News Room

California’s severe climate-driven drought is having a significant impact on the state’s water supply, but it’s also putting the state’s salmon population at serious risk. Managing California’s water needs during this water supply crisis means minimizing the impacts of drought and water management on the environment while meeting the health and safety needs of communities and supporting the economy and agriculture. DWR and CDFW are actively working to respond to drought and climate change impacts on native species and ecosystems.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The snow is melting in the Lake Tahoe region and a mild winter has given way to a bustling, early spring for wildlife in the area. Bears have emerged from their dens, are on the move and hungry!

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.

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.

The traditional trout season opener the last Saturday in April remains one of California’s most celebrated and anticipated outdoor traditions, drawing thousands of anglers to trout fishing destinations such as Burney and Dunsmuir in the north, Bridgeport and Bishop in the eastern Sierra, Mammoth Lakes in the south, and many other mountain communities and picturesque hamlets throughout the state.

Many California deer, elk and pronghorn hunters whose 2021 seasons were cut short or eliminated as a result of wildfires and public land closures are now able to seek a reinstatement of their preference points and receive refunds of their tag fees in some cases.

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 is transmitted by the parasitic flatworm (or “fluke”) Nanophyetes salmincola.

El Equipo del Oso de Interagencia del Lago Tahoe, una asociación entre el Departamento de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de California (CDFW), los Parques Estatales de California (CSP), el Departamento de Vida Silvestre de Nevada (NDW), la Agencia de Planificación Regional de Tahoe (TRPA), Y el Servicio Forestal del USDA (USFS), están pidiendo a todos los miembros de la comunidad que esperen un aumento de la actividad del oso después del incendio Caldor mientras los osos se preparan para salir de sus cuevas invernales.

The Lake Tahoe Interagency Bear Team, a partnership between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Parks, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and the USDA Forest Service, is asking all community members to expect increased bear activity following the Caldor Fire as bears prepare to emerge from their winter dens.

State legislation to incentivize the creation of upland nesting habitat for ducks and other ground-nesting game birds in California will result in a $10 surcharge on the price of both the California Duck Validation and the Upland Game Bird Validation next hunting season.