The purpose of the proposed rule changes is to revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Southwest Region and conform to calendar year date changes. The effect of the proposed rule changes is to enable the agency ...  

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    FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION
    Freshwater Fish and Wildlife

    RULE NO: RULE TITLE
    68A-15.061: Specific Regulations for Wildlife Management Areas - Southwest Region
    PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of the proposed rule changes is to revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Southwest Region and conform to calendar year date changes. The effect of the proposed rule changes is to enable the agency to better manage fish and wildlife resources and public use on WMAs.

    SUMMARY: The proposed rule changes would adjust season dates to conform to calendar year changes and revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Southwest Region as follows:

    Babcock/Webb WMA – The proposed rule change would allow managers to employ adaptive harvest management strategies and annually adjust harvest pressure via Order of the Executive Director. This rule change would provide the flexibility to adjust hunter quotas (daily quail permits) on an annual basis using a 30% target harvest rate, fall population estimates, and hunter success rates.

    SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COST: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.

    Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

    SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution, 372.121, 375.313 FS.
    LAW IMPLEMENTED: Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution, 372.121, 375.313 FS.
    A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATES, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

    DATES AND TIME: During the Commission’s regular meeting, February 7-8, 2007, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., each day

    PLACE: Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, 9300 Emerald Coast Parkway, West, Destin, Florida 32550

    Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 5 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: The ADA Coordinator, at (850)488-6411. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

    THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Nick Wiley, Director, Division of Hunting and Game Management, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600

     

    THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

    68A-15.061 Specific Regulations for Wildlife Management Areas – Southwest Region.

    (1) Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. General gun – November 10 11 through January 6 7.

    2. Archery – September 22 23 through October 21 22, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    3. Small game – January 12 13 through February 10 11, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    4. Spring turkey – March 15 17 through April 20 22.

    5. Fishing and frogging – Permitted during periods in which hunting is allowed; and Saturdays and Sundays from May 3 5 to June 15 17. Fishing and frogging is permitted at all other times provided that access is by foot only.

    (b) through (c) No change.

    (d) General regulations:

    1. through 7. No change.

    8. Camps shall be removed by 8:00 p.m., April 20 22 and June 15 17 from the Rock Ridge campground and by April 20 22 from the 471 campground.

    9. through 10. No change.

    (2) Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area – West Unit.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Special-opportunity turkey – March 15-18 17-20, March 24-27 26-29, March 29 31 through April 1 3, April 7-10 9-12 and, 12-15 14-17.

    2. Special-opportunity archery – November 3-6 4-7 and 15-18 16-19.

    3. Special-opportunity general gun – December 13-16 14-17, January 7-10 8-11 and 17-20 18-21.

    4. Special-opportunity hog-still – February 1-3 2-4.

    5. Special-opportunity hog-dog – February 13-15 14-16.

    6. Small game – February 22-24 23-25 and February 29 through March 2 2-4.

    7. through 8. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (3) Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. General gun – October 27 28 through November 4 5.

    2. Small game:

    a. November 10-18 11-19, and

    b. November 21-25, and 22 through January 14 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays only and November 24.

    c. November 28 through January 13 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays only.

    3. No change.

    4. Archery – September 8-9 9-10.

    5. Bird dog training – Bird dogs may be trained in the recreation area September 15 through February 10 and bird dogs may be trained in zones A, B, C, and D during the small game season on those days when daily quail permits are not issued which shall include the day that the season quota for daily quail permits is attained. Quail – Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – November 15-19, 22-26, November 29 through December 3, December 6-10, 13-17 and 20-24.

    (b) Legal to take:

    1. No change.

    2. Small game – all legal small game (except deer, hog and turkey), fish, frogs and furbearers. Only persons in possession of a daily quail permit, issued from November 14 through December 23 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays only, shall kill or be in possession of quail. Quail shall be taken by daily quail permit only within the zone assigned on the daily quail permit. Bag limit for quail is 6 per day. Quail may be taken only during the quail season and only within assigned zones.

    3. through 4. No change.

    5. Quail – all legal game (except deer, hog and turkey), fish, frogs and furbearers. Bag limit for quail is 6 per day. Quail may be taken in Zones A and B by daily quail permit issued on a first-come, first-served basis at the check station. The quota for daily quail permits shall be 10 permits, per zone, for Zones A and B (no exemptions). Daily quail permits for Zones A and B shall be non-transferable.

    (c) No change.

    (d) General regulations:

    1. through 2. No change.

