U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials announced recently that the Whitney and Aquilla Lakes Project will be changing the administration procedures of the project’s public hunting program.
The legacy website that has been used to manage the public hunting program at the Whitney and Aquilla Lakes Project for more than 20 years is being discontinued.
USACE will begin using the contracted federal reservation service, Recreation One Stop at Recreation.gov, to issue public hunting permits for the 2025-2026 hunting season.
Intended to increase efficiency in the permitting process, the Corps says that Recreation.gov offers more flexibility for participants to obtain their permits and will generate resources for improving access to public hunting areas.
Recreation.gov is projected to begin selling Whitney and Aquilla Lake hunting permits on August 29 of this year.
USACE said that Recreation.gov is a proven platform for managing recreational permits across the federal government. Public hunters will have an easy and user-friendly way to secure permits the same day and will no longer have to come to or call the Whitney Lake Office to secure a permit or login information.
For the upcoming season, a $25 permit fee will be assessed. Of the $25 fee, $6 is required by Recreation One Stop for administration of the website, and the remaining $19 will be remitted at the project.
Revenue generated will be reinvested into the local public hunting program. These funds will be used for projects like improving access, signage, hunting boundary delineation and wildlife habitat improvement.
Minors 9 to 16 years of age will not be required to obtain a permit but may hunt while accompanied by a permitted hunter. Minors under the age of 9 will still not be permitted to actively hunt but are allowed to accompany a permitted hunter.
In addition to the change of permitting platform, the project will be adding approximately 1,000 acres of public land to the hunting program. Rules and regulations are reviewed annually, and prospective hunters are encouraged to review them every year.
For more information or to check for updates, visit: http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/whitney.
The Lakelander 