A conservation group is asking a Leon County circuit judge to stop Floridas first black bear hunt since 2015. Bear Warriors United filed a 15-page complaint on September 17, arguing that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a 23-day hunt based on obsolete population estimates. The commission voted last month to authorize the season, scheduled to begin December 6, and has declined detailed comment because the case is pending. The lawsuit frames the core dispute as scientific adequacy: whether using older numbers is lawful for setting a modern harvest program. According to the filing, FWCs plan relies on a 2015 estimate of about 4,050 black bears as the most recent statewide figure. The complaint says the next statistically robust abundance assessment will not be available until 2030, following genetic mark-recapture work. In the plaintiffs view, moving ahead without newer statewide data is arbitrary or capricious and conflicts with elements of the states bear management plan. They also allege the agency curtailed public participation before the August vote and failed to sufficiently account for female mortality tracking in its methodology. FWC leaders have publicly defended the decision and the process. At the August 13 meeting, held before an overflow crowd, Commissioner Gary Lester said staff had presented good, solid science for us to follow. Chief conservation officer George Warthen described the hunt as an additional management tool as bears and people coexist. The commission has acknowledged the subject remains controversial; Florida last held a bear season in 2015. With litigation now active, officials say they will not address the suits specifics while the case proceeds. The approved plan caps harvest at up to 187 bears across four regions. Quotas include 68 in the Apalachicola region west of Tallahassee; 46 in areas west of Jacksonville; 18 in an area north of Orlando; and 55 in the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee. Each selected hunter may take one bear. The application window for permits is open through Monday, with up to 187 permits to be issued. Applications cost $5; those drawn must then purchase a permit priced at $100 for residents and $300 for non-residents. Opponents have urged their supporters to apply for permits as a tactic to reduce the number of bears harvested. Procedurally, the plaintiffs first filed at the Division of Administrative Hearings but withdrew after FWC argued that challenges to commission rules must be brought in circuit court because the agency is created in the Florida Constitution. The new suit in Leon County repeats the claims about outdated data and public process limits, and asks the court to halt the season before it starts. If the hunt proceeds on schedule, FWCs permit process and quota controls will remain in effect while the litigation timeline plays out. For prospective hunters, the near-term roadmap is straightforward: apply by the deadline, await the drawing, andif selectedpurchase the permit at the resident or non-resident rate. The 23-day season would open December 6, and regional caps would close opportunities once the quota is reached. For opponents, the immediate focus is the courthouse and the argument that authorizing a take of up to 187 bears without updated statewide numbers risks imminent and irreparable harm to the population. The commission maintains its actions are consistent with established management practices and supported by available science.