Hunting near Sebastian — Sebastian, Florida

Public hunting near Sebastian happens on state-managed marsh and prairie west of the city, chiefly Fort Drum Wildlife Management Area in southwestern Indian River County, the Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA and a waterfowl management area near Fellsmere.

Fort Drum is the closest large tract inside Indian River County. FWC describes it as nearly 21,000 acres of dry prairie, pine flatwoods, hardwood swamp and floodplain marsh, managed in cooperation with the St. Johns River Water Management District (FWC, Fort Drum WMA). The area stays open to the public year round, but during special-opportunity hunts only people holding a valid special-opportunity permit may be on it. FWC lists white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and a large population of wild hogs among its wildlife, alongside sandhill cranes, wood storks and crested caracaras.

The Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA is the big one. It covers more than 120,000 acres in Brevard and Indian River counties, laced with 62 miles of levees, and the Blue Cypress and Fort Drum Marsh conservation areas sit inside it (FWC, Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA). FWC rates hunting there as good to fair for migratory birds, fair for deer and hog, and poor for small game, turkey and squirrel. Tent camping is permitted at designated campsites during hunting seasons.

Duck hunters from Sebastian and Fellsmere look north to T.M. Goodwin. FWC calls it a premiere waterfowl hunting area and places it near Fellsmere, on the east side of the St. Johns River in southern Brevard County (FWC, T.M. Goodwin WMA). Its freshwater marshes are managed for wetland wildlife, and former farmland marsh is being restored.

No: Sebastian's own code makes the whole city a wildlife sanctuary, and Florida State Parks bars hunting at Sebastian Inlet State Park and St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park.

Section 18-1 of the City of Sebastian Code establishes the city, including all lands now or later inside its limits, as a sanctuary and a reserve for all birds and fur-bearing animals (Sebastian Code, Sec. 18-1). Under the same section it is unlawful to hunt, kill or trap those animals within Sebastian city limits unless the city grants written permission. The rule dates to the 1980 code and was amended by ordinances in 1994 and 2011, and it covers the Sebastian Highlands lots as much as the riverfront along Indian River Drive.

State park land around Sebastian is closed to hunting for a different reason. Florida State Parks states that hunting, trapping or the pursuit of wildlife is prohibited on all state park property except reserves authorized by FWC (Florida State Parks FAQ). The agency names only three exceptions statewide: Rock Springs Run State Reserve, Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve and the Marshall Swamp area of the Cross Florida Greenway. Neither Sebastian Inlet State Park on the barrier island nor St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park on the mainland is on that list, so both are off limits for hunting.

That leaves the water management district marshes west of Fellsmere and private land as the realistic options for a Sebastian hunter. Private land requires the owner's permission, and the statewide seasons below apply there rather than WMA rules.

A Sebastian resident hunting deer on Fort Drum or the Upper St. Johns marsh generally needs a Florida hunting license, a management area permit and the deer permit plus any season permit, all sold through FWC.

FWC's fee schedule for 2026 lists the annual resident hunting license at $17.00 and the annual nonresident license at $151.50 (FWC hunting licenses and permits). The management area permit, $26.50 a year, is what authorizes taking game on wildlife management areas such as Fort Drum, on top of a hunting license and other permits. Archery, crossbow, muzzleloading gun, deer and Florida waterfowl permits each cost $5.00 a year.

Waterfowl on T.M. Goodwin or the St. Johns marsh take extra paperwork. FWC requires a migratory bird permit, the Florida waterfowl permit and, for hunters 16 and older, a current federal duck stamp (FWC). Bundles can cost less than the parts: the annual resident Sportsman's license at $80.50 includes the hunting and freshwater fishing licenses plus the management area, archery, muzzleloading, crossbow, deer, turkey and waterfowl permits.

Several exemptions matter in a county with Sebastian's age profile. Under s. 379.353, FWC exempts youth under 16 and resident seniors 65 or older from the hunting license and most state permits, though not from the federal duck stamp (FWC license exemptions). Residents hunting on their own homestead in their county of residence are exempt too, and no license is required to hunt wild hog on private land, a detail that matters on the cattle and citrus land around Fellsmere.

Indian River County falls in FWC deer management unit C2 of Zone C, where the 2026 statewide archery season runs Sept. 19 to Oct. 18 and general gun season runs Nov. 7 to Jan. 24.

FWC draws DMU C2 between S.R. 50 and the Bennett Causeway on the north and S.R. 70 on the south, with the Atlantic coast as its eastern boundary (FWC deer management units). Sebastian and Fellsmere sit well inside those lines. The C2 antler rule requires 3 points on one side or a main beam of 10 inches on one side for a legal antlered deer.

Those dates come from FWC's 2026 to 2027 table, which also sets the deer bag at 2 a day, 4 in possession and 5 a year, of which only 2 may be antlerless (FWC season dates). FWC states plainly that the statewide seasons, dates and bag limits do not apply to wildlife management areas, so a hunter heading to Fort Drum or the Upper St. Johns marsh works from that area's own brochure instead. As of Oct. 10, 2026, Zone C archery season was open on private land near Sebastian, with muzzleloading season two weeks out.

Most deer and turkey hunting on Fort Drum WMA near Sebastian requires a permit drawn in advance, and many first-time hunters must finish an FWC hunter safety course before buying a license.

On Fort Drum, FWC requires a special-opportunity permit during deer and spring turkey seasons and a regular quota permit for the scheduled hog hunts (FWC, Fort Drum WMA). Quota and limited entry applications open at 10 a.m. Eastern on the first day of each application period and are filed at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or at a license agent or tax collector's office, which for Sebastian residents includes the county tax collector (FWC limited entry hunts). FWC's list of drawn hunts also includes archery and waterfowl hunts on Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Brevard County.

The hunter safety rule turns on birth date. FWC requires anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, and 16 or older to pass a hunter safety course before purchasing a hunting license, unless using the deferral and hunting under the supervision of a qualified hunter (FWC hunter safety). Many WMAs let youths under 16 hunt with adult supervision during several seasons without quota permits. The county's FWC-managed range at 10455 102nd Terrace in Sebastian accommodates hunter safety students, which puts the field portion of the course on the CR 512 side of town (FWC, Indian River County range).

Gear for the Fort Drum and Fellsmere marshes runs from waders and decoys to tree stands and broadheads. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace. Its hunting and archery collection on Digital Towns Market covers that side, while licenses and permits come only from FWC or a county tax collector.