Florida black bear

You can watch the recording of the virtual public meeting by accessing the Teams link here. Please note that if you plan to watch this on a mobile device, you must have the Teams app installed.

You can also review a transcript of the comments from this meeting and the virtual flipchart.

The FWC’s Bear Management Program gave Commissioners a 5-year update on implementing the 2019 Florida Black Bear Management Plan at the December 2024 Commission meeting, highlighting recent bear management and research efforts. Following the presentation, the Commissioners directed staff to return to a future Commission meeting to propose options for implementing a potential bear hunt. 

The primary objectives of regulated hunting are to balance species population numbers with suitable habitat and to maintain a healthy population, as stated in the 2019 Bear Management Plan. Hunting provides people with recreational and economic benefits. A hunter can use the meat, pelt, fat, and other parts of any bear they harvest.

Yes, the public will have multiple opportunities to share their comments, concerns, and ideas on potential options for highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida before anything is presented at a Commission meeting. Additionally, the public will have the opportunity to provide comments after the proposals are presented during a future Commission meeting.

The FWC hosted a virtual public meeting on March 13 to gather thoughts from the public about potential options for highly regulated bear hunting in Florida.

The FWC is also holding a series of virtual public meetings in April to collect feedback directly from Florida residents on proposals for highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida that will be presented to Commissioners at our May meeting. These proposals are based on comments from the March 13 public meeting as well as meetings with stakeholder groups. The content covered in all meetings is identical, and it is not necessary to attend more than one virtual public meeting.

The meeting dates and times are as follows:

• April 2 from 12 – 3 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 96561628155#
• April 3 from 5 – 8 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 94803064202#
• April 5 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 91550331906#

The public can also email their comments to BearComments@MyFWC.com.

The FWC will review previous bear hunting regulations in Florida as well as hunts in other states and public comments. Staff will then develop multiple options and bring those to the public for their feedback, make appropriate changes, and present that information to Commissioners at future Commission meetings.

The FWC must allow for at least one generation length (10 years for Florida black bears) between population abundance estimates to accurately track changes over time. Conducting abundance surveys too frequently for the same population would likely provide a similar estimate, possibly counting some of the same individuals from the prior survey and thus reduce our ability to detect a true change in the population.

Following the most recent statewide population estimate in 2015, multiple bear subpopulations were determined to be large and healthy enough to sustain a hunt. The FWC estimates the four largest subpopulations have grown annually since that time, and no subpopulations have shown evidence of decline.

For more information, please visit our 2015 Florida Black Bear Hunt FAQs page.