SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. – Now online and in print, the 2017-2018 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations Guide is available, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division recently announced.
This guide provides important information on season dates, bag limits, hunting licenses, wildlife management areas, quota hunts, youth opportunities and much more. Sportsmen and women may view, download and print the guide at http://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/regulations or pick up a printed copy at Wildlife Resources Division offices and license vendors throughout Georgia.
Some of the major changes to the hunting regulations this year include:
– Georgia Game Check: In an effort to further improve upon the reporting of game, you can now record your harvest with the Outdoors GA app, even if you do not have service or wifi. Enter the information, then sync it once service or wifi becomes available to get your confirmation number.
– New wildlife management areas (WMAs) and areas to hunt: Alapaha River WMA (Irwin County) and Alligator Creek WMA (Wheeler County) are two new WMAs. Additionally, there are new Voluntary Public Access (VPA) locations open and available for all kinds of hunting, including deer, turkey, dove and waterfowl.
– Bear and deer Seasons: The South Georgia bear season added a three-day hunting period (second to last weekend in September) and the Central Georgia bear season will be the second Saturday in January. This year’s deer season ends on Jan. 14. Either-sex day deer opportunities increased by 21 days in Ridge, Valley and Piedmont regions, and by 14 days for the lower coastal plains region.
– Feral Hogs/Coyotes on WMAs: There will be a new opportunity to help control coyotes and feral hogs on WMAs from May 16-31, 2018 using any legal big or small game weapon. This is in addition to continuing to allow hunters to take both coyotes and feral hogs as incidental take during big and small game hunting dates on WMAs.
Members of the Board of Natural Resources enact hunting regulations by acting on recommendations made by the Division’s professional wildlife biologists. Georgia’s game and fish laws are enacted by the elected members of the General Assembly.
For more information on Georgia hunting seasons and regulations, visit http://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/regulations or contact a local Wildlife Resources Division office (http://georgiawildlife.com/about/contact).