CDFW News

CDFW to Conduct Helicopter Capture and Collaring Efforts for Deer, Elk and Gray Wolves in Northern California

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:50:07 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is initiating efforts in northern California to capture deer, elk and wolves by helicopter and outfit the animals with GPS collars.

Helicopter captures for deer and elk will be conducted in portions of Alameda, Colusa, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Santa Clara, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties throughout the month of January 2026.

Capturing and collaring mule deer, tule, Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk improves CDFW’s understanding of ;species distribution, habitat use, abundance, migration patterns, recruitment rates and survival.

Capture teams will be targeting wolves in Siskiyou, Lassen and Tehama counties and potentially other uncollared packs or wolf groups in Modoc, Shasta and Plumas counties. Any captured wolves will be returned to the nearest suitable public land habitat after processing.

Deployed collars will transmit data to CDFW scientists daily for up to three years and provide detailed information about animal movements, habitat preferences and locations. For collared wolves specifically, CDFW will share animal location information with cattle and sheep producers with the goal of reducing negative interactions with the understanding GPS tracking collars do not transmit data in real-time. Wolf movement and location data will automatically feed into CDFW’s online Wolf Tracker mapping tool.

Wildlife capture operations will take place on lands managed by CDFW, the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management as well as on private properties with permission from landowners. CDFW is grateful to the USDA Forest Service, BLM, timberland owners and other private parties for providing access to their lands for these wildlife capture efforts.

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Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

CDFW to Conduct Helicopter Surveys in Northeastern California to Monitor Elk Populations, Inform Hunting Regulations

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:09:00 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will perform helicopter surveys this month to inventory and monitor elk populations throughout northeastern California. Flights will be conducted throughout November in portions of Modoc, Siskiyou, Lassen and Shasta counties.

CDFW utilizes a variety of survey methods to regularly monitor big game population size, distribution, demographics and trends over time. In open habitats, aerial surveys provide an efficient and rapid method of data collection, affording CDFW biologists the ability to cover larger areas in relatively shorter time periods.

CDFW scientists use the survey data to estimate the total population size of elk herds in different hunt zones or management units. This information helps wildlife managers better understand population performance relative to a variety of factors such as habitat quality, human-wildlife conflict, and habitat fragmentation. Results are also used to make regulated harvest recommendations to the California Fish and Game Commission, which is the state regulatory authority that adopts tag quotas, hunting seasons and zone boundaries.

Big game hunters and other members of the public are encouraged to participate in the commission’s annual regulatory cycles. Information regarding upcoming meetings, including dates, locations, background documents and virtual meeting links are available at the California Fish and Game Commission website.

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Media Contacts:
Carrington Hilson, CDFW Northern Region, (707) 502-4078
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

California Drivers Reminded to be Aware of Wildlife on Our Roads

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 11:42:15 GMT

It’s that time of year when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reminds drivers to be aware of wildlife on state roads and highways.

Every autumn, as Daylight Saving Time concludes, the number of vehicle-wildlife collisions on California roadways increases. As drivers adjust to less daylight during the evening commute during the first week of November, please understand this is also the time of year that deer, elk, bears and other animals are typically on the move for migration, mating or foraging.

Collisions with wildlife can be dangerous and costly for drivers. Nearly 400 people were injured in more than two thousand collisions in 2019 involving wildlife, according to the California Highway Patrol. Also, the UC Davis Road Ecology Center estimates the total annual cost of animal-vehicle conflicts in California to be about $250 million.

“Wildlife-vehicle collisions pose an increasingly significant threat to both people and wildlife and can result in serious injury or death. This time of year, large native species such as deer and elk are more likely to cross highways or roads during their mating season (rut), and black bears are on the search for food,” said Human-Wildlife Conflict Program Coordinator Vicky Monroe. “We ask drivers to remain cautious, vigilant, and aware of their surroundings while driving to help reduce this conflict."

Learn more about CDFW’s efforts to improve wildlife connectivity.

Standard driving safety tips that also benefit wildlife include:

Be extra alert when driving near areas wildlife frequent, such as streams and rivers, and reduce your speed especially around curves.
Don't text and drive! Leave your phone alone; it can wait.
Pay extra attention driving during the morning and evening hours when wildlife are often most active.
If you see an animal on or near the road, know that others may be following.
Don't litter. Trash and food odors can attract animals to roadways.
Pay attention to road shoulders. Look for movement or reflecting eyes. Slow down and honk your horn if you see an animal on or near the road.
Respect wildlife. California is their home too.

CDFW thanks drivers for recognizing the importance of safe driving as daylight hours are reduced.

Media Contact:
Tim Daly, CDFW Communications, (916) 201-2958

Nonprofit Organizations Encouraged to Apply for Fundraising Hunting Tags

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 10:56:07 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is once again inviting nonprofit organizations to help support wildlife, wildlife habitat and scientific research by auctioning big game hunting tags for the 2023-24 hunt season.

Proceeds from the sale of these tags are returned to CDFW to fund projects that benefit bighorn sheep, deer, elk and pronghorn antelope. Last year’s auctions raised more than $750,000 for the research and management of big game species. Past projects funded by the sale of these and other hunting tags have included crucial habitat conservation, post-wildfire forest restoration, wildlife population studies and the installation of artificial watering devices to support wildlife during drought conditions.

