Summer can be a tough time to be a bear. Green grasses have dried up and berries haven’t quite ripened for eating yet, causing black bears to move around more in search of easy food. This means there is a lot to think about when living, visiting, or recreating in the Lake Tahoe Basin this […]
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Avian Influenza Virus Detected in Wild Birds in California
Wildlife disease specialists have confirmed the presence of Highly Pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 Avian Influenza in three wild birds found in Colusa and Glenn counties. The birds were collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on July 5 during a mortality event at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex and submitted to the U.S. Geological […]
Early summer is an active time for bear cubs and yearlings
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev., June 21, 2022 – Summer is here at Lake Tahoe and that means more visitors recreating in bear habitat, which increases the chance of encountering a bear – or a family of bears. Increased visitation also brings more temptations for bears to discover human food and garbage sources. For Tahoe bears, summer […]
CDFW to Supplement Fish Stocks for Anglers as Bacterial Outbreak Leads to Further Losses at Two Eastern Sierra Trout Hatcheries
Two California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) trout hatcheries in the Eastern Sierra are continuing to fight an outbreak of Lactococcus petuari, a naturally occurring bacteria that sickens fish. The current outbreak was first detected in April 2022. CDFW fishery managers announced this week that approximately 350,000 infected catchable rainbow trout are now showing […]
CDFW Trucks Salmon Smolts Around Adverse River Conditions
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is nearing the completion of its efforts to transport 19.7 million hatchery-raised fall-run and 960,000 spring-run juvenile Chinook salmon (known as smolts) to the San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay and seaside net pens this spring and summer. CDFW raises the fish at Feather River, Nimbus, Mokelumne […]
Lake Tahoe to Receive 100,000 Lahontan Cutthroat Trout This Summer
Lake Tahoe, Nev., Calif. – Tahoe’s native fish are making a return this summer. The Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex in Gardnerville, Nev., began stocking 100,000 catchable, Lahontan cutthroat trout into Lake Tahoe June 1 and will continue stocking throughout the summer as conditions allow. The stocking is part of a multiagency and tribal cooperative effort […]
Wildlife Scientists Continue to Seek Cause of California Brown Pelican Illness and Mortality
Since approximately May 13, 2022, several Southern and Central California wildlife rehabilitation facilities from San Luis Obispo County south to San Diego County have been admitting hundreds of California brown pelicans, a fully protected species in California. The pelicans have been found emaciated and frequently with secondary injuries or broken wings. Many of these birds […]
Endangered California Salmon Returned to Safer Waters After More than A Century
State and federal biologists have begun moving endangered adult winter-run Chinook salmon to the upper reaches of Battle Creek and threatened spring-run Chinook salmon to Clear Creek in northern California, where colder water temperatures will better support spawning and help their eggs survive the continuing drought. Â Teams from the California Department of Fish and […]
Let Sleeping Fawns Lie: CDFW Urges Public to Leave Deer Fawns Alone
Late spring and early summer is the peak time for California’s deer herds to give birth to fawns, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is issuing a reminder to well-intentioned people to not interact with the baby deer – even if they find one that appears to be abandoned.  Adult female […]
CDFW Offers Technical Assistance Workshop for Cannabis Cultivators in Nevada County
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is holding a cannabis technical assistance workshop on May 12 in Nevada City. This pop-up technical workshop is ideal for new and legacy farmers as well as cannabis consultants. CDFW’s cannabis permitting, engineering and grant staff will be available to discuss project specific technical questions, notification package […]
CDFW Warns Dog Owners to be Mindful of Salmon Poisoning Disease
Dog owners in northern California are reminded to take precautions to protect their pets from Salmon Poisoning Disease. Salmon Poisoning Disease is a potentially fatal condition seen only in dogs after they eat certain types of raw or cold smoked fish like trout and salmon that are infected with a bacteria-like organism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca, which […]
CDFW Moves Quickly to Close the Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Statewide in Response to Humpback Whale Entanglements
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 […]
Help Save California’s Native Wildlife and Plant Species When Filing Your Taxes
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 […]
Bobcat photo takes 2021 California Wildlife Photograph of the Year Honors
Livermore native SuÂÂe 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 […]
Oil spill response underway in Huntington Beach, Orange County
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 […]
OR93 Found Dead in Kern County
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. Â On the afternoon of Nov. 10, […]
CDFW Saves More Than 2 Million Chinook Salmon From Drought
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 […]
Bears Seeking Food For Winter: Keep Bears Wild!
LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. November 10, 2021 – Fall is officially here, which usually means the Fall Fish Festival in South Lake Tahoe, and very hungry bears in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Bears Prepare for Hibernation This year, due to extraordinary circumstances involving wildfire, COVID-19, and staffing, the Fall Fish Festival was not held at Taylor […]
Southern California Fisheries Closure Implemented Due to Oil Spill
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 […]
California Drivers Reminded to Watch out for Wildlife
As the season changes and Californians turn their clocks back an hour (on Nov. 7), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is urging drivers to be extra alert for wildlife on the state’s roads and highways. Watch out for Wildlife Week happens in late September, and that’s no accident. The time change means […]