During a March 2022 meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved the establishment of a new wildlife management area (WMA) in northwest Florida. The new WMA offers hunters the opportunity to harvest wild hog, spring turkey, deer, small game, and migratory birds in the upcoming hunting seasons.
A Push for More Hunting Opportunities
In the past six years, the FWC has established a number of new WMA areas and expanded existing WMA land to broaden Florida hunting opportunities. The Florida WMA system has gained around 100,000 acres, for a total of about six million acres in the state.
The land in the WMA is owned and managed by several varying agencies. Many WMAs are open to public hunting, including special-opportunity hunts, quota hunts, and non-quota hunts. Commonly hunted animals in the Florida WMAs include quail, grey squirrels, wild hogs, turkey, and white-tailed deer.
The most recent additions to the FWC WMAs and their acreage are as follow:
- A-1 FEB - 16,908 acres in Palm Beach county
- Everglade Headwaters (Arbuckle, Hatchneha, Kissimmee Bend units) - 7,160 acres in Polk and Okeechobee counties
- Orange Hammock - 5,777 acres in Sarasota county
- Pine Meadows - 769 acres in Lake county
- Plank Road - 8,096 acres in Jefferson and Leon counties
- Silver Springs Forest - 4,900 acres in Marion county
Among the cooperators for these additions are the South Florida Water Management District, Florida Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lake County, and St. Johns River Water Management District.
The Most Recent WMA Addition
The most recent addition to NW Florida’s WMA hunting opportunities is Tate’s Hell - St. James Island in Franklin County. The WMA boasts 8,182 acres of public lands for hunters to enjoy.
The area was previously approved for small game hunting for animals such as geese, duck, snipe, coots, dove, and woodcock in 2021 and 2022. The site was owned by the Northwest Florida Water Management system but is now managed by the FWC and Florida Forest System.
To discover more about Florida’s public hunting areas, visit the WMA system website. Before traveling to a WMA to hunt, check online to determine whether the area is closed to hunting. Also, check to view specific hunting regulations such as using hunting dogs, general gun rules, archery muzzleloading gun requirements, and whether you need a hunting license.
