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Recreation
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- Written by: Editor
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is offering a number of special hunt opportunities for young hunters, women, families and mobility-impaired hunters this fall and winter.
All hunt opportunities are now listed on CDFW’s Web site.
Below are the hunts with application due dates in early and mid-November:
Tuesday, Nov. 3:
Siskiyou County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) will accommodate 25 hunters.
Tehama County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Sacramento River Bend. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 30 hunters.
Sonoma County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, Ringstrom Bay Unit and Valley of the Moon Trap Club. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 10 hunters. A practice shooting session will be held at the range prior to each hunt and lunch will be provided at noon for both groups (donated by volunteer members of the Valley of the Moon Trap Club).
Yolo County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 10 hunters.
Solano County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 40 hunters.
San Joaquin County: Two junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 at the White Slough Wildlife Area. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 10 hunters.
Merced County: Four junior pen-raised pheasant hunts will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 22 at the O’Neill Forebay Wildlife Area. Each hunt (two each day) will accommodate 25 hunters.
Los Angeles County: One junior pen-raised pheasant hunt will be held Sunday, Nov. 22 at Peace Valley. This hunt can accommodate 12 hunters. Hunters may bring their own dogs (please indicate your intention to do so on the application).
Wednesday, Nov. 4:
Madera County: An all-day mobility impaired pheasant hunt will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, on private property near the town of Chowchilla. This hunt can accommodate 25 hunters with impairments that restrict their mobility to the use of a wheelchair. Successful adult applicants typically pay an $18 fee for hunts on private lands; however, the landowner will waive all fees for this hunt.
Wednesday, Nov. 11:
Madera County: Two family pheasant hunts will be held Sunday, Nov. 29 near the city of Raymond on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property adjacent to Hensley Lake. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 25 hunters.
Tulare County: Two family pheasant hunts are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28. These hunts are sponsored by the White Ranch Land Company in Alpaugh. Each hunt (morning and afternoon) can accommodate 50 hunters.
Please note that many of these opportunities will be held on state wildlife areas or ecological reserves. As of July 1, 2015, nonlead ammunition is required when hunting upland game birds on these properties. For more information please see CDFW’s nonlead ammunition page.
CDFW’s Upland Game Bird Special Hunts are intended for beginning hunters or those with limited experience. Apprentice applicants must have successfully completed a hunter education course and possess a valid 2015-2016 California junior hunting license. Adult hunters (18 or older) must also have an upland game bird validation. A non-hunting adult 18 years of age or older is required to accompany all junior hunt participants. A non-hunting chaperone who is 18 years or older may supervise up to two apprentice hunters. Two hunters and a chaperone may submit a single application as one party.
Proper clothing and safety gear, including blaze orange, is required for department-sponsored hunts. All hunts include gun safety review, easy-to-hunt topography, a high ratio of volunteers to hunters, experienced dog handlers and clay shooting for practice.
Hunters can find more information and apply for any of these hunts online at www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting . There is no charge to apply. Please note that additional hunts in December and January are listed on the website and are also open for registration. Only the hunts with applications due in the first half of November are listed above.
New hunters can use their Hunter Education Certificate number for priority registration for apprentice hunts. Applicants with priority will be automatically placed in a hunt before the random drawing takes place.
The full upland game bird hunting regulations and a summary for 2015-2016 can be found on CDFW’s Web site.
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- Written by: Editor
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Join the Redbud Audubon Society for its October field trip on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Camp Indian Meadows, 12995 Bottlerock Road in Kelseyville.
The trip will begin at 9 a.m.
The best place to meet for this event is at the cemetery on Bottlerock Road, 500 feet before you get to Camp Indian Meadows if you are coming on Bottlerock from Highway 29 out of Kelseyville.
This will be an enjoyable walk with possible viewing of migrating songbirds, raptors and woodpeckers. This area was not burned by the Valley fire and is safe to enter.
If you have any questions call Pat Harmon at 707-263-4977 or Roberta Lyons, 707-994-2024.
