301 KAR 2:132. Elk depredation permits, landownder cooperator permits, and quota hunts.

301 KAR 2:132. Elk depredation permits, landowner cooperator permits, and quota hunts.

RELATES TO: KRS 150.010, 150.180, 150.990

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 150.025, 150.177, 150.178, 150.390

NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 150.025 authorizes the department to establish hunting seasons, regulate bag and possession limits, and determine the methods and devices used to take wildlife. KRS 150.177 authorizes the department to issue special commission permits for game species to nonprofit organizations. KRS 150.178 authorizes the department to issue elk permits to landowners who enroll property for public hunting access. KRS 150.390 authorizes the department to promulgate administrative regulations establishing the conditions under which depredation permits for elk may be issued. This administrative regulation establishes the requirements for the elk permit drawing and quota hunts, the conditions under which special commission and landowner cooperator permits can be used, and procedures for elk damage abatement.

Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Antlered elk" means an elk with one (1) antler possessing four (4) or more antler points that are each at least one (1) inch long when measured from the main beam which also counts as one (1) point.

(2) "Antlerless elk" means an elk without visible polished antler protruding above the hairline.

(3) "Electronic decoy" means a motorized decoy powered by electricity, regardless of source.

(4) "Elk" means Cervus elaphus nelsoni.

(5) "Elk Hunting Unit" or "EHU" means a designated area within the elk restoration zone possessing specific elk management restrictions.

(6) "Landowner cooperator" means a landowner or lessee who owns or leases at least 5,000 acres of land in the restoration zone and enters an agreement with the department to allow public access and hunting for five (5) years.

(7) "Out-of-zone" means all counties not included in the restoration area.

(8) "Restoration zone" means the following Kentucky counties: Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Perry, Pike, and Whitley.

Section 2. Elk Damage Control. The department may authorize the removal or destruction of elk causing property damage by department personnel, the property owner, or another designated person. A person authorized to destroy an elk causing damage shall not:

(a) Move the elk until he has attached a disposal permit provided by the department to the carcass; and

(b) Remove the disposal permit until the carcass is processed.

Section 3. Elk Quota Hunts. (1) The elk hunt application period shall be December 1 to April 30.

(2) A person shall apply for the elk quota hunt via the department’s Web site, the toll-free phone number listed in the current Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, or a Kentucky license vendor. The applicant shall provide the following information:

(a) The applicant’s name, Social Security number, date of birth, and mailing address or phone number; and

(b) A nonrefundable application fee.

(3) An applicant shall not apply more than once per application period.

(4) The commissioner may extend the application deadline if technical difficulties with the application system prevent applications from being accepted for one (1) or more days during the application period.

(5) There shall be a random electronic drawing.

(6) Two (2) permits, one (1) antlered and one (1) antlerless, shall be available for a special youth-only hunt to be held during the regular seasons.

(a) An applicant who has not reached his or her sixteenth birthday by the last day of the application period shall be entered into the special youth drawing. An applicant not drawn for the special youth permits shall automatically be entered into the regular drawing.

(b) The application period and fee for the special youth draw shall be the same as that for the regular elk hunt.

(c) A special youth hunt permit shall be valid for the assigned EHU during seasons specified in Section 6 of this administrative regulation.

(7) No more than ten (10) percent of all drawn applicants shall be nonresidents.

Section 4. Landowner Cooperator Permits. (1) With the approval of the commission, the commissioner may issue one (1) either-sex elk permit per each 5,000 acres for each year of the agreement to a landowner cooperator.

(2) A landowner cooperator permit is transferable, but shall be used only on the land for which the agreement was made.

(a) The permit may be transferred to any person eligible to hunt in Kentucky.

(b) The landowner cooperator shall provide the following information to the department about the transferred-permit holder:

1. Name;

2. Social Security number;

3. Address; and

4. Telephone number.

(3) Public access agreements with the department shall be recorded in Memorandums of Understanding.

(4) Recipients of landowner cooperator permits shall comply with the provisions of this administrative regulation.

Section 5. Hunter Requirements. (1) A drawn applicant or a person who legally receives a landowner cooperator permit or a special commission permit issued pursuant to 301 KAR 3:100 may be accompanied by up to two (2) other individuals.

(2) A drawn applicant shall be assigned to a single EHU and shall not hunt outside that EHU, except that a drawn applicant who owns land in the elk restoration zone may hunt on his or her land.

(3) An elk hunter or any person accompanying an elk hunter shall display solid, unbroken hunter orange visible from all sides on the head, back, and chest per 301 KAR 2:172.

