The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting public comments on the just-released draft California Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan. The 133-page draft management plan was developed over five years alongside the California Bobcat Population Monitoring Project’s Report of Findings released in August.
Both efforts are the result of California Assembly Bill 1254. Enacted in 2020, the legislation made it illegal to hunt, trap or otherwise take a bobcat except under limited circumstances such as a depredation permit. The legislation directed CDFW to develop a Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan before bobcat hunting could again be considered.
Although CDFW has regulated bobcat take and managed bobcat populations since 1971, the draft Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan is the first in state history.
Intensive study of California’s bobcat populations over the last five years shows the wild spotted felines distributed throughout the state with a stable population estimated at more than 62,000 animals. That number is similar to previous CDFW population estimates from 1977 and 1981, though the prior estimates lacked the scientific and statistical rigor of CDFW’s latest efforts. Various factors, however, can affect local population growth and decline. The draft plan cites vehicle strikes and disease — specifically mange — as leading causes of death for bobcats, although these figures reflect the most easily detected deaths.
Only the California Fish and Game Commission can reinstate a hunting season on bobcats; the management plan is intended to provide relevant and current scientific information and potential management scenarios to inform that process.
CDFW is accepting written comments on the draft plan through Nov. 1, 2026. Comments can be e-mailed to wildlifemgt@wildlife.ca.gov. Please include “California Bobcat Conservation and Management Plan” in the subject line. Alternatively, comments and information may be mailed to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Branch, Attn: Rachel Roberts, P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-2090.
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Media Contacts:
Rachel Roberts, CDFW Wildlife Branch, (916) 387-5112
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858