Johnson County, KS Animal Ordinances: Wildlife Feeding (2026)

3(f) of the Johnson County Code of Regulations for the Park and Recreation District, Appendix C to the Code of Resolutions, states: no person shall feed or cause to be fed any animal in any JCPRD Facility unless authorized by JCPRD for wildlife management, education, or other lawful purpose. The provision was readopted in its current form by Resolution No. 3(e)). Because the section bans feeding any animal rather than naming species, it reaches the situations JCPRD actually deals with day to day at Shawnee Mission Park, Kill Creek Park, Heritage Park and the district's smaller nature parks: visitors tossing bread to geese and ducks on park lakes, deer-feeding near trailheads, and leaving food out for feral or stray cats.

The only exception is JCPRD-authorized feeding for wildlife management, education programs such as ranger-led animal encounters, or other lawful purposes it designates; a member of the public cannot self-authorize feeding by claiming an educational motive. The rule applies only within JCPRD Facility boundaries; it does not reach feeding on private property or in city parks operated by Overland Park, Olathe or other municipalities, which maintain their own park rules.