Why It Matters: Louisiana and Florida are two of the most recent states to re-establish hunting seasons on black bears. While hunters cannot just go and buy tags or permits over the counter, they are throwing their names into the proverbial hat (lottery system) in hopes of drawing tags. Hunters are not the only ones throwing their names in the hat – anti hunting organizations have been attempting to flood the lottery system with the hopes of drawing a tag and never using it. These two new hunting seasons have generated a significant amount of additional funding for black bear conservation through the “user pays – public benefits” structure of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF).
Highlights:
- In 2024, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its Commission re-established their first black bear hunting season since the late 1980s. The 2024 hunt was a resounding success, with 10 out of 11 tags being filled and a 100% opportunity rate.
- In 2025, Louisiana has more than doubled the number of tags that’ll be available, and they have seen a total of 1,330 applications for tags.
- Also in 2025, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission unanimously approved the re-establishment of a black bear hunting season in Florida for the first time since 2014. 163,459 people put in for one of the 172 available permits.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) was on the front lines in advocating for black bear hunting to be brought back in both Florida and Louisiana. The story of black bears in each of these states is among the greatest conservation success stories in the southern United States. They’re a testament to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the role that sportsmen and women play in conservation. Between these two hunts, hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for conservation have been made available and will go back into the scientific management of black bears. In Florida alone, the application process netted the FWC over $800,000 that otherwise would not have been put back into conservation.
Science-based wildlife management is one of the key tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. As we have seen elsewhere throughout the country, the hunting of black bears and other charismatic megafauna has been a contentious topic where opponents of the concept cater to emotion rather than science. Due to population declines resulting from habitat loss and over-hunting, the Louisiana black bear was added to the List of Endangered and Threatened Species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1992. Since then, through proper management supported in large part by dollars generated by sportsmen and women through the ASCF, the Louisiana black bear was de-listed from the ESA in 2016, where environmentalist groups sued to re-list it. Finally, in 2024, a federal court in Louisiana dismissed the lawsuit, paving the way for hunting season.
In Florida, science-based decision making prevailed again as the Commission voted unanimously to reinstate a season that will take place in 4 bear hunting zones within 4 of the 7 bear management units across Florida in December of this year. Again, the anti-hunting community has filed suit against the Commission in an attempt to halt the hunt, and they have attempted to “flood the lottery” in hopes of thwarting legal, licensed hunters from obtaining a bear permit. However, all that’s done is, for the first time in recent memory, had anti-hunters paying into conservation, while likely seeing increased quotas in the coming years.
CSF applauds the fish and wildlife agencies and their commissions for utilizing science in their decision-making process. These new seasons give the sporting community another chance to pursue an iconic species while generating a significant amount of additional revenue that’ll go back into ensuring the continued successful management of black bears.
