2005 Summit on the Future of Hunting in Florida

Summer 2006 Update

It is hard to believe that almost a year has passed since the 2005 Summit on the Future of Hunting was held in Orlando. And while many of you have wondered just what in the heck, if anything, has been going on let me assure you that we have not just been kicking back on our heels.

Following the August Summit, many on the Summit leadership team continued to work together to digest and understand what we all heard and learned during the 2 days in Orlando. We had internal organizational decisions to make, legislative ideas to develop and many other tasks to complete all while hunting season was fast approaching!

So what have we accomplished? Plenty. You have to look no further than the 2006 Florida Legislative Session to see that many of the ideas raised during the summit have now become law. To address one of the major barriers to hunting, the Florida Legislature adopted a new "mentoring" license. This license will allow first-time hunters to receive a license for up to 12 months without having to take the hunter safety course. This will give experienced hunters the chance to get new hunters in the field for the "first time" experience. "No Net Loss" legislation was also adopted to protect against the decline of our public hunting lands. For the first time, a complete inventory of all state-owned and water management district-owned lands will be compiled, so that we, as sportsmen, can determine what lands have been closed to hunting and why. More importantly, we hope this information can be used to open public lands, if appropriate. Finally, new sportsmen in Florida will be afforded easier access to voter registration. Any outlet that sells hunting and fishing licenses will now be required to offer voter registration cards/information. It is hoped this will increase the number of voter who are sportsmen, thereby increasing our voice in the elective process.

From an organizational standpoint, the Summit leadership team has formally incorporated a non-profit organization known as The Future of Hunting in Florida, to assist in moving the initiative forward for years to come. In addition, the new organization is submitting to the Internal Revenue Service, an application for 501(c)3 status. A new web site is being developed, along with a hard copy brochure that provides highlights of the Summit and our accomplishments, to date.

Finally, initial discussions have been held regarding the next Summit. I believe that in the summer of 2007 we will be holding the next major summit and between now and then a series of smaller regional workshops will be held.

While we have accomplished a lot during the past 12 months there is still much to do and we will need assistance from many of you individually and through your organizations. We look forward to working with you.

Pictured above are members of the 2005 Summit on the Future of
Hunting Steering Team. Included on the team are: Bill Marvin,
Chairman of ASAF Board of Directors (far left), Lane Stephens,
ASAF Executive Director (2nd from left), Barbara Jean Powell,
Vice-Chair of ASAF Board of Directors (5th from right)

2005 Summit On The Future of Hunting In Florida