Guest columnist: Bill appears more political than science-based

Senate Bill 39, initially “An Act Relating to Fishing in Privately Owned Lakes and Ponds,” was passed by the 2026 General Assembly this year. In the last minutes of the session, however, it morphed into a bill that allowed for the nighttime hunting of bobcats and beavers, along with other provisions that allowed the Kentucky Senate control over the agency — the bill overrode the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ (KDFWR) efforts to control wakeboats on lo