    3. Hunting will be permitted on the field trial area and Boy Scout area during the following periods:

    a. General gun – October 27 28 through November 4 5, by walking hunters.

    b. Small game season on Wednesdays and Thursdays only, by walking hunters, provided that the taking of quail is prohibited.

    c. Field trial quail – January 26-27 27-28.

    d. No change.

    4. No change.

    5. Hunting camps may be set up after 8:00 a.m. October 19 20 and shall be removed by 9:00 p.m. the last day of the small game season. Camping is permitted from 5:00 p.m. Friday to 9:00 p.m. Sunday and on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Labor Day during the remainder of the year.

    6. Bird dogs may be trained in designated areas during the bird dog training season, September 16 through February 11. Dogs shall be caged or leashed in camp areas. Hunting with dogs during the general gun season is prohibited. During quail season, bird dogs may be trained on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays only.

    7. During closed seasons vehicles may be operated only on named or numbered roads in the recreational area lying south of the northern boundaries of Sections 19, 20 and 21, Township 41S, Range 24E and west of the first north-south fence line east of the Seaboard Grade. The operation of vehicles is prohibited in Sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, Township 42S, Range 24E and the west 1/2 of Section 19, Township 42S, Range 25E.

    8. through 9. No change.

    10. No person shall operate a vehicle off named or numbered roads, except during the general gun and small game seasons or when training bird dogs without guns in the recreation area during the bird dog training season.

    11. No change.

    12. During the small game quail season, shotguns shall be plugged to a three-shell capacity with a one-piece filler that cannot be removed without disassembling the gun.

    13. No change.

    14. The season quota for daily quail permits and the specific procedures for issuing the permits shall be as established by Order of the Executive Director or his designee. The season quota for daily quail permits will be adjusted each year, as necessary to achieve an annual quail harvest rate at approximately 30% of the estimated population. Quotas for daily quail permits will be based on estimates of fall population levels relative to a 30% harvest rate and daily hunter success rates. Procedures for issuing daily quail permits will be established in the Order of the Executive Director and will result in distributing quail hunting pressure as evenly as possible among zones A, B, C, and D.

    15. Daily quail permits are non-transferable, valid the day of issuance only, limited to no more than one daily quail permit per person per day, and not subject to exemptions, except that one person younger than 16 years of age may accompany a person older than 18 years of age who holds a daily quail permit and may participate in the hunt provided that both hunters must share a single daily bag limit of quail.

    (4) Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area – Yucca Pens Unit.

    (a) Open season:

    1. General gun – October 27 28 through November 4 5.

    2. Small game – November 10 11 through January 13 14 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays only and November 23 24.

    3. Muzzleloading gun – October 12-14 13-15.

    4. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (5) Upper Hillsborough Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – December 8-16 9-17 and January 5-13 6-14, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – November 10 11 through December 2 3, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    3. Small game – January 19 20 through February 3 4, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    4. Spring turkey – March 19-20 21-22, 26-27 28-29, April 2-3 4-5, 9-10 11-12 and 16-17 18-19.

    5. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (6) Arbuckle Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – October 13 14 through November 2 3.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – November 3-11 4-12.

    3. General gun hog – November 17-25 18-26, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    4. Spring turkey – March 18-20 20-22 and April 1-3 3-5.

    5. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (7) KICCO Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – September 22 23 through October 21 22, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – October 27 28 through November 4 5, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    3. General gun hog – November 10 11 through December 9 10, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    4. Small game – December 15 16 through January 6 7.

    5. Spring turkey – March 15 17 through April 13 15, Saturdays and Sundays only.

    6. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (8) Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. General gun hog – September 14-16, 15-17 and 21-23 22-24 and January 11-13 12-14.

    2. Archery – October 19-21 20-22.

    3. Muzzleloading gun – October 29-31 30 through November 1 and November 2-4 3-5.

    4. General gun – November 9-11 10-12.

    5. Small game – November 12 13 through January 6 7.

    6. through 8. No change.

    9. Spring turkey – March 20-22 22-24 and April 10-12 12-14.

    10. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (9) Walk-in-the-Water Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – September 29 30 through October 14 15.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – October 26-28 27-29.

    3. General gun hog – January 12-20 13-21.

    4. Small game – November 17 18 through December 9 10 and February 2-17 3-18.

    5. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (10) Hilochee Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. No change.

    2. Spring turkey – March 21-23 23-25 and April 4-6 6-8.

    3. Muzzleloading gun – November 2-4 3-5.

    4. General gun hog – November 30 through December 2 1-3, January 11-13 12-14 and 18-20 19-21.

    5. Small game – January 25 26 through February 3 4.

    6. Archery – October 19-21 20-22.

    7. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (11) Lake Marion Creek Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – September 22-24 23-25 and September 28-30 29 through October 1.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – October 27-29 28-30.

