Why It Matters: Kansas residents will be able to hunt turkey this fall for the first time since 2023. Last week, Kansas Commissioners voted to reestablish the fall turkey hunting season, allowing increased opportunity for Kansans to hit the field this fall and participate in our time-honored outdoor traditions.
Highlights:
- In 2023, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) Commissioners voted to close the fall turkey hunting season.
- In August 2026, KDWP Commissioners voted to reestablish the fall hunting season starting this October.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation maintains that state fish and wildlife agencies, like KDWP, are the entities best equipped to make wildlife management decisions.
In 2023, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Commissioners voted to suspend the fall turkey hunting season, after adjusting regulations over the past ten years, due to a continuing trend of declining wild turkey populations. The suspension of the season was not the only changes made to turkey hunting in Kansas, as there were also changes to the allocation of nonresident tags during the spring turkey hunting season.
In April 2026, Commissioners began having conversations about reopening the fall season, and those conversations came to a head last week, as Commissioners have now voted to reestablish the fall season, with adjustments. The meeting held votes on several proposed regulations, and the reestablishment of the fall turkey hunting season was adopted on a vote of 6 to 1. With the fall season returning, hunters need to be aware of the changes from the previous season that are now being implemented.
The fall turkey season will begin on October 31 and conclude after January 31. The new bag limit will now allow for one bearded turkey to be harvested rather than either sex, and nonresidents may no longer apply for or obtain a fall turkey permit. Both are changes from the before the suspension of the 2023 season. With the reestablished season fast approaching, Kansas turkey hunters should look out for updated guidance from the KDPW.