More information will be available at the Audubon meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15.
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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The 40-9ers Ladies Golf Club held an event on Oct. 8.
The results were as follows:
– Flight one: First place, Nancy Erickson, 32; second place, Joy Ryan, 33.
– Flight two: First place, Gwen De Rosa, 27; second place, Elaine Fauser, 32; third place, Liz Cummesky, 33.
– Flight three: First place, Toni Stratton, 29; second place, Floydean Greenlow, 34; third place, Connie Mohun, 36.
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- Written by: CARRIE WILSON
Shotgun for protection when fishing?
Question: I would like to know if I can carry my 12-gauge shotgun for protection when I'm fishing from the shore. I have a fishing license and the chamber would be empty. Would it be legal? (Aaron A.)
Answer: In many locations along California’s coastline it would be unlawful to have a firearm with you.
There are rules specific to state and national parks, wildlife refuges (Fish and Game Code, section 10500(b)) and marine sanctuaries, as well as local and county laws that would make it unlawful to carry a firearm while fishing along the coastline.
In order to answer your question, we would need to know where you intend to carry the shotgun. In addition to the locations above, it is unlawful to carry a loaded gun in a public place in an incorporated city (Penal Code, section 25850), e.g. the entire shoreline of San Francisco. Simply having the live ammunition attached to the firearm in any manner constitutes “loaded” for purposes of this section.
Photography in marine protected areas?
Question: It is my understanding that on land, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) takes care of things in Marine Protected Areas, and in the water, it is the responsibility of NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries.
Can one take pictures within the marine protected areas (MPAs) on land or sea and sell them for commercial purposes or does one need a permit? (Lisa W.)
Answer: MPAs are managed by several different agencies, so the answer will vary depending upon the MPA. If the MPA is part of the state park system, you may be required to obtain a permit for commercial photography from the California Film Commission (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 4316).
If the MPA is part of a county park, a permit may be required depending on the county. For example, San Mateo and San Francisco counties both require permits for commercial photography in their county parks.
One pig tag for each feral pig taken?
Question: Am I correct in assuming that, similar to deer tags, one must have one pig tag for each feral pig taken, or does the purchase of one pig tag legally allow for taking multiple feral pigs? I saw your comment on a recent feral pig question where you said there is no daily bag limit on feral pigs, but I am assuming that this would mean one would still have to have multiple tags for multiple feral pigs taken over a given time frame. (W.B.)
Answer: Yes, you are correct. Although there is no daily limit for wild pigs, you must possess a tag prior to pig hunting for each pig you intend to take.
Pistachio farmers shooting ravens on my property?
Question: I live about 50 acres away from a pistachio orchard. The owners of that orchard drive around and shoot at the ravens out of their truck. They park in front of my property and shoot at the ravens.
I called the sheriff and he said to call Fish and Wildlife since the farmers have a depredation permit and so it’s out of their hands. The farmers also told the sheriff that they are shooting blanks.
Since this has started happening, I have found three dead ravens on my property. One was right next to my horses’ watering trough and the other two were out our back door near our barbecue grill.
The orchard owners can see when we are home or away by our vehicles. We live on 10 acres and our house is in the middle of the property. I feel unsafe and creeped out. I came home today to find the third dead raven.
Are they allowed to do this? How can I keep them away from my property? Do I have any rights or does their permit supersede my rights?
I've been taking pictures of the dead ravens. One is even in my freezer. What is my next step? Is there a season they kill the ravens or do they have free rein to do what they want? I have a child and animals and I'm afraid for their safety. (Cindy P.)
Answer: The first place to start is to contact your local wildlife officer to report this. If you don’t have their direct number, contact your local CDFW office. A list can be found on our Web site at www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions .
The wildlife officers should be able to look up the conditions of the owners’ permits and make sure they are acting within the parameters allowed by the permit. At a minimum, it is illegal to shoot within 150 yards of any occupied dwelling without the permission of the occupant. There is no open hunting season for ravens.
Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at