FWC Reveals 3-Month Hunt Station Closure After It Ends | The Locally Times
State wildlife officials offered no explanation for a 102-day closure of the Babcock Ranch check station, posting the public notice on the day the closure concluded.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) closed the Babcock Ranch Preserve Tier 1 Hunt Area check station from December 5, 2025, through March 16, 2026, a 102-day period spanning the majority of the winter hunting season. The agency posted a notice of the closure on its website on March 16, 2026, the final day of the period it described, meaning no advance public announcement was recorded. The FWC notice confirmed one event, the General Gun Mobility-Impaired Season pre-hunt orientation, proceeded as scheduled on December 5, 2025, despite the check station's closure. The document does not detail the circumstances that required shutting down the check station, nor does it specify what, if any, alternative procedures were available for hunters needing to check in or out of the preserve. The lack of a stated cause is a departure from other agency communications. For example, a separate FWC notice dated August 31, 2026, announced a public access closure for the Channel Key portion of the Florida Keys Wildlife & Environmental Area. That document specified the closure was necessary to protect the nesting activity of listed species. No comparable justification was included in the Babcock Ranch announcement. The public record does not indicate which FWC officials or departments authorized the closure or the decision to post the notice retrospectively. ## No Record of Local Discussion A review of publicly available records from area government bodies reveals no discussion or notification regarding the FWC’s decision to close the check station. Meeting records published between December 2025 and March 2026 contain no agenda items or minutes related to the Babcock Ranch Preserve. This absence of information in local government records suggests the decision was made by the state agency without formal notification to or input from elected officials in the region. With the closure period having already passed, the reasons for the shutdown and the lack of timely public communication by the FWC remain unexplained in the public record.