the resource, and the sportsmen who are the backbone of wildlife management.”

Please urge your state representatives to oppose House Bill 395. Sportsmen and women can find their legislators by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.