Georgia alligator hunting season and regulations 2010 [June 2010]

Georgia Alligator Hunting Season
AND Regulations
2010
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division Game Management Section GOHUNTGEORGIA.COM (770) 761-3045

2010 ALLIGATOR HUNT ZONES

point, which may be applied to future applications. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Selected hunters will receive a "Guide to Alligator Hunting in Georgia" that will include information on hunting preparation, techniques, and processing. Three seminars will be offered to permittees, assistants and interested persons. These seminars provide information pertaining to safety, capture and handling techniques, processing and other useful information. Seminars are scheduled as follows:
Riverbend WMA, August 14th at 11AM
Arrowhead WMA (Education Center), August 21 at 11AM
Bass Pro Shops in Savannah, August 21 at 9AM
TAGGING: Dispatched alligators must be tagged with a Department-supplied temporary harvest tag before transporting. Temporary tags shall be locked through the skin of the carcass within six (6) inches of the tip of the tail. The temporary tag shall remain attached to the alligator hide until the carcass is validated by WRD, Game Management Section personnel and a CITES tag is issued. Temporary and CITES tags may be used only once. The possession of any alligator hide not tagged is prohibited.
VALIDATION: All alligator carcasses or hides must be validated by taking it to a WRD, Game Management office during normal business hours (M-F; 8:00-4:30) prior to October 15. CITES tags issued by WRD must remain attached to the alligator hide until the hide is tanned, taxidermy mounted or exported from the state. At the time of validation, an alligator harvest report form provided by WRD must be completed by the permittee for each alligator harvested.
CONSUMPTION OF ALLIGATOR MEAT: Alligator meat is a good quality and flavorful meat. It is naturally high in protein, low in fat and cholesterolfree. Alligators may accumulate significant levels of mercury. For more information call (770) 761-3045 or (229) 426-5267.

Alligator Hunting Season
Interested in participating in a totally handson, eye-to-eye hunting adventure unlike any other hunting experience you can pursue in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) invites you to submit an application for the opportunity to participate in Georgia's alligator hunting season.
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a conservation success story. Due to unregulated market hunting, alligators were reduced to low numbers by the early 1900s. Thanks to the efforts of conservationists and state wildlife agencies, alligators were listed as endangered in 1967. This status, combined with proactive management and law enforcement efforts by wildlife professionals, allowed alligator populations to rebound and they now flourish over most of their historic range. The American alligator was downlisted in 1987 allowing greater flexibility to manage populations.
The alligator population in Georgia is one of many renewable natural resources that can sustain limited harvest in concert with biological monitoring and periodic evaluations. Georgia's flourishing alligator population is managed through a regulated hunting season. Additionally, licensed nuisance alligator agenttrappers annually remove about 450 alligators in the state.
General Information
SEASON: Sept. 4-Oct. 3, 2010 for quota permit holders only. Bag Limit: One (1) alligator. Legal alligators must be greater than or equal to 48 inches in length as measured from end of the snout to tip of the tail. LICENSES: Anyone hunting or assisting an alligator permit holder must possess a valid Alligator Hunting License ($50 for residents & $200 for non-residents) in addition to a regular hunting license. A WMA license is required if hunting on a WMA. Disability, Honorary & Lifetime License holders are exempt from these requirements. Hunters must be at least twelve years of age. Hunters age 12-15 need not have an Alligator Hunting License or Hunting License; however, they must possess a valid permit or be with a permit holder. In order to hunt unsupervised they must have a valid Hunter Education Certificate.

LEGAL METHODS: Hunters may use hand-held ropes or snares, snatch hooks, harpoons, gigs or arrows with a restraining line attached. Legal alligators must be dispatched immediately upon capture by using a handgun or bangstick, or by severing the spinal cord with a sharp implement.
LEGAL HOURS: Alligators may be hunted during the day or at night.
LANDOWNER PERMISSION: It is unlawful to hunt without landowners' permission including on powerline, gas line, railroad and other rights-of-way. Written permission must be obtained if land is so posted.
OPEN ZONES: For the purpose of managing, hunting and dispersing alligator harvest, the State is divided into 9 zones as follows:
Zone 01 - Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Early, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, Terrell & Webster Counties. (Q=65)
Zone 02 - Baker, Decatur, Grady, Miller, Mitchell & Seminole Counties. (Q=140)
Zone 03 - Crawford, Crisp, Dooly, Dougherty, Houston, Lee, Macon, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Taylor & Worth Counties (Q=60)
Zone 04 - Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Thomas, Tift & Turner Counties (Q=85)
Zone 05 - Ben Hill, Bibb, Bleckley, Coffee, Dodge, Jeff Davis, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Twiggs, Wheeler, Wilcox & Wilkinson Counties (Q=70)
Zone 06 - Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Pierce & Ware Counties (Q=100) Zone 07 - Appling, Glynn, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall, Toombs & Wayne Counties (Q=130)
Zone 08 - Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Chatham (excluding the Bradley River, Cane Patch and Rush Creek areas within the boundaries of Ossabaw Island Natural Heritage Preserve), Effingham, Evans, & Liberty Counties (Q=120)
Zone 09 - Burke, Emanuel, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Richmond, Screven & Washington Counties (Q=80)

WMAs in the legal zones are open to alligator hunting provided that the WMA has open small game dates that coincide with the open season for alligators unless otherwise specified. Please refer to the WMA listing in the 2010-2011 Georgia Hunting Seasons & Regulations booklet, which will be available August 1st.
HOW TO APPLY: You must apply online at www. gohuntgeorgia.com. The alligator license does not entitle you to harvest an alligator. You must first be selected through the quota hunt application process. Up to three individuals may apply as a party. No more than three individuals can be accepted as a party. When applying as a party, each applicant must allocate an equal number of priority points in order for the party application to be accepted. Each applicant must maintain a valid mailing address in their customer account. For more information on the quota application process, go to www.gohuntgeorgia.com and review the "Online Quota Hunt Application System" section.
HUNT SELECTION: Hunters will be selected for a specified zone. Open zones for alligator hunting and the number of permits for each zone are listed under "Open Zones." No more than three (3) total selections are allowed.
DEADLINE: Alligator quota hunt applications must be submitted online at gohuntgeorgia.com no later than 11:59 P.M. on July 31.
AGE RESTRICTION: No one under age 12 may apply for an alligator hunting permit or accompany a permitted alligator hunter during a hunt. It is unlawful for an adult to permit their child or ward (age 12-15) to hunt without adult supervision unless the child possesses a Hunter Education Certificate while hunting.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Anyone submitting false information or more than one application or attempting to defraud the system in any way will be disqualified and may be excluded from future hunts for two (2) years.
NOTIFICATION: Hunters who are selected will receive a harvest permit and temporary alligator harvest tag by mail. Permits and tags are not transferable, are only valid for the management zone and harvest period indicated thereon and must be in possession while hunting. Hunters not selected will receive a priority