The National Deer Association is pleased to name the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission as its 2025 Agency of the Year Award winner. This award is presented to an agency that has practiced innovative and progressive deer management techniques; affected positive change in deer management regulations, hunter education, hunter recruitment, and/or involvement in youth hunting; and has engaged its hunters and other key stakeholders in the deer management process. A previous Agency of the Year Award winner in 2015, FWC is only the fourth organization to receive this distinction twice since the recognition was originally created over 20 years ago.
“We are excited and honored to receive this special recognition from NDA,” said Cory Morea, FWC’s Deer Management Program Coordinator. “FWC’s Deer Management Program is a compact unit consisting of myself and Assistant Deer Management Program Coordinator Becky Peters. As such we are dependent on staff from other parts of our agency to accomplish our goals. We are thankful to have such great support from agency staff and leadership on advancing initiatives related to deer management, research and CWD surveillance. Also, a big thanks to our stakeholders, particularly the Deer Management Technical Assistance Group, for their continued involvement and support.”
Florida consistently ranks high in numerous deer management categories. In NDA’s 2026 Deer Report, the Sunshine state maintained impressive harvest statistics, such as leading the nation in the lowest percentage of yearling buck harvest (7%) and ranking second in the greatest antlered buck harvest increase when comparing the 2024/25 hunting season to their five-year average (+35%). Florida also had the greatest antlered buck harvest per 100 deer hunters (68 bucks). Florida hunters also did well on the antlerless side by harvesting 27% more antlerless deer last season than the year before, and that was 59% above the state’s five-year average.
“This increased antlerless harvest was promoted by FWC, executed by hunters, and will result in healthier deer herds, healthier habitats, and reduced deer-human conflicts in 2026,” said Kip Adams, NDA’s Chief Conservation Officer.
With regard to deer management, FWC implemented new harvest regulations to expand antlerless harvest opportunities and reduce deer-related impacts. These regulations included increasing the number of antlerless days on lands outside the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system in nine of 12 Deer Management Units (DMUs) and increasing the antlerless bag limit in DMU D2 from two to three deer annually. They also developed antlerless harvest recommendations for 20 WMAs, reviewed and approved 44 Private Lands Deer Management Permit Program permits affecting harvest and land management on more than 1.3 million acres, and assisted with administration of the Private Lands Antlerless Deer Program. Furthermore, the agency engaged with farmers to help mitigate deer damage and trained 54 staff members in antler scoring for the Florida Buck Registry.
In the research realm, FWC continued long-term white-tailed deer population studies in two north Florida study sites to assess survival, recruitment, density, abundance, and survey methodologies. At the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station, they have a multi-year study (2020–2028) focused on adult and fawn survival, recruitment, population estimates, and survey techniques. On the Osceola WMA, the ongoing collaborative study with the University of Florida (2022–2026) is evaluating adult survival, population estimates, and human dimensions of the dog-hunting community.
On the CWD front, FWC partnered with taxidermists and processors to collect CWD samples and maintained 98 CWD sampling freezers statewide for agency and public use. Overall, they tested 3,711 CWD samples from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, including 201 samples from the CWD Management Zone. Finally, FWC collaborated with the National Deer Association to develop and distribute CWD educational materials statewide and partnered on multiple Field to Fork events to expose interested adults to hunting.
“Driven by science and public engagement, FWC’s deer management program is ensuring the future of wild deer, wildlife habitat and hunting for all sportsmen and women in the Sunshine state,” said Adams. “We are proud to present this award to them and honored to have such a strong working relationship with FWC.”