Wildlife commission backs longer night‑vision coyote season, raises permit fees to fund enforcement and monitoring

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks presented a rule change to extend and regulate night‑vision hunting for coyotes and to raise related permit fees to finance law‑enforcement oversight and monitoring.

Curtis (Kurt) Wired, the department's chief counsel, said commissioners decided after multiple meetings and statewide input to back the season up to start September 1, exclude rifle deer seasons, and extend through March 31 so that — accounting for exceptions — the effective season totals about six months. The department proposed raising the nominal fee (previously $2.50) to $25 for residents and $50 for nonresidents to underwrite enforcement and monitoring work.

"We came to that number because we had been charging the nominal fee... 25 for residents and 50 is what the Commission negotiated and came to," Wired said.

Jake George, Wildlife Division Director, and Colonel Greg Kaiser, Director of Law Enforcement, addressed safety and conservation questions. George said data from other states are limited; high‑end thermal scopes can clearly identify targets but lower-end devices increase the risk of mistaken harvests of non‑target species. Colonel Kaiser said the department has not recorded any human‑fatality incidents tied to night hunting in Kansas.

Representatives asked whether landowners would be exempt; department staff said landowners hunting on their own property may be exempt from a hunting license under statute but would generally still need the equipment‑specific night‑vision permit unless operating under animal-damage or nuisance control permits.

Ending: The department will monitor the program and study its effects on coyote populations and non‑target species and supply requested follow‑up information about landowner exemptions and public‑safety measures to the committee.