Hunting Season Nears / Get current on Regs

[admin]

News Release
Sep. 16, 2010

Contact:
Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962
Eric Loft, DFG Wildlife Branch, (916) 445-3555

Hundreds of thousands of California hunters are gearing up for the start of four major hunting seasons around the state. The Friday/Saturday opening dates are as follows:

* Most of the B and D zones general seasons for deer will open on Sept. 18 and Sept. 25, respectively, attracting more than 100,000 hopeful hunters over the duration of the season.
* Waterfowl seasons will open in October, some on different dates (Oct. 9 in the Northeastern Zone and Southern San Joaquin Zone, and either Oct. 22 or 23 in the other three zones in the state). More than 53,300 hunters are expected to hunt for ducks and geese in marshes, wetlands and other waterfowl habitats, including agricultural lands around the state.
* The pheasant season will open Nov. 13, bringing more than 35,000 hunters out to the fields try to bag these fantastic game birds.
* Fall turkey season also opens Nov. 13. This game bird is a significant species for California hunters.

Hunters should either visit the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) website for specific opening dates for the species and location they desire to hunt, or obtain one of the regulation booklets that are available from DFG offices or most license vendors.

DFG's game conservation and management programs provide both recreational opportunities for hunters and long-term benefits to game and non-game animals on nearly 1 million acres of habitat for wildlife around the state.

"Though these major hunting seasons last only a few months, our wildlife and habitat managers work hard year-round for wildlife and habitat conservation," said Eric Loft, DFG's Wildlife Branch Chief. "We monitor populations of game species to make sure the hunting regulations are appropriate and allow as much opportunity as possible, while still conserving the game populations. Our wildlife area staff throughout the state work to develop excellent habitat conditions and hunting opportunities."

Many of the state-owned or operated waterfowl hunting areas are accessible to hunters through a reservation system. Last year more than 1 million applications were submitted by hunters wanting to hunt on one of these areas during the three-month-long waterfowl season.

California offers a wide variety of hunting opportunities in every county -- from deer hunting in the Sierra and Coastal mountain ranges to setting decoys for ducks and geese in marshes on state-operated waterfowl areas from the Salton Sea to Modoc County. Regardless of the species hunted, all California hunters are required to pass a hunter safety course and must purchase a California hunting license before hunting. The safe hunting practices stressed in these courses have made hunting one of the safest of outdoor activities in California, according to statistics collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Strict hunting regulations are also enforced to ensure that wildlife resources are properly managed and protected for future generations. On the opening day of major seasons, California's 340 wardens typically make a higher-than-normal number of contacts. In 2009, DFG wardens made more than 440,000 contacts on a variety of resource-related issues ranging from simple license checks to arresting felons who were illegally in possession of firearms.