The Southwest Florida Water Management District (District) will open Phase 2 hog hunt registration Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 9 a.m. The District holds a series of hog hunts on District lands throughout the year to help reduce the feral hog population.

What you need to know about Phase 2 hunts:

• Phase 2 will include six hunts that occur in January 2020.
• Permits are transferable.
• The single top producer on each hunt of Phase 2 will be placed on the District’s “top producer” list and will be contacted between March and October 2020 to take part in feral hog management hunts on an as-needed basis, free of charge.

Feral hogs, which are not native to Florida, can cause damage 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 has a three-phased hunting system. The first two phases of hunts have separate registration processes. The single top producer from each Phase 1 and Phase 2 hunt will be asked to participate in hog management activities for Phase 3.

For more information please visit our website at WaterMatters.org/HogHunts.

Water supply planning workshop to start at 9 a.m.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District's Governing Board will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 11 a.m. The meeting will immediately follow a water supply planning workshop. Both meetings will take place at the District Headquarters, located at 2379 Broad Street in Brooksville.

To view the Governing Board meeting online, visit WaterMatters.org and click on the “Live Video Stream” link. The video stream link becomes active and the live video feed begins approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time.

The meeting agenda and meeting materials are posted one week before the meeting, and can be found online at WaterMatters.org by clicking on the “Go to District Calendar” link.