Summary


The proposed rule amendment would revise or establish specific area regulations on WEAs as follows: Southwest Region. Lake Wales Ridge WEA, Royce Unit – establish a 2-day youth turkey hunt (quota of 5, no exemptions) with a bag limit of one turkey per quota permit. North Central Region Fort White WEA – establish a 2-day youth turkey hunt (quota of 3, no exemptions) with a bag limit of one turkey per quota permit. Lafayette Forest WEA – establish a 2-day youth turkey hunt (quota of 5, no exemptions) with a bag limit of one turkey per quota permit. Northwest Region. Apalachicola River WEA – remove the limitation of one gun per hunting party during the wild hog-dog season. L. Kirk Edwards WEA – establish the following seasons and regulations for the portion of the area east of Chaires Cross Road: three 3-day archery hunts (quota 5 per hunt, no exemptions); establish a 2-day family hunt (quota 3, no exemptions); establish four 3-day archery and muzzleloading gun hunts (quota 5 per hunt, no exemptions); establish a 15-day small game season (five 3-day hunts); a 2-day youth turkey hunt (quota of 3, no exemptions); allow fishing and frogging year round; prohibit trapping; establish as legal to take all legal game, fish, frogs, and furbearers, except that turkeys may be hunted only during the spring turkey seasons; set the bag limit for deer during the archery season at one antlered or one antlerless deer per quota permit; set the bag limit for deer during the family hunts at one antlered and one antlerless deer per quota permit; set the bag limit for deer during the archery/muzzleloading gun season at one antlered deer per quota permit; set the bag limit during the youth turkey hunt at one turkey per quota permit; and all other rules that currently apply to the area. South Region. Southern Glades WEA – establish wild hog as legal to take during small game season; remove bag limit and shoulder height restriction for wild hog. Additionally the proposed rule amendment would provide non-substantive technical changes, such as grammatical corrections, language standardization, or clarification of an existing rule. There are also proposed changes to some hunting seasons on FWC-managed areas in an effort to better align season dates with times of peak deer activity associated with the breeding season and other hunter preferences.