Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commissioners approved three emergency rules and five resolutions affecting hunting, fishing and wildlife during their regular meeting June 22 in Oklahoma City.
The emergency rules begin immediately but will be considered as permanent additions during the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s regular rule change process later this year. The new rules:
- Create a two-day waiting period for any nonresident deer hunting license purchased while the season is open.
- Establish a license for outfitters and hunting guides operating waterfowl and sandhill crane hunts.
- Create rules for the Chronic Wasting Disease Genetic Improvement Program regarding release of deer on private property.
Commissioners approved these resolutions:
- For migratory game birds, setting 2026-27 hunting season dates and bag limits; defining youth waterfowl hunters as those 17 and younger; and aligning woodcock hunting season more closely with quail season.
- For antlerless deer, setting 2026-27 hunting season dates and bag limits by zone; prohibiting mule deer doe harvest statewide during muzzleloader and gun seasons; and opening muzzleloader season to antlerless hunting opportunity in the Panhandle.
- For elk, setting the 2026-27 hunting season dates, bag limits and quotas by zone, creating a Special Southeast Zone (areas in Carter and Murray counties east of Interstate 35); increasing harvest quotas in the Panhandle and Special Northwest zones; adding a few more days of hunting opportunity in the Special Southwest Zone; and defining antlerless elk as showing less than 6 inches of antler above the natural hairline.
- For black bear, eliminating the quota for muzzleloader season.
- For crappie, altering daily limits at specified water bodies (notably setting daily limits of 20 for Lake Eufaula and Atoka Lake) but leaving the general statewide daily limit at 37 crappie per day.
Also during Monday’s meeting, Commissioners welcomed a $293,250 donation from the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation (OWCF). Executive Director Sean McCabe said the donation reflects a very successful Call of the Wild fundraising gala this past year. This donation lifted OWCF’s total financial support for conservation to more than a half-million dollars in the past year. The nonprofit foundation was formed in 2018 to encourage private donor support to the Wildlife Department.
In other business, the Commission:
- Approved a Fiscal Year 2027 budget totaling $88.6 million, which is a 9 percent decrease from the FY 2026 budget of $97.6 million.
- Received updates from Director Wade Free on various activities within ODWC’s five divisions, including a report on a Fisheries Division project to address crappie overpopulation in Boomer Lake. ODWC staff, volunteers and Oklahoma State University students removed 23,508 crappie from the 275-acre lake in Stillwater.
- Approved the appointment of two new directors to the OWCF board (Mark Mabrey and Matt Schuermann) and thanked outgoing Commissioner John P. Zelbst from District 6 for his 16 years of service.
The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission is the eight-member governing board of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The Commission establishes state hunting and fishing regulations, sets policy for the Wildlife Department, and indirectly oversees all state fish and wildlife conservation activities. Commission members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Oklahoma Senate.
The next regular Wildlife Commission meeting is scheduled for Aug. 3.
To view a video of the June 22 meeting, go to https://www.youtube.com/live/H1Z0QIuE-YE?si=wrDmyM2we5DUqeri.