FWC Extends Alligator Hunting Season in Two Counties Affected by Flooding
October 12, 2008
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has issued an executive order extending the alligator hunting season in Seminole and Volusia counties because of the historic flooding of the St. Johns River from Tropical Storm Fay.
The order extends the hunting season only on Lake Harney (AMU 505) and Lake Jesup (AMU 510) and in Seminole County (AMU 857) and Volusia County (AMU 864) from one hour before sunset on Nov. 1 through one hour after sunrise on Dec. 1.
The FWC also will refund the base price of the license and tag fees to persons issued permits for these affected areas, provided that the permittee has not used either of the two tags to harvest an alligator and that the permittee mails the original license and both unused tags to the FWC, postmarked on or before Nov. 1. Persons who are potentially eligible for a refund will receive a letter detailing how to use this option.
Seminole County and Volusia County officials said public ramps under their jurisdiction will remain closed until the water recedes to normal levels. At that time, officials will inspect ramps and begin repairs where needed and ready them for safe use. Information about ramps in Seminole County can be obtained at www.seminolecountyfl.gov/guide/prelease.asp
. Information about ramps in Volusia County can be found at www.volusia.org/news.htm.Â
All unused tags and completed copies of alligator harvest report forms from persons issued permits for the affected areas must be received by the FWC by Dec. 15. There will be no refunds or season extensions for any other alligator management units. For additional information, please visit the Alligator Management section of the FWC’s Web site at MyFWC.com/gators.
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Mississippi Private Lands Alligator Hunting Season Announced
July 18, 2008
JACKSON - The Commission on the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks has announced its intention to open a private lands alligator hunting season in the following counties; Hinds, Holmes, Issaquena, Madison, Rankin, Warren and Yazoo counties. The season dates are September 26 – October 4. Persons who own private land that contain a minimum of 20 acres of permanent surface water within these counties, may be eligible to receive a special harvest voucher to harvest an alligator from their property. Vouchers will be issued at the rate of one for the first 20 acres of surface water and an additional voucher for each additional 100 acres of surface water. No public water will be considered for eligibility. Landowners will be allowed to transfer any or all vouchers to residents or non-residents 16 years of age or older. The possessors of the vouchers are required to attend and complete the MDWFP Private Lands Alligator Hunting Training Course on September 6, from 9 a.m. until noon at the MDWFP Central Office in Jackson. Upon completion, the holder of the harvest voucher will be eligible to purchase a Private Lands Alligator Hunting Permit (PLAHP). The cost of the PLAHP is $100 for residents and $200 for non-residents. Other license requirements may apply.
An application and other proof of ownership are required. There is a $5 fee to apply. For more information, instructions, and applications visit www.mdwfp.com/alligator or you may call (601) 432-2199.
The deadline for application submission to the MDWFP is August 15, 2008.
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Fall Alligator Hunting Season Set In Georgia
July 18, 2008
Georgia remains a popular destination for alligator hunters given the available healthy population of more than 200,000 gators. For the past six years, thousands of applicants have competed for a chance to participate in a quota hunt, and the number of applicants continues to grow each year. The deadline for this year’s applications is July 31. For those selected, the season runs Sept. 6 - Oct. 5.
“Georgia’s alligator population is monitored annually. It remains a renewable natural resource that has shown it can sustain a regulated harvest on an annual basis,” says WRD Assistant Chief of Game Management John Bowers. “This is a unique hunting opportunity in Georgia that also allows hunters to provide additional funding for wildlife conservation through the purchase of hunting licenses and associated hunting equipment.”
Interested hunters must complete a quota hunt application online at www.gohuntgeorgia.com before midnight July 31 (the application period opened June 1, 2008). Hunters receive their selection status by e-mail and those selected get a temporary harvest tag and information packet by mail in early August.
All hunters may attend a voluntary training session. During these sessions, wildlife experts provide information on safety, capture and handling techniques, processing and more.
