Summary


The proposed rule amendment would adjust season dates to conform to calendar year changes and revise specific area regulations on Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in the South Region as follows: Allapattah Flats WMA – harvesting antlered deer not having 1 antler with 3 or more points or 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more is prohibited, except persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. Big Cypress WMA – harvesting antlered deer not having 1 antler with 2 or more points is prohibited; and persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length. Dinner Island Ranch WMA – as an alternative to existing 3 point antler point restriction, also allow the harvest of antlered deer having at least 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more; persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; allow harvest of deer during the family hunt; extend the shooting hours during spring turkey season from 1 p.m. to sunset; and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. Fisheating Creek WMA – harvesting antlered deer not having 1 antler with 3 or more points or 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more is prohibited, except persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; extend the shooting hours during spring turkey season from 1 p.m. to sunset (west of U.S. 27 only); and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. J.W. Corbett WMA – harvesting antlered deer not having 1 antler with 3 or more points or 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more is prohibited, except persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; extend the shooting hours during spring turkey season from 1 p.m. to sunset; and prohibit the use or possession of unlicensed and unregistered motor vehicles following the close of spring turkey season until 5 p.m. three days prior to the opening of archery season. Okaloacoochee Slough WMA – as an alternative to existing 3 point antler point restriction, also allow the harvest of antlered deer having at least 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more; persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. Picayune Strand WMA – harvesting antlered deer not having 1 antler with two or more points is prohibited, except persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; allow properly licensed and permitted hunters to harvest conditional non-native snakes and lizards during established hunting seasons; require harvest of conditional non-native snakes and lizards be reported to FWC within 36 hours; prohibit removal of live non-native snakes and lizards from the area; and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. Spirit-of-the-Wild WMA – as an alternative to existing 3 point antler point restriction, also allow the harvest of antlered deer having at least 1 antler with a main beam of 10 inches or more; persons less than 16 years of age may harvest any antlered deer with 1 antler 5 inches or more in length; and clarify that during spring turkey season the area limit of 1 per day and the statewide season limit of 2 apply. Additionally, the proposed rule amendment would provide non-substantive technical changes, such as grammatical corrections, language standardization, or clarification of an existing rule.