Why It Matters: During their meeting on August 13, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have the opportunity to re-establish a black bear hunting season for the first time in a decade. If the vote is favorable, Florida sportsmen and women will have the opportunity to pursue a species in which their conservation dollars played a significant role in its recovery.
Highlights:
- During the December 2024 Commission meeting, FWC staff were instructed to put together options for a black bear hunting season in 2025.
- On May 21, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) Assistant Manager, Southeastern States Mark Lance spoke at the Commission meeting, urging the Commission to follow the science presented by FWC staff and vote favorably on bringing a black bear hunting season back to Florida.
- The Commission voted 4-1 to accept FWC’s Alternative 2, which would allow for black bear hunting in the future.
- In advance of the Commission’s August 13 meeting, CSF submitted comments encouraging the Commission to vote favorably on final approval of re-establishing a black bear season.
During the May Commission meeting, more than 165 people signed up to speak on the black bear hunting season proposal. This resulted in 3 hours of public testimony, where arguments ranged from emotionally driven opposition to proponents urging the Commission to follow the science that the agency had just presented. With an estimated 4,000+ bears in Florida, as well as ever increasing reports of human/bear conflict, Florida is one of only a couple of states in the country that has an extremely healthy black bear population yet no regulated hunting season.
Urban and suburban development continues to expand throughout the state, that’s no secret. However, even with the loss of habitat, FWC staff reports show that bear populations are either stable or increasing in almost every corner of the state. This inevitably will lead to conflict, and hunting is far and away the best tool when it comes to managing increasing populations, maintaining genetic diversity, and mitigating human/wildlife conflict. The FWC’s science supports a highly regulated hunt, and formulating wildlife policy utilizing the best available science is one of the key tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This is one of the primary reasons as to why it’s regarded as the most effective wildlife management model in the world.
FWC reported during the May meeting that between the 2002 and 2015 abundance surveys bear populations increased by almost 50% statewide. Additionally, current studies are showing that in the four largest bear subpopulations, which are the units in which they are considering allowing for bear hunting, bear numbers are growing considerably leading to an expansion in range. However, if wildlife management decisions were always made in the court of public opinion without recognizing the best available science, then wildlife will lose in the end. This hunt will accomplish the goal of the FWC to balance population growth with suitable habitat so that black bears will continue to thrive in the state.
CSF looks forward to continuing to work alongside our partners to encourage the Commission to re-establish a black bear season in Florida. We also encourage sportsmen and women to attend the August meeting and voice your support of science-based wildlife management.
