The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will continue to take public input on proposed updates to the state's black bear management plan

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will continue to take public input on proposed updates to the state's black bear management plan when the commission meets next week in Panama City.

Black bears came close to extinction in Florida but because of a ban on bear hunting the population has rebounded from about 300 to over 4000 animals over the past 40 years.

The original management plan was created in 2012 to provide a statewide framework for actions needed to ensure the long-term survival of bears and address bear management challenges.

The proposed updates to the original plan include results from new research, an expansion of the Bear Management Unit Profiles and a new section on population management techniques.

A summary of the major updates is available on the FWC website at MyFWC.com/Bear

The management plan is very important to protect bears and people as the bear population continues to grow.

In 2018, the FWC received more than 5500 calls from citizens about bears.

Nearly a third of those calls were related to bears rummaging through garbage. 

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