Wildlife Branch - Game Management

Overview

The Wildlife Branch's Game Conservation Programs includes bear, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, pronghorn, pigs, upland game (10 species), and waterfowl (21 species). These programs are responsible for game species conservation including: developing management plans and recommending and conducting management actions; designing, conducting and overseeing contracted resource assessment, monitoring, and research; coordinating habitat enhancement projects; developing hunting regulation recommendations, as well as providing special hunting opportunities.

Game Conservation Program Contacts

Program Management

Name Classification
vacant
Environmental Program Manager

Big Game Unit

Name Classification
vacant Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor)
Janelle Dorcy Environmental Scientist

Deer Unit

Name Classification
vacant Environmental Scientist
Jennifer Diamond Scientific Aid
vacant Scientific Aid
vacant Scientific Aid
vacant Research Data Analyst

Black Bear Unit

Name Classification
vacant Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)

Bighorn Sheep Unit

Name Classification
Regina Vu Environmental Scientist

Elk and Antelope Unit

Name Classification
Tom Batter, Ph.D. Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)

Upland / Small Game Unit

Name Classification
Dan Skalos Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor)
Ian Dwight  Environmental Scientist
Matt Meshriy Environmental Scientist
Katherine Miller, Ph.D. Environmental Scientist

Waterfowl Unit

Name Classification
Melanie Weaver Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist)
vacant Environmental Scientist

GIS

Name Classification
vacant Research Program Specialist, GIS GIS Data and Maps

SHARE & PLM Units

Name Classification
Victoria Barr Environmental Scientist

Wildlife Branch - Game Conservation Program

Scott Gardner, Chief
1010 Riverside Parkway
West Sacramento, CA 95605
(916) 373-6627

Game Managment Programs

  • Bear Management Unit
    The primary goal of CDFW's black bear management program is to maintain a viable and healthy black bear population.
  • Deer Management Unit
    The branch and field biologists of the Deer Management Program work together coordinating programs throughout the state to maintain healthy, viable deer herds.
  • Elk Management Unit
    The goals of the Elk Management Program are to maintain healthy elk herds, reestablish elk in suitable historic range, provide public educational and recreational opportunities involving elk, and to alleviate conflicts involving elk on private property.
  • Wild Pig Management Unit
    The primary goal of CDFW's Wild Pig Management Program is to provide recreational opportunities and manage property damage.
  • Pronghorn Management Unit
    The Pronghorn Management Program's objectives are to maintain healthy antelope herds, provide a variety of recreational activities and to minimize conflicts with humans
  • Bighorn Sheep Unit
  • The SHARE Program (Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement)
    SHARE is designed to improve public access to private or landlocked public land.
  • Private Lands Management (PLM)
    The PLM Program offers landowners incentives to manage their lands for the benefit of wildlife.
  • Waterfowl Unit
    The Waterfowl Program works cooperatively with others in the Pacific Flyway and within the CDFW to conserve and manage the waterfowl resource.