Florida Hog Hunting Available Soon on Public Lands
If you like to hunt wild hogs, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has several upcoming opportunities on public lands in northwest Florida that you won’t find in the most recent printed brochures for wildlife management areas.
On the Joe Budd Small Game Area near Tallahassee, still hunters can hunt hogs May 3-5 without having to obtain a quota permit. Additionally, the hunter quota for hog hunts using dogs has been increased from five to 10. Wild hog-dog hunts on Budd are set for May 16-19, June 20-23, July 18-21, Aug. 15-18 and Sept. 19-22.
On the nearby Ochlockonee River SGA, the still hunter quota has been increased from 30 to 50 hunters per hunt, and the hunt area has been expanded to include the area south of Interstate 10. This year’s open hunt dates are May 10-12, June 14-16, July 12-14, Aug. 9-11 and Sept. 13-15.
Hog hunts are also set for the Aucilla SGA in Jefferson County and Blackwater SGA in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.
The online brochures and hunting rules for Joe Budd, Ochlockonee River, Aucilla and Blackwater SGAs can be viewed or downloaded by going to MyFWC.com/Hunting and selecting “WMA Brochures.”
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.
