Hunting News - Econfina Creek Wildlife Management Area
Mobility-impaired hunt permits Mobility-impaired hunt permits available for Econfina Creek Wildlife Management Area Contact: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Roger Shields, 850-265-3676 Mobility-impaired hunters who missed the drawing for the Econfina Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) mobility-impaired hunts may still have a chance to hunt the area. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is providing an opportunity for hunters who were not awarded a hunt permit for this week's Jan. 15-17, 2010, mobility-impaired hunt to attend the pre-hunt meeting on Jan. 15 and vie for unused or "no-show" hunt permits. FWC public hunting areas biologist Roger Shields said 20 permits were originally issued during the quota hunt drawing process for this weekend's mobility-impaired hunt. Under the new arrangement, half of any permits that go unused, for whatever reason, will be re-issued to stand-by hunters by random draw at the Crooms Branch mobility-impaired area campground on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, at 1 p.m. CST. The same process for issuing no-show permits will apply on the other Econfina Creek mobility-impaired hunts Jan. 22-24, 29-31 and Feb. 3-5, 2010. "Our agency, the Northwest Florida Water Management District and disabled hunter advocacy groups want to do what we can to maximize these unique hunt opportunities for hunters with significant mobility impairments," Shields said. "This makes better use of those limited permits." There are only 20 such hunts available to mobility-impaired hunters on nine WMAs across the state, according to Shields. The water management district owns the Econfina Creek WMA, and the FWC manages the property for public hunting. In 1998 the agencies partnered with the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association to create this mobility-impaired hunting area. Hunters must have a mobility-impaired certificate in their possession to be eligible for the pre-hunt drawings. Those hunters selected will be allowed to bring an able-bodied, non-hunting assistant with them.
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