8/13/2007

Special-opportunity spring turkey hunt applications available Aug. 28
Contact: Office of Licensing and Permitting (850) 488-3641

Special-opportunity spring turkey hunt applications, for the 2008 season, will be available Aug. 28 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

To apply, hunters can obtain application worksheets at MyFWC.com/hunting and at all FWC regional offices. Applications may be submitted at www.wildlifelicense.com/fl, county tax collectors’ offices or at any license agent beginning at 10 a.m. (EDT) Sept. 11 and must be received by midnight Oct. 16. A random drawing decides who will receive the coveted permits.

Demand for these hunts is typically greater than the number of available permits, but hunters can increase their chances of being selected by submitting as many $5 nonrefundable applications as they like. Successful applicants pay a permit fee of $50 - $175, depending on the special-opportunity hunt area selected.

Participation rules limit out-of-state hunters to one permit per hunt.

The FWC created special-opportunity spring turkey hunts for sportsmen looking to take an Osceola, the “crown jewel” of the turkey hunters’ Grand Slam. The FWC designs special-opportunity turkey hunts to take place on large tracts of land, with great habitat, healthy turkey populations and with a limited number of hunters.

The Osceola is a highly prized subspecies of wild turkey, found only in peninsular Florida south of and including Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval counties. All hunts take place within the Osceola turkey’s range.

For more information on special-opportunity Osceola turkey hunts, visit MyFWC.com/hunting.