An Open Letter from M. Barnett Lawley, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources:

The Conservation Advisory Board approved a regulation that would establish Alabama’s first alligator hunting season August 18-24, 2006 in a defined area of Mobile and Baldwin counties. The limit will be one (1) alligator, six (6) feet or longer for each of 50 hunters chosen through a computer-generated selection process. All selected hunters must attend a mandatory training course on August 18.

The comeback of the American alligator is a national conservation success story in which Alabama played a lead role. Unregulated alligator harvest throughout the South in the 1920s, 30s and 40s threatened the species with extinction. In 1938, Alabama took action and became the first state to protect them.

Other states followed our lead and, in 1967, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service placed the American alligator on the Endangered Species List. Two decades of protection enabled the species to rebound. By 1987, it was removed from the Endangered Species List but retained as a federally protected species.

Alabama’s alligator population has grown to the extent that they pose a nuisance in many areas. Implementing a regulated alligator hunt on a small scale is an important step toward controlling populations and better managing this unique reptile.

The proposal now awaits final approval of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources anticipates federal approval as early as mid-June. Once approved, Alabama residents can register online for the random drawing. Watch www.outdooralabama.com for the announcement and registration instructions.

We look forward to a successful hunt and to expanding the program to other areas of the state.

Sincerely,
M. Barnett Lawley
Commissioner