Florida board approves next steps toward proposed bear hunt – Tampa Bay Times

A Florida board of wildlife commissioners greenlit a set of rules that would lay the groundwork for the first bear hunt in a decade, after more than three hours of heated public comment Wednesday.
The plan to amend Florida‘s hunting rules was presented in Ocala to commissioners for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the board appointed by Gov. Ron Desantis. The 4-1 vote is a step toward an official bear hunt that would happen this year. The commission will consider a final approval in August, pending any other proposal changes.
In a memo to commissioners, Morgan Richardson, director of hunting and game management, wrote that the number of bear permits issued each year would be determined based on bear population and mortality data.
State wildlife officials said the proposal would allow 187 permits to kill black bears this year. Only one permit would be allowed per person, and each person would be allowed to kill one bear.
Should the proposal be approved, a 23-day hunt would begin in December. The following year, the season would run from October through December.
Public comment ran for more than three hours and included divisive opinions from both sides of the proposal. The room, a mix of people dressed in camouflage or dress shirts, was so full that a fire marshal told commissioners that some attendees needed to move to another area.
Advocates for the hunt said bear and human interactions have escalated over the years, and that hunting is a “science-backed” way to manage populations.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods spoke first and said his county’s population has grown, and with it so have calls about bear sightings. He told commissioners he supported the proposal.
“The other thing I know about my citizens, I love them, they’re gun-toting individuals,” Woods said. “They will protect themselves, and they will protect their property, and they will have my support.”
Opponents of the hunt called it inhumane and unnecessary, often questioning why the proposal was made without current black bear population data.
Steve Wonderly, a representative of the Sierra Club Volusia-Flagler Group, called for better data in the form of a new bear census.
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“Good science relies on good data to take a step as large as the one contemplated here today,” Wonderly said. “Let’s follow the science with the best data as possible.”
Calling it “one of Florida‘s most successful conservation efforts,” the wildlife commission says there are more than 4,000 wild black bears compared to several hundred in the 1970s, and that there are “multiple indicators” the population is stable and increasing in Florida.
But the agency hasn’t completed a population survey in roughly a decade, claiming a study that comes too soon might double-count individual bears.
George Warthen, the agency’s chief conservation officer, told commissioners he believes Florida has some of the best black bear data in the country. He said the survey data is intended to be used over a 10-year time frame.
Florida is one of six states in the nation with an established bear population that does not allow hunting, according to the commission.
The proposal comes a couple of weeks after a black bear killed a man and his dog in a rural area east of Naples, the first confirmed fatal attack in the state.
Gary Lester, the vice president of community relations for The Villages who was tapped by DeSantis to be a wildlife commissioner in 2022, first proposed the bear hunt during a December commission meeting.
Rodney Barreto, a developer who chairs the wildlife agency, said in response to Lester that commissioners have had internal conversations about bear “hotspots” in the state and whether a hunt would be possible in the future.
More than 13,000 people participated in a public survey regarding the proposal. Three-quarters of respondents opposed the plan, and 23% supported it, according to Warthen.
Black hear hunting was regulated and permitted in Florida from the 1950s until 1994. It was reopened briefly in 2015.
Much of the commission meeting was haunted by the last hunt that occurred a decade ago.
In 2015, 295 bears were killed in just two days, according to previous reporting from the Tampa Bay Times. The hunt was expected to run for a week, but it closed five days early after officials worried about exceeding the 320-bear limit set by the wildlife commission.
All told, hunters killed more than 300 bears.
The newly proposed rules would divide the state into seven bear management zones, but hunting would be allowed in just four of those areas. In the other three areas, officials estimate there are less than 200 bears, according to reporting from the Orlando Sentinel.
Hunting permits would be given out through a random drawing and would cost $100 for Florida residents and $300 for nonresidents.
Staff made several recommendations, including the use of dogs in a hunt or allowing hunting at feeding stations. The measures were approved by commissioners.
Hunters would not be allowed to kill cubs, defined as 100 pounds or less, or female bears with cubs.
The rules would require hunters to report bear kills to the state within 24 hours. The rule changes do not mention a 2015 stipulation that required hunters to bring their kills to official wildlife check-in stations.
Officials said that’s because the hunt would last weeks instead of days, and it wouldn’t be feasible to have staff stationed at check-in areas.
The favorable vote on the proposed rules comes as public scrutiny around the DeSantis-appointed wildlife board has reached new heights in recent weeks.
A leading democratic lawmaker, Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, went as far as introducing a proposal this legislative session to reform the board to make room for more scientists, ranchers, conservationists and wildlife experts. That measure never got a hearing.
Still, public anger over who sits on the state’s top wildlife board could be seen on a handful of billboards around the commission meeting Wednesday, with bold black letters in front of a stark-yellow background reading: “Did you know? Developers run your wildlife agency.”
Elise Bennett, the Florida and Caribbean director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said she’s concerned that staff haven’t considered the weaker, smaller populations of bears across Florida.
“This rushed decision is contrary to the commission’s black bear management plan and the weight of public opinion,” Bennett said.
“The commission’s rushed decision will only further undermine Floridians’ shaky trust in our state conservation officials.”
Times staff reporter Max Chesnes contributed to this report.
Michaela Mulligan a climate and environment reporter. Reach her at mmulligan@tampabay.com.
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