News Release

FWC offers unique hunting opportunities

For immediate release: June 16, 2008
Contact: Eddie White, 850-488-3641

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering sportsmen some unique hunting opportunities for the coming season.

The FWC is providing sportsmen mobility-impaired hunts, supervised youth hunts, family hunts, quail hunts, and track vehicle and airboat hunts on wildlife management areas (WMAs).

Worksheets for these quota hunts are available from FWC regional offices and at MyFWC.com/hunting under "Quota hunt permit worksheet."  Applications for the random drawing may be submitted beginning at 10 a.m. (EDT) June 25 to July 9. These applications may be submitted at wildlifelicense.com, at tax collectors’ offices or at any license agent.

Mobility-impaired hunts are for people who require special equipment. These hunts are not intended for hunters, who have Florida Disabled Person Hunting and Fishing Certificates, but rather for those who are permanently confined to a wheelchair, people who require the use of mechanical aids (crutches and walkers) to walk or those with complete single-leg amputations.

Another unique hunt is for hunters 8-15 years old. Camp Blanding and Andrews WMAs in the North Central Region offer opportunities for non-hunting adults to supervise young hunters on public hunting areas where the number of hunters and the hunting areas are rigidly controlled to provide an optimum learning experience and maximum safety. These popular hunts receive more applications than the number of spaces available each year.

Family hunts are offered on select WMAs. Applicants age 18 or older may apply for a permit. The permit holder is required to bring from one to two children, ages 8-15. Unlike the youth hunt, the family hunt enables the adult supervisor to hunt with the children.

WMAs in the southern part of the state offer hunters an unusual challenge because of their open-marsh landscape. Hunting these areas requires special vehicles, and the FWC has established quotas on the number of vehicles allowed.

Permits to operate track vehicles on the Rotenberger, Everglades, Francis S. Taylor and Holey Land WMAs and permits to operate airboats on the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor WMAs are issued in two random selections.

A quota hunt permit will be required to hunt quail on the Blackwater WMA Field Trial Area in the Northwest Region. There are two four-day hunts on the Field Trial Area, with a quota of three groups per hunt. A group may consist of up to three hunters. Shooting hours end at 3 p.m., and the bag limit is 12 quail per group per day.