Summary
The proposed rule change would revise or clarify the rule as follows: Provide that the number of quota and special-opportunity permits shall be established by order of the Executive Director, after approval of the Commission; change all quota hunt permits from transferable to nontransferable; establish a guest permit for archery, muzzleloading gun, general gun, wild hog, mobility-impaired and spring turkey hunt types; allow one guest permit per quota hunt permit; allow an individual to be the guest of only one quota permit holder per hunt; require the guest and host hunters to enter and exit the area together, share the same vehicle and share the bag limit; provide that the guest may only hunt when the host is present on the area; provide that the guest may bring no additional hunters; provide that the quota permit holder may bring only one additional hunter (one guest, one youth, one mentor supervisor or one mentor license holder); require the guest to hunt in the same zone as the host (on those areas with zone tags); and provide that these changes would not apply to the Blackwater WMA dog hunts or Holton Creek WMA; expand quota hunt types from archery/muzzleloading gun and general gun to archery, muzzleloading gun, general gun and wild hog; allow up to 5 permits per hunt type (only one of which may be issued during the Phase I or Phase II drawings for each hunt type) and one permit per hunt number; allow preference points to accumulate for each year an applicant is not selected during Phase I; base the issuance of group permits on the group member with the lowest number of preference points; allow all quota permits to be returned postmarked prior to the hunt; allow returned permits drawn by preference to have preference points restored and an additional point awarded and those returned permits drawn during Phase I to have a preference point awarded; provide that returned quota permits be re-issued; and eliminate preference points if an applicant fails to apply for 2 consecutive years; change quotas or bag limits on the following areas: Croom – muzzleloading gun and general gun from 400 to 300; Hickory Hammock – general gun hog from 10 to 5; KICCO – spring turkey from 15 to 10; Upper Hillsborough River – archery and muzzleloading gun from 150 to 75; Andrews – archery from 60 to 45, muzzleloading gun, and general gun from 40 to 30 and spring turkey from 30 to 25; Twin Rivers increase the number of permits issued for archery, muzzleloading gun and general gun seasons from 30 to 45 per hunt and eliminate the 30 first-come first-served permits issued at the check station; increase the number of quota permits for spring turkey from 12 to 20 and eliminate the 12 first-come first-served permits issued at the check station; Joe Budd – archery and archery/muzzleloading gun from 50 to 35; Dexter/Mary Farms – archery, muzzleloading gun and general gun from 40 to 30.