Florida

Home to the Everglades, the Florida Keys, and borders to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the Sunshine State offers a unique experience for hunters and anglers. Entering statehood in 1845, Florida is world renowned for its sportfishing opportunities. For anglers, the quarry is almost too bountiful to list. Common pursuits include everything from largemouth bass in Lake Okeechobee, to snook, tarpon, redfish, and speckled trout inshore, to red snapper, sailfish, wahoo, and mahi-mahi offshore. Hunters also have an abundance of opportunities to pursue including white-tailed deer, waterfowl, alligator, and the Osceola turkey (which are only native to the Sunshine State).

For more information on the elected officials protecting and promoting the sportsmen’s traditions in Florida, please contact: Mark Lance

Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus

Representative Gus Bilirakis Representative Vern Buchanan Representative Kat Cammack Representative Neal Dunn Representative Scott Franklin Representative Brian Mast Representative Bill Posey Representative John Rutherford Representative Greg Steube

Florida Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus Leadership

Representative Danny Alvarez Senator Jim Boyd Senator Jason Brodeur

Florida Policy Highlights

In 2023, the Caucus was instrumental in passing HJR 1157, which put the right to hunt and fish, including the use of traditional methods, constitutional amendment on the ballot for Florida voters in 2024.

In 2020, the Caucus was instrumental in the passage of legislation (SB 1414) which expanded the statute prohibiting the harassment of hunters, anglers, and trappers by extending protections to sportsmen and women on public lands and waters

Three hunters with dog in field

The Caucus has been instrumental over the years defeating numerous would have negatively impacted sporting dog owners.

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Paid Hunting License Holders

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Paid Angling License Holders

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Generated for Wildlife Conservation

Florida Policy Briefs

No-Net-Loss

“No-Net-Loss” of public lands has become increasingly important to ensure access to public lands and waterways for current and future generations of sportsmen and women.… Read more.

Off Highway Vehicles (OHV)

In recent years, Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) use has increased rapidly across the country.The unmitigated consequences of such growth not only threatens the environmental health… Read more.
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Florida Latest News

September 28, 2026

South Atlantic Red Snapper Permits Approved, Opening Door to Longer Seasons and Better Data 

Why It Matters: NOAA Fisheries has approved the latest round of exempted fishing permits (EFPs) for Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, giving eligible anglers an opportunity to fish for South Atlantic red snapper beyond the three-day federal season while testing new state-led data collection methods. The information gathered on fishing effort, harvest, and discards will […]

September 8, 2026

Florida’s Black Bear Hunt Demonstrates Success of Science-Based Wildlife Management 

Why It Matters: Florida’s black bear hunt has entered a new chapter following the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) decision to re-establish a highly regulated hunting season. After nearly a decade without a statewide bear hunt, Florida sportsmen and women can participate in the management of one of the state’s most iconic wildlife […]

August 17, 2026

New South Atlantic Red Snapper EFPs Offer Viable Path to Better Management 

Why It Matters: The South Atlantic’s recreational red snapper fishery has long been hampered by uncertainty surrounding estimates of recreational catch, effort, and discards. Three new Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) applications from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina offer an opportunity to address that challenge by pairing additional fishing opportunity in the month of October with enhanced, state-based data collection. If […]

June 22, 2026

The Gulf Showed the Way. The South Atlantic Still Awaits Their Chance. 

Why It Matters: For over a decade, South Atlantic red snapper anglers have been trapped in a management system that routinely relies on federal recreational catch data that consistently misses even the National Marine Fisheries Service’s mark for useable data. This year, a state-led effort to collect more accurate and timely catch information through exempted fishing permits (EFPs) offered a […]

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Florida Reports

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Impact You Can See

Sportsmen and women will be able to hunt black bears in FL for the first time in over a decade.