Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is a state cabinet-level agency led by a Secretary of Wildlife and Parks appointed by the Governor of Kansas. The Office of the Secretary is located in Topeka, the state capital of Kansas. A seven-member, bipartisan commission, also appointed by the Governor, advises the Secretary and approves regulations governing outdoor recreation and fish and wildlife resources in Kansas. KDWP employs approximately 420 full-time employees in five divisions: Executive Services, Administrative Services, Fisheries and Wildlife, Law Enforcement, and Parks. At full staffing, KDWP Law Enforcement Division (Kansas Game Wardens) is staffed by 83 positions. History Fish and game laws were first organized in the state of Kansas in the form of the Kansas Fish and Game Department in 1905. In 1911, State Fish and Game Department was placed under supervision of the University of Kansas Board of Regents. Another reorganization occurred in 1925 when the Fish and Game Department became the Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission, consisting of three members appointed by the Governor. In 1978, the Forestry part was dropped from the name. The agency became known as the Kansas Fish and Game Commission. Finally in 1987, Governor Mike Hayden signed an executive order merging the State Park and Resources Authority and the Kansas Fish and Game Commission to form the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. On July 1, 2011, the Division of Travel and Tourism was officially transferred from the Department of Commerce to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. The agency then became known as the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT). However, Kansas Tourism was reverted back to the Department of Commerce by an executive reorganization order on July 1, 2021, which then triggered the department's name to revert to Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). Responsibilities The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is responsible for the following state parks: Cedar Bluff State Park Cheney State Park Clinton State Park Crawford State Park Cross Timbers State Park Eisenhower State Park El Dorado State Park Elk City State Park Fall River State Park Ford County State Park Glen Elder State Park Hillsdale State Park Kanopolis State Park Kaw River State Park Lake Scott State Park Lovewell State Park Meade State Park Milford State Park Mushroom Rock State Park Perry State Park Pomona State Park Prairie Dog State Park Prairie Spirit Trail State Park Sand Hills State Park Tuttle Creek State Park Webster State Park Wilson State Park KDWP is responsible for the following nature preserves and fishing lakes: Atchison State Fishing Lake Big Basin Prairie Preserve Lake Afton Leavenworth County State Lake McPherson Valley Wetlands Maxwell Wildlife Refuge Mined Land Wildlife Area Neosho State Fishing Lake Ottawa State Fishing Lake KDWP is responsible for patrolling all counties in Kansas: KDWP employs a number of Kansas Game Wardens (Law Enforcement Division), who are fully certified and commissioned state law enforcement officers, stationed across the state in numerous locations. These Wardens patrol their counties