News Room

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.

CDFW will staff a voluntary, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) check station at its Mount Shasta Fish Hatchery on the opening weekend of the general, north state deer season Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) general deer season is set to open in many parts of the state Saturday, Sept. 17. Deer season is already underway in California’s A and B4 zones along the coast.

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.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting applications for deer hunting opportunities at the Cosumnes River Ecological Reserve in Sacramento County for the 2022 A Zone and D-5 Zone general seasons.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is offering a drawing for an apprentice deer hunt for junior license holders on the Chimineas Unit of the Carrizo Plains Ecological Reserve.

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.

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.

At its April meeting the California Fish and Game Commission acted on several issues affecting California’s natural resources. The following are just a few items of interest from this week’s meeting held in Monterey and Trinidad, with an option for the public to join via Zoom.

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.