| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 15 SEP 2026 – 31 JAN 2027 | 139d |
As publishedSeptember 15, 2026 - January 31, 2027
Restricted to the Greater Prairie Chicken Hunting Unit (northern/eastern KS); a separate Prairie Chicken Permit is required in addition to a hunting license. Fixed annual calendar dates (Sept 15 - Jan 31), unlike pheasant/quail which shift by weekday formula.
Greater prairie-chickens occupy three Kansas ecoregions — the Flint Hills, the Smoky Hills, and the High Plains — and KDWP manages hunting through named prairie chicken units with real geographic boundaries, not just density gradients. The Smoky Hills is now the best ecoregion for numbers and access; the historically dominant Flint Hills population has declined markedly over the last two decades due to changed ranching/grazing practices.
KDWP runs a spring lek-count survey (Prairie Chicken Lek Survey, 50 routes statewide: 33 within greater prairie-chicken range, 3 in the overlap zone with lesser prairie-chicken). No published report edition newer than 2014 exists, and it's unclear whether a 2025 edition was ever produced.
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