Wildlife officials have established the official schedule and boundaries for the upcoming 2026 statewide bear hunting season, which will run from December 5 through December 27. The statewide application window opens on September 11 and closes on September 21, followed by three separate permit claim periods running through early November.
The first permit claim window takes place from September 25 to October 5. Hunters eligible for the second round can claim permits from October 9 to October 19, while the third and final claim window runs from October 23 to November 2. In addition to the general statewide hunt, the Private Lands Bear Harvest Program will operate under an expanded schedule, opening October 1 and concluding December 31.
Hunting activity will be distributed across four designated Bear Harvest Zones (BHZs): North, East Panhandle, Central, and South. Each zone carries specific geographic limits alongside designated Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) operating on individual schedules.
The North zone extends south from the Florida-Georgia line, bordered by State Road 121 to the east, County Road 18 and State Road 121 to the south, and Interstate 75 to the west.
Covering portions of Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, and Baker counties, the zone includes Osceola WMA. Bear hunting is scheduled from December 5 to 27 across Big Shoals, Cypress Creek, and Osceola WMAs.
The East Panhandle zone is outlined by Interstate 10 to the north, the Aucilla River to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and State Road 79 to the west. It spans all or parts of 11 counties—Bay, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, and Jefferson—and encompasses the Apalachicola WMA. More than 20 specific management tracts will permit hunting, with core areas like Apalachicola River, Beaverdam Creek, and Pine Log (east of SR 79) running the full December 5–27 period.
Other tracts feature split dates, including Box-R (Dec. 5–7 and 12–18), Joe Budd across four designated weekend periods in December, and Tyndall, which is limited to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from December 5 to 27.
The Central zone covers all or parts of 12 counties: Sumter, Marion, Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Putnam, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Flagler, and St. Johns. Its borders run along State Road 16 to the north, Interstate 95 to the east, the St. Johns River and Interstate 4 to the south, and the Florida Turnpike, I-75, and U.S. Highway 301 to the west.
Notable tracts open December 5–27 include Ocala WMA, Etoniah Creek, and Lake Monroe. Several other properties feature targeted weekend or restricted-day hunting, such as Caravelle Ranch (Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 5–27), Rock Springs Run (Dec. 12–13 only), and Silver Springs Forest (Dec. 19–27).
The South zone covers sections of Lee, Hendry, and Collier counties. Its boundaries follow the Lee and Hendry county lines to the north, Hendry and Collier lines to the east, Collier line to the south, and Collier line along I-75 to the west.
Big Cypress WMA is explicitly excluded from this harvest area. Hunting will run December 5–27 across several major tracts, including CREW, Dinner Island Ranch, Okaloacoochee Slough, Picayune Strand, and Spirit-of-the-Wild, with the Dinner Island Ranch Caracara Unit operating under three weekend windows in December.
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