Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area

Within a few miles of Florida's growing capital city of Tallahassee along the north shore of Lake Talquin is the 11,039-acre Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area.  The area is jointly managed by the Florida Forest Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. During the small game season on the area, modern guns other than centerfire rifles are permitted and hogs are legal as well as during the archery and archery/muzzleloading gun seasons. The weekend hunts attract people from as far away as Key West as well as local residents, some of whom have returned every year for over 20 years.

At the Joe Budd Aquatic Education Center, thousands of students experience aquatic ecosystems first hand.

During the more than 300 days each year when the area is closed to hunting, you can hike, bike, or horseback ride on roads along the rare slope forests and through the stands of old growth pines. In the spring the rare orange azalea and silky-camellia bloom in the slope forests, and the breeding calls of the hooded warbler and Swainson's warbler can be heard in the pine-oak forest.

• View the Conceptual Management Plan for Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area.