At this week’s Commission meeting in Ocala, Commissioners of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted to approve proposed amendments to bear hunting rules for advertising in the Florida Administrative Register. The rule proposals are expected to be brought back before the Commission at its August 2025 meeting for a final hearing and, if the final rules are approved, most changes would take effect during the 2025-26 hunting season.

At its December 2024 Commission meeting, the FWC’s Bear Management Program gave Commissioners a 5-year update on implementing the 2019 Florida Black Bear Management Plan, highlighting recent bear management and research efforts. Following the presentation, the Commissioners directed staff to return to a future Commission meeting to propose options for implementing a potential bear hunt.

FWC staff presented bear hunt options at the May 2025 Commission meeting, which were developed with input from stakeholder groups and public meetings on March 13 and April 2, 3 and 5. Between Dec. 6, 2024, and April 20, 2025, staff received and compiled more than 3,900 comments from the public on this topic. An online comment tool was also open from April 2 to 20, 2025, resulting in more than 13,000 unique responses.

“The resurgence of the Florida black bear is not just a victory for conservationists; it’s a win for all Floridians,” said Rodney Barreto, Chairman of the FWC. “Hunting is a biologically sound method to slow population growth, resulting in a healthy and well-managed Florida black bear population for the future.”

Hunting would allow the FWC to start managing population growth rates for the Bear Management Units, or BMUs, with the largest bear subpopulations. Balancing species population growth with suitable habitat helps to maintain a healthy population. Hunting is an important and effective tool for managing wildlife populations around the world, but it is important to acknowledge that managing bear populations does not manage human-bear conflicts. Conflict prevention and bear management practices will still need to continue regardless of whether Commissioners approve final rules for reopening regulated bear hunting in the future.

For more information, including answers to frequently asked questions about this topic, visit MyFWC.com/BearHunting. To learn more about black bears and how to avoid conflicts with them, visit BearWise.org.