California Department of Fish and Wildlife

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the Oregon state line) effective at noon on April 20, 2022. This closure […]

Would you like to help the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recover and rehabilitate animals after they’ve been injured or orphaned by wildfires? What about supporting CDFW’s research into why the California sea otter population is unable to flourish in its native coastal waters? Or how drought and climate change affect California’s native […]

Livermore native Su­­e Crow Griffin’s image of affection displayed by a mother bobcat to her offspring along an Alameda County walking path has earned the 2021 grand prize in the 10th annual California Wildlife Photo of the Year contest. In a virtual celebration, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham named […]

SAN PEDRO, Calif – A unified command has been established to respond to an oil sheen reported a half-mile off Bolsa Chica State Beach. The Unified Command consists of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), and Orange County. Divers confirmed this afternoon […]

On Nov. 10, OR93 was found dead near Interstate 5 near the town of Lebec, Calif. Following a full investigation and necropsy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has determined that the wolf died from trauma consistent with vehicular strike and does not suspect foul play.   On the afternoon of Nov. 10, […]

November 19, 2021 – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has begun releasing juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon into the Klamath River now that river conditions have improved with cooler temperatures and increased flows that give the young salmon their best chance at survival and reaching the Pacific Ocean. More than 2 million baby […]

Take of all fish and shellfish is immediately prohibited from Huntington Beach to Dana Point, including the shorelines and offshore areas and all bays due to an oil spill in Southern California. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has determined that a threat to public health is likely by fishing in the affected […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced that the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area in Siskiyou County will be closed to waterfowl hunting for the entirety of the 2021-22 season as a result of lost wetlands and waterfowl habitat due to drought conditions. The Northeastern Zone waterfowl season runs from Oct. 2, 2021, […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has closed 33 properties that lie within or immediately adjacent to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) boundaries due to extreme fire conditions. Effective immediately, these properties are closed to the public through Friday, Sept. 17. All closures are CDFW wildlife areas or ecological reserves, and they cover many parts […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Cannabis Restoration Grant Program (CRGP) today announced a call for concept proposals in preparation for the qualified cultivator funding opportunity. The Qualified Cultivator Funding Opportunity, Proposal Solicitation Notice is scheduled for release in fall of 2021 and will be open for applying until spring of 2023. Applications will be […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced that the spit fishery at the mouth of the Klamath River will close to angling at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27. Based on CDFW projections of the recreational fall Chinook salmon harvest, anglers will have met the “spit area” adult fall Chinook salmon quota […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) today announced the selection of 28 projects to receive funding for projects to restore and protect multi-benefit ecosystem restoration and protection projects under its Proposition 1 grant programs. The awards, totaling $39 million, were made under CDFW’s 2021 Proposition 1 Watershed Restoration Grant & Delta Water Quality […]

A species of fish once declared extinct has not only survived but is expected to thrive thanks to a five-year effort to restore habitat and translocate more than 700 Owens pupfish. In early April biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno Office (USFWS) moved the […]

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announces ocean salmon season openers for additional management areas along the California coast. Although the Monterey management area opened in early April, the rest of the coast remained closed. Beginning in late June, recreational anglers will be able to drop their lines for salmon in the San […]

April 14, 2021 – The California Fish and Game Commission recently revoked commercial marine aquaria fishing privileges for David W. Hornbaker due to unlawful take of marine aquaria species. Hornbaker was charged with using an unlawful anesthetic substance to collect in an area in which he was directly warned not to do so, then failed […]

March 19, 2021 – While the spring season typically signals the start of the recreational red abalone season, CDFW reminds anglers that the northern California recreational red abalone fishery will remain closed until April 1, 2026. Red abalone stocks continue to be impacted by large scale die offs in this area due to the collapse […]