(4) An elk hunter shall not:

(a) Take elk except during daylight hours;

(b) Use dogs, except for leashed tracking dogs to recover wounded elk;

(d) Drive elk from outside the assigned EHU;

(e) Take swimming elk;

(f) Use electronic calls or electronic decoys; or

(g) Take an elk from a vehicle or boat or while on horseback. A hunter who has a disabled hunting exemption permit issued by the department may use a stationary vehicle as a hunting platform.

(5) An elk hunter shall display a vehicle tag issued by the department in the windshield of his or her vehicle at all times while hunting elk.

(6) A person under sixteen (16) years old shall be accompanied by an adult who shall remain in a position to take immediate control of the person’s firearm.

(7) An adult accompanying a person under (16) years old shall not be required to possess a hunting license or elk permit if the adult is not hunting.

(8) A hunter may use any firearm, archery equipment, or crossbow legal for hunting deer pursuant to 301 KAR 2:172, except an elk hunter shall not possess or use:

(a) Any weapon or device prohibited for deer hunting pursuant to 301 KAR 2:172;

(b) A modern firearm of less than 27 caliber;

(d) A shotgun of less than 20 gauge;

(e) Any arrow without a broadhead point;

(f) A handgun with a barrel length of less than six (6) inches, a bore diameter less than 0.270 inches (.270 caliber) or greater, and when fired, the bullet shall produce at least 550 ft/lbs of energy at 100 yards.

Section 6. Seasons and Limits. (1) A hunter may use archery equipment:

(a) Beginning the first Saturday in October through the third Monday in January for antlered elk; and

(b) Beginning the second Saturday in October through the third Monday in January for antlerless elk.

(2) A hunter may use a modern firearm, muzzleloader, or crossbow:

(a) For seven (7) consecutive days beginning the first Saturday in October for antlered elk; and

(b) For fourteen (14) consecutive days beginning the second Saturday in December for antlerless elk.

(3) A hunter may use a crossbow for either sex:

(a) From the second Saturday in October through the end of the third full weekend in October; and

(b) From the second Saturday in November through December 31.

(4) The statewide season bag limit shall be one (1) elk per hunter.

(a) A quota elk hunter shall only take an elk of the sex determined by the permit drawn.

(b) An individual who receives or is transferred a landowner cooperator permit or a special commission permit may hunt in either the antlered only or antlerless only quota hunts.

Section 7. Tagging and Checking Requirements. Immediately after taking an elk and prior to removing the hide or head from the carcass, a hunter shall:

(1) Record the species, sex, date, and county of kill on a hunter’s log;

(2) Attach the tag portion of the permit to the carcass before moving the carcass; and

(3) Check the harvested elk by calling the toll-free number listed in the current Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide and recording the confirmation number on a hunter’s log.

Section 8. Elk Hunting on Public Land. (1) A drawn applicant or recipient of a special commission permit may hunt on Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), state forests, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, the Daniel Boone National Forest, and the Jefferson National Forest within the restoration zone under the conditions of the permit received.

(2) Portions of Paintsville Lake WMA lie outside the restoration zone and are subject to the requirements established in Section 9 of this administrative regulation.

(3) Elk hunting shall not be allowed on public areas during quota deer hunts listed in 301 KAR 2:178.

Section 9. Out-of-zone Elk Hunting. (1) The methods of taking and seasons established in 301 KAR 2:172 shall apply to taking elk outside of the restoration zone.

(a) In order to harvest an out-of-zone elk, a hunter shall be a legal deer hunter and shall possess an out-of-zone elk permit.

(b) Landowners are exempt from this permit requirement as per KRS 150.170.

(2) Either sex elk may be taken and shall not count towards the deer bag limit.

(3) Elk harvested out-of-zone shall be telechecked in accordance with Section 7 of this administrative regulation.

Section 10. A person who takes possession of any elk antler that has the skull or skull plate attached to it shall contact the department’s Law Enforcement Division within twenty-four (24) hours to obtain a disposal permit. (25 Ky.R. 2034; Am. 2366; eff. 4-14-99; 27 Ky.R. 3140; 28 Ky.R. 73; eff. 7-16-2001; 2501; 2330; eff. 5-16-2002; 29 Ky.R. 1677; eff. 2-16-03; 30 Ky.R. 2555; 31 Ky.R. 341; eff. 8-26-04; 31 Ky.R. 341; 830; 1075; eff. 1-4-05; 31 Ky.R. 341; 830; 1075; 1538; 1786; eff. 5-26-05; 32 Ky.R. 2095; 33 Ky.R. 92; eff. 7-12-06; 34 Ky.R. 2035; 2280; eff. 5-2-2008.)