Up to 18 big game tags will be reserved for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations to sell or auction. Nonprofit organizations compete through an application process for a chance to auction these special tags, which can only be purchased by members of the public through these auctions. The application process is designed to ensure maximum proceeds are received from the tags to benefit wildlife.

A call for applications and the required application form are available on the CDFW website at wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/hunting/fundraising. Applications must be received by 3:00 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2022.

CDFW file photo of desert bighorn sheep.

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Media Contacts:
Regina Vu, CDFW Wildlife Branch, (916) 516-2132
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

Pronghorn Seasons Winding Down, Elk Seasons Opening Up Amid Habitat, Population Changes Impacting Hunting Opportunities

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 08:32:13 GMT

California’s pronghorn antelope hunters are wrapping up their short seasons as California’s elk hunters are gearing up for theirs. The two groups of big game hunters are among the most tenacious – if not the luckiest – in California.

It can take many years – decades in some cases – of applying in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) annual Big Game Drawing to accumulate the preference points needed to better the chances of securing a hunting tag for either species. Therein lies the tenacity. A precious few tags are awarded every year through random drawing. Therein lies the luck. In either case, the odds are long to secure one of the most coveted big game hunting tags California has to offer. Seasons and tags for pronghorn and elk both are extremely limited and highly regulated to provide a sustainable hunting opportunity while safeguarding the overall health of California’s herds. A tag itself is by no means any guarantee of success.

For elk and pronghorn hunters, nothing is likely to radically alter these tag-drawing dynamics. Still, changes are taking place within California’s pronghorn and elk populations that are impacting hunting opportunities for both species now and likely into the future.

California is home to three species of elk – tule, Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt – and CDW offers hunting opportunities for all three. Roosevelt elk and Rocky Mountain elk populations are growing in the far north and northwestern parts of the state, expanding their range in some cases, and coming into conflict more often with farmers, ranchers and other private property owners.

Expanded elk hunting opportunities are readily apparent in CDFW’s SHARE Program, more so than in CDFW’s annual Big Game Drawing, which tends to make incremental changes in tag allocations from season to season.

CDFW’s SHARE Program didn’t exist before 2010 and only began offering elk hunts in 2015. For the 2022 season, the SHARE Program is providing nearly 100 different elk hunting opportunities for all three of California’s elk species, including 47 bull tags, 41 antlerless tags and five tags reserved for Junior Hunting License holders. The SHARE elk hunts this season are taking place in six counties with robust herds: Colusa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta and Siskiyou.

SHARE provides public hunting opportunities on private property in cooperation with participating landowners. Elk hunting opportunities have expanded exponentially along with growing herds and increasing conflicts.

SHARE Program elk hunts are awarded through a random drawing, separately and independently from the Big Game Drawing. No preference points apply so first-time applicants share the same odds of winning a hunt as those who have applied since the program’s inception. SHARE Program elk hunts are offered once the Big Game Drawing is complete. That allows unsuccessful Big Game Drawing applicants another opportunity to try for an elk tag.

Beyond the expanded elk hunting opportunities, CDFW scientists have witnessed Rocky Mountain elk populations growing in the north state over the past decade and expanding their range to the south where they haven’t been seen before.

Three reproducing Rocky Mountain elk herds are now confirmed in Plumas and Sierra counties with elk also documented having visited El Dorado County. These animals exist outside of regulated hunting zones and are off-limits to elk hunters. CDFW environmental scientists are currently seeking funding to better study these populations, which could lead to hunting opportunities in the future.

Pronghorn antelope also have expanded south over the past 10 years. Two herds have been confirmed in Plumas and Sierra counties, outside of legal hunting zones and off-limits to hunters, but nonetheless exciting to hunters, scientists and other fans of the iconic Western species.

Within their historic habitat in the far northeastern corner of California, pronghorn populations are shrinking and their habitat diminishing. The number of available pronghorn tags have been reduced as a result.

The sagebrush flats in Modoc and Lassen counties, home to the renowned and still highly desirable Likely Tables and Lassen County hunts, are being infiltrated by water-consuming juniper trees and non-native grasses, which are pushing out the native sagebrush. These lands are also being impacted by more frequent wildfires and growing populations of feral horses and burros. Not only do pronghorn eat sagebrush, they depend on the wide-open sagebrush landscape to spot danger at long distances with their tremendous eyesight.

While they are native, juniper trees have encroached these lands. They provide cover for predators and suck water resources from the landscape, making it more vulnerable to wildfire. More frequent wildfires burn native sagebrush and bitterbrush and allow nonnative cheatgrass and medusahead to move in. Overpopulations of feral horses and other non-native ungulates can degrade water sources needed by pronghorn and other wildlife and trample and over-graze sensitive habitat. CDFW is pursuing funding to more thoroughly study these various landscape impacts and changes occurring within traditional pronghorn habitat.

California pronghorn hunters or would-be pronghorn hunters have already felt the impact.

Back in 2020, CDFW offered 45 tags each for the two Likely Tables general buck hunt periods in Modoc County. Once California’s most coveted and consistent zone for pronghorns with hunter success hovering around 90 percent, tag allocations were cut to 25 each for the two hunt periods in the 2021 and 2022 seasons after hunter success in the 2020 season fell to 62 percent (Period 1) and 34 percent (Period 2). Similarly in 2017, tag allocations were cut in the two Lassen County pronghorn hunts from 45 tags each to 35 tags each. No pronghorn hunts are offered through the SHARE Program.

Media Contact
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858