    3. General gun – November 10-12 11-13 and 16-18 17-19.

    4. Small game – December 7-9 8-10 and 14-16 15-17.

    5. General gun hog – January 5-7 6-8.

    6. Spring turkey – March 15-17 17-19, March 28-30 through April  1 and April 11-13 13-15.

    7. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (12) Avon Park Air Force Range Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – September 22 23 through October 21 22 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – October 27 28 through November 4 5 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    3. General gun – November 10 11 through January 20 21 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    4. Small game – December 31 January 1 through March 2 4 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    5. Spring turkey – March 15 17 through April 20 22 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    6. Antlerless deer – November 17-23 18-24 in areas and during days specified by the Installation Commander.

    7. through 8. No change.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    (13) Croom Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Muzzleloading gun – October 26-28 27-29.

    2. General gun – November 10 11 through December 2 3.

    3. Small game – December 3 4 through March 2 4.

    4. Spring turkey – March 18-20 20-22, April 1-3 3-5 and 15-17 17-19.

    5. Fox, raccoon and bobcat – December 13 14 through March 9 11. Hunting is permitted from 5:00 p.m. Thursday to sunrise Sunday with dogs only. No guns allowed.

    6. through 7. No change.

    (b) through (c) No change.

    (d) General regulations:

    1. Hunting with dogs is prohibited November 10 11 through December 2 3. Hunting with dogs other than bird dogs is prohibited December 3-12 4-13, except that dogs may be used for hunting fox, raccoon or bobcat during the fox, raccoon and bobcat season, and dogs with a shoulder height of 15 inches or less may be used to hunt small game during the small game season in the portion of the area south of Croom Road, bounded on the east by Croom-Rital Road to its juncture with the boundary fence of the Croom Motorcycle area located in Sections 17, 18, 19, 30, 31 and those parts of Sections 7 and 8 lying south of the old railroad right-of-way, Township 22 South, Range 21 East, and thence bounded by said boundary fence. Trailing dogs on a leash are permitted.

    2. through 7. No change.

    (14) Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area.

    (a) Open season:

    1. Archery – September 22 23 through October 21 22.

    2. Muzzleloading gun – October 26-28 27-29.

    3. General gun – November 10 11 through January 6 7.

    4. through 5. No change.

    6. Spring turkey – March 22-25 24-27 and March 26-30 28 through April 1.

    (b) through (d) No change.

    PROPOSED EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2007.

    Specific Authority Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., 372.121, 375.313 FS. Law Implemented Art. IV, Sec. 9, Fla. Const., 372.121, 375.313 FS. History–New 6-21-82, Amended 7-1-83, 11-17-83, 7-5-84, 10-1-84, 7-1-85, 9-19-85, 5-7-86, 5-10-87, 6-8-87, 10-8-87, 5-1-88, 7-1-89, 7-1-90, 7-1-91, 7-2-91, 7-1-92, 8-23-92, 7-1-93, 7-1-94, 7-1-95, 7-1-96, 9-15-96, 6-1-97, 8-7-97, 7-1-98, 10-20-98, 12-28-98, 7-1-99, Formerly 39-15.061, Amended 12-9-99, 3-30-00, 7-1-00, 7-1-01, 5-13-02, 5-25-03, 7-1-04, 7-1-05, 7-1-06, 7-1-07.

     

    NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Mr. Nick Wiley, Director, Division of Hunting and Game Management.

    NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSONWHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Mr. Kenneth D. Haddad, Executive Director

    DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: December 6, 2006

    DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: November 22, 2006

Document Information

Comments Open:
1/5/2007
Summary:
: The proposed rule changes would adjust season dates to conform to calendar year changes and revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Southwest Region as follows: Babcock/Webb WMA - The proposed rule change would allow managers to employ adaptive harvest management strategies and annually adjust harvest pressure via Order of the Executive Director. This rule change would provide the flexibility to adjust hunter quotas (daily quail permits) on an annual ...
Purpose:
The purpose of the proposed rule changes is to revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the Southwest Region and conform to calendar year date changes. The effect of the proposed rule changes is to enable the agency to better manage fish and wildlife resources and public use on WMAs.
Rulemaking Authority:
Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution; Section 372.121, 375.313, Florida Statutes.
Law:
Article IV, Section 9, Florida Constitution; Section 372.121, 375.313, Florida Statutes.
Contact:
Nick Wiley, Director, Division of Hunting and Game Management, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600.
Related Rules: (1)
68A-15.061. Specific Regulations for Wildlife Management Areas - Southwest Region