Florida’s Deer Hunting Auxiliary Check Stations Announced
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) announces nine auxiliary check stations for hunters to use to check the deer and turkey they harvest during the upcoming hunting seasons on Ocala Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and the Gores Landing Unit of the Ocklawaha River WMA.
Hunters are required to check all deer and turkey harvested from the Ocala WMA at one of the following check stations prior to field-dressing or transporting the carcass out of the hunt area:
- Advantage Sports Center in Salt Springs;
- Country Store in Altoona;
- Eureka Bait and Tackle in Eureka;
- Forest Hills Grocery in Forest Hills;
- Ocklawaha River Country Store in Hog Valley;
- Wiggler’s Bait and Tackle in Lynne;
- South Moon Fish Camp in Astor;
- Astor Arms and Outdoor Supplies in Astor; and
- Scrambletown Country Store in Scrambletown.
Hunters using the Gores Landing Unit are not required to check their deer, but the FWC asks that they do. They can check them in any of the nine check stations listed above, but the most convenient station to the Gores Landing Unit is Eureka Bait and Tackle in Eureka.
The data collected at the check stations is valuable to wildlife biologists to help them manage the deer populations in those areas. Of particular interest is the number of deer taken, general physical condition and weight.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
