News Archive

Wildlife areas, ecological reserves and other properties may be closed due to wildfires or storm damage. Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts are strongly encouraged to check for closures before leaving on any recreational trip.

The Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has re-opened the recreational razor clam fishery in Del Norte County following a recommendation from state health agencies that domoic acid no longer poses a significant threat. While the razor clam fishery has reopened due to recent tests for domoic acid, the bivalve shellfish health advisory for Del Norte County issued by California Department of Public Health on July 3, 2025, warning consumers not to consume any sport-harvested bivalves (including razor clams, mussels, scallops, and clams, etc.) due to dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins remains in effect. The razor clam fishery remains closed in Humboldt County due to elevated levels of domoic acid.

“Ten Years of Gray Wolf Conservation and Management in California: 2015-2024” details CDFW’s wolf conservation and management efforts, including wolf monitoring techniques, wolf-livestock depredation investigations, wolf captures and population data for the state’s wolf packs known through 2024, including the minimum number of individuals, breeding pairs and litters produced.

California’s June 7-8 Ocean salmon season offered some of the best fishing many longtime anglers can remember. Fast action, quick limits and bustling harbors characterized the weekend along much of the coast with a hot salmon bite reported as far south as San Luis Obispo County. Excellent ocean conditions from Crescent City all the way down to Avila Beach allowed anglers to get out both days and try to catch the iconic sport fish in ocean waters for the first time since 2022.

BIG PINE – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that a sustained power outage has led to the widespread loss of fish at the Fish Springs Trout Hatchery. The power outage, which was outside CDFW’s control, occurred in the afternoon of Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Owens Valley, and lasted more than two hours. Fish Springs Trout Hatchery, powered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has backup diesel motors which can supply continued water pumping during power outage events. During the power outage on Tuesday, the backup diesel motors were non-operational due to a software issue. A contractor had been previously scheduled to come to the hatchery on Thursday, May 22 to diagnose the software issue, assess the motors, and help CDFW resolve the problem.