On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) released potential rules in preparation for the final vote on the proposed black bear hunt.
This upcoming vote comes off the heels of the first ever recorded deadly black bear attack in Florida in Collier County on May 5 .
In a memorandum for the FWC's May meeting, Morgan Richardson, the director of Hunting and Game Management, detailed the proposed rules for a potential black bear hunt.
During the first year, the proposed season would run Dec. 6-28. If approved, limited black bear hunting season would start this year, according to the FWC. In the future, season dates would be determined annually between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
With this plan, the FWC would create designated Bear Hunt Zones, or BHZs, within Bear Management Units, or BMUs. Permits to hunt the bears would be issued randomly, and no more than 10% of those permits would be given to non-residents.
The FWC would determine the number of permits issued. This would be based on the known bear population and mortality data in the zones, according to the FWC. In addition, the FWC would look at the adult female bear population as a whole when determining permits issued.
Some things that the commissioners could consider include using dogs when hunting, a bag limit of one bear per permit, and allowing bears to be taken in proximity to game feeding stations.
Additionally, the FWC could potentially create a private lands bear harvest program for landowners who have a property size of at least 5,000 acres. This program would start on Jan. 1, 2026, and it would permit landowners to hunt bears on their properties.
If approved, public bear hunting would be reintroduced in the state for the first time since 2015.
The final vote was originally scheduled for May 21. Instead, there will be a future commission meeting for a final hearing at a later date.
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