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FWC offers public unique hunting opportunities
June 7, 2007
Contact: Office of Licensing & Permitting (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 are available from FWC regional offices and at
MyFWC.com/hunting under "Limited Entry Hunts.†The period for
submitting applications to be included in the random drawing is
10 a.m. (EDT) June 19 - July 6. These applications may be
submitted through the Internet, at tax collector offices or at
any license agent. Applications are no longer accepted by mail.
Mobility-impaired hunts are for persons who require special
equipment. These hunts are not intended for hunters who have
Florida Disabled Person Hunting and Fishing Certificates, but
rather those who are permanently confined to a wheelchair,
persons 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.
Two WMAs in the North Central Region (Camp Blanding and Andrews)
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 hunts are popular,
and the number of applicants exceeds the number of spaces
available each year.
Family hunts are offered at Allapattah Flats, Perdido River,
Lafayette Creek, Matanzas, Andrews, Devil’s Hammock and Dinner
Island 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 allows the
adult supervisor to hunt with the children.
Wildlife management areas 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 Hutton Unit and Blackwater Field Trial Area in
the Northwest Region. There are seven two-day hunts available on
the Hutton Unit and two four-day hunts on the Field Trial Area.
The quota is two groups per hunt on the Hutton Unit and three
groups per hunt on the Field Trial Area. 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.
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