"Southwest Florida Water Management District":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ land managers plan to hold a series of hog hunts on District land during the 2013-2014 feral hog dog hunt season to help reduce the wild hog population.
The District will implement a three-phase hunting system. The first two phases of hunts will have separate registration processes. Top producers from Phase 1 will be awarded free hunts for Phase 2; top producers from Phase 2 will be asked to participate in hog management activities for Phase 3.
*Phase 1 Hunts*
•Registration will occur on October 7, 2013, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
•Includes nine hunts that occur October 2013 through January 2014.
•Permits are transferable.
•Top two producers on each hunt, with the exception of Conner Preserve and Coker Prairie, will be awarded a non-transferable registration to the same hunt location in Phase 2, *free of charge*.
•Failure to follow rules or poor behavior issues will disqualify registrant for incentive consideration at the sole determination of District staff. There will be no opportunity to question District's disqualification of a registrant.
*Phase 2 Hunts*
•Registration will occur on January 13, 2014, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
•Includes nine hunts that occur February through April 2014.
•Permits are transferable.
•Top two producers on each hunt of Phase 2 will be placed on the District's "top producer" list and will be contacted between May and September 2014 to take part in feral hog management hunts on an as-needed basis, *free of charge*.
•Failure to follow rules or poor behavior issues will disqualify registrant for incentive consideration at the sole determination of District staff. There will be no opportunity to question District's disqualification of a registrant.
*Phase 3 "As-Needed" Management Hunts*
•Includes management hunts that occur May through September 2014.
•Only those registrants that qualify as top producers following the Phase 2 hunts will be contacted to take part in management hunts during this period.
•Management hunts offered to top producers will be *free of charge* and non-transferable.
•All 14 Phase 2 top producers will be offered participation in a minimum of two management hunts throughout the non-hunting season.
All hunts will adhere to the hog-dog format. No still hunts will be available.
To view the 2013-2014 schedules, please visit: "http://hoghunts.watermatters.org":http://hoghunts.watermatters.org/
Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed on roots, tubors and grubs by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant species by transporting seeds and/or providing germination sites through rooting.
The District allows hogs to be controlled through hunts when damage they cause is at unacceptable levels. Damage from hogs is occurring more frequently and with increasing severity.
The District-managed properties will be temporarily closed to the public during the hog hunts. Only permitted hunters will be allowed access. In addition to obtaining a permit online, maps and hunting rules of the areas where the hunts will take place are available on the District's website at HogHunts.WaterMatters.org.
This is the sixth consecutive year for the hunts. Last year's hunts removed 428 hogs from four different tracts of land throughout the District.
The District will implement a three-phase hunting system. The first two phases of hunts will have separate registration processes. Top producers from Phase 1 will be awarded free hunts for Phase 2; top producers from Phase 2 will be asked to participate in hog management activities for Phase 3.
*Phase 1 Hunts*
•Registration will occur on October 7, 2013, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
•Includes nine hunts that occur October 2013 through January 2014.
•Permits are transferable.
•Top two producers on each hunt, with the exception of Conner Preserve and Coker Prairie, will be awarded a non-transferable registration to the same hunt location in Phase 2, *free of charge*.
•Failure to follow rules or poor behavior issues will disqualify registrant for incentive consideration at the sole determination of District staff. There will be no opportunity to question District's disqualification of a registrant.
*Phase 2 Hunts*
•Registration will occur on January 13, 2014, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
•Includes nine hunts that occur February through April 2014.
•Permits are transferable.
•Top two producers on each hunt of Phase 2 will be placed on the District's "top producer" list and will be contacted between May and September 2014 to take part in feral hog management hunts on an as-needed basis, *free of charge*.
•Failure to follow rules or poor behavior issues will disqualify registrant for incentive consideration at the sole determination of District staff. There will be no opportunity to question District's disqualification of a registrant.
*Phase 3 "As-Needed" Management Hunts*
•Includes management hunts that occur May through September 2014.
•Only those registrants that qualify as top producers following the Phase 2 hunts will be contacted to take part in management hunts during this period.
•Management hunts offered to top producers will be *free of charge* and non-transferable.
•All 14 Phase 2 top producers will be offered participation in a minimum of two management hunts throughout the non-hunting season.
All hunts will adhere to the hog-dog format. No still hunts will be available.
To view the 2013-2014 schedules, please visit: "http://hoghunts.watermatters.org":http://hoghunts.watermatters.org/
Wild hogs, which are not native to Florida, feed on roots, tubors and grubs by rooting with their broad snouts and can leave an area looking like a plowed field. They also prey on native wildlife, compete with native species for food and transmit diseases to other wildlife, livestock and humans. Additionally, hogs may facilitate the spread of exotic plant species by transporting seeds and/or providing germination sites through rooting.
The District allows hogs to be controlled through hunts when damage they cause is at unacceptable levels. Damage from hogs is occurring more frequently and with increasing severity.
The District-managed properties will be temporarily closed to the public during the hog hunts. Only permitted hunters will be allowed access. In addition to obtaining a permit online, maps and hunting rules of the areas where the hunts will take place are available on the District's website at HogHunts.WaterMatters.org.
This is the sixth consecutive year for the hunts. Last year's hunts removed 428 hogs from four different tracts of land throughout the District.