Last fall, 553 permitted hunters harvested 140 alligators. Introduced in 2003, alligator hunting continues to gain interest, with nearly 4,400 applications submitted last year, a 42 percent increase from 2006.
WRD Biologists conduct annual surveys enabling the agency to monitor populations and make management decisions. Since the inception of this hunting opportunity (2003), the population has remained stable, suggesting additional flexibility in the areas that can be hunted and the number available for harvest.
In Georgia, alligators typically live south of the fall line (which roughly connects the cities of Columbus, Macon and Augusta), occupying a variety of wetland habitats in the wild including marshes, swamps, rivers, farm ponds and lakes. They also occasionally inhabit ditches, drainage canals, golf course ponds and swimming pools. Male alligators grow up to 16 feet in length, while female alligators rarely surpass 10 feet. Large alligators weigh more than 800 pounds. Opportunistic carnivores, they eat aquatic insects, crayfish, frogs, fish, turtles, water birds and more.
For more information on the 2008 alligator hunting season, visit www.gohuntgeorgia.com , contact a WRD Game Management Office or call (229) 426-5267.
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Process Begins For Second Alligator Hunting Season
June 4, 2008
LITTLE ROCK - The first step in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s renewal process for a second year of the well-received alligator hunting season has begun. For the past couple of weeks, AGFC field crews have been busy conducting spotlight surveys across south Arkansas.
The population data, a harvest report from the first alligator hunt, a summary of last year’s nuisance alligator activities and a report on Arkansas’ farm-raised alligators will all be compiled into a single report and submitted to the U. S Fish and Wildlife Service by July 1. The USFWS will have to review the information to determine if the conservative hunting season is having any negative impacts on overall alligator numbers.Â
The timeline for pulling-off this hunt is very narrow this year, reported Ricky Chastain, AGFC Assistant Chief of the Wildlife Management Division. “Last year, we used spotlight data collected in 2001-2003. All our permit locations and permit numbers were already known going into the approval process. Now, we are required to collect new spotlight data and the survey routes can’t be run until late May early June. Unfortunately, this is the schedule we will have to use from now on,” Chastain explained
It is the goal of the AGFC Alligator Management Team to have an alligator hunt proposal ready to present to the Commission by July 17. “This proposal will likely precede any official approval from the USFWS,” Chastain said. “In order for this hunt to take place, we must proceed with some of these steps without USFWS approval. We are confident the data will support our recommendations for another hunt,” he added.
Following the presentation of the alligator hunt proposal, the Commission will begin the process of taking on-line applications for the public land and private land at-large permits. The application period for these randomly drawn permits will be July 18 through Aug. 15. “We do not anticipate any big changes in the number of total available permits or the basic structure of the hunt. Information on hunt locations and permits will be posted on our Web site at www.agfc.com as they are finalized,” Chastain said. The exact locations of available permits will not be known until the surveys are complete and the initial proposal is given to the Commission in July.
Once the hunt is approved by the Commission in August, the pace of the process will quicken. All permits must be issued and confirmations received no later than Sept. 3. The mandatory hunter orientation classes will be held on Sept. 6 and Sept. 13. The first of two alligator hunts will be begin 30 minutes after sunset on Friday, Sept. 19 and will end 30 minutes before sunrise on Monday, Sept. 22. The second alligator hunt will be begin 30 minutes after sunset on Friday, Sept. 26 and will end 30 minutes before sunrise on Monday, Sept. 29.
Chastain strongly urges anyone interested in a chance to participate in the alligator hunt to be aware of the dates in this process. “We really want the public to understand how this process must be condensed into a short timeframe and to be prepared to respond to the timelines of the application period, as well as plan ahead for the orientation sessions and hunt times if successfully drawn,” he said.Â
During the 2007 alligator hunting season, 32 permits were issued and 21 alligators were harvested. Twelve gators were harvested in the southwest quarter of the state and nine were harvested in the southeast quarter. The largest alligator taken was a 12 foot, 8 inch male taken on private land in southeast Arkansas.
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