News Room

California hunters can now purchase hunting licenses for the 2022-23 season, as well as apply for the Big Game Drawing online. Californians have many options to bring home wild game for their dinner table, and at this time, the current COVID-19 pandemic is not expected to lead to the closure or delay of any hunting seasons.

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.

CDFW is offering wild pig hunting opportunities in March, April and May at the Joice Island Unit of the Grizzly Island Wildlife Area in Solano County.

CDFW will reopen the Ocean Ranch Unit within the Eel River Wildlife Area to waterfowl hunting and other public access beginning Wednesday, Dec. 1 as the majority of habitat restoration work taking place there winds down for the year.

Hunters can soon participate in no-fee waterfowl hunts amid restored salt ponds at Eden Landing Ecological Reserve (ELER) in Hayward. Access to ELER will be open to 100 hunters on a first-come, first-served basis.

The final phase of the 850-acre Hill Slough Tidal Restoration Project kicked off on October 5 with the first of 11 levee breaches.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced the temporary closure of the Ocean Ranch Unit within the Eel River Wildlife Area as habitat and restoration work intensifies there with the use of heavy equipment. The unit is being closed to all public access for safety.

CDFW has temporarily restricted boat use at the Mendota Wildlife Area in Fresno County.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has reopened 34 of its properties to public use as of Thursday, Sept. 16, following the announcement by the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region lifting the closure of most California forests.

CDFW has announced that the Shasta Valley Wildlife Area in Siskiyou County will be closed to waterfowl hunting for the entirety of the 2021-22 season as a result of lost wetlands and waterfowl habitat due to drought conditions.