California Outdoors Q&A

Butterflies in Education

Q: How would you suggest schools teach the life cycle of caterpillars becoming butterflies?

A: Monarch butterflies are the best known of California’s butterflies, however due to their population fluctuating dramatically in recent years, a scientific collecting permit from CDFW is needed to raise them for educational and other purposes.

Fortunately, there are other ways for teaching about metamorphosis. Instead of captive rearing, CDFW strongly suggests educators create habitat to teach children about butterflies and other pollinators such as bees and birds. This allows children to see these animals in a more natural environment while still providing the opportunity to view all stages of the butterfly lifecycle and a permit is not needed.

When creating habitat, it’s important to include appropriate host plants, like a native milkweed species for monarch butterflies, pipevine for pipevine swallowtail butterflies or fennel for the anise swallowtail butterflies. Another key component is making sure you have an abundance of plants that provide nectar. CDFW recommends using native plants because ornamental plants often are bred to be showy but not for their ability to produce the pollen and nectar pollinators need. Finally, pesticides should be avoided.

Advanced Hunting Clinics

Q: Does CDFW offer hunting instruction that goes beyond the basic certification level?

A: CDFW’s Advanced Hunter Education (AHE) program offers in-person clinics and virtual webinars that increase a hunter’s skill set. Since the reduction of COVID-19 restrictions, CDFW has been able to increase the number of clinics, which offer information on the type of firearm to use, ammunition, tracking, field dressing, shoot-don’t shoot scenarios, conservation and safety. CDFW aims to increase the number of in-person clinics scheduled throughout the state.

Clinics are offered throughout the state and nearly every month of the year. The classes are meant to focus on the techniques of hunting, as opposed to covering just the basics of safe and ethical hunting.

“Don’t let the word ‘advanced’ fool you. You do not have to be advanced to attend these clinics or webinars,” said CDFW Hunter Education Administrator Captain Shawn Olague. “The program is geared toward giving participants the knowledge and confidence to pursue  activities they are interested in. You will leave an event with a newfound understanding that will help you be more successful in the field.” 

Traditionally the most popular clinics cover wild pig, turkey and waterfowl hunting. Other topics include hunting backcountry big game, avoiding wilderness emergencies, hunting with air guns and even the art of sausage-making. The full 2024 list of topics, dates and locations is found at Advanced Hunter Education.

View past Advanced Hunter Education webinars via the recordings that are placed on the CDFW YouTube channel. The videos can also be found on the Advanced Hunting Clinics home page.

Salmon Making a Wrong Turn

Q: I remember a story late last year about salmon apparently getting lost on their way back to their natural spawning location. Why do fish sometimes get lost and choose the wrong stream or river?

A: In November, several salmon swimming upstream to spawn were found dying or dead in a small North Stockton (San Joaquin County) creek. The fish were likely trying to find their way to the Mokelumne River many miles to the north instead.

Usually, salmon raised in hatcheries find their way back to their native river for spawning season, but some take wrong turns along the way. There are several potential reasons for that. It’s believed fish raised in hatchery settings don’t have quite the same strong olfactory (smelling) skills that guide them to the river they were hatched. Also, many rivers in northern California are connected to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and it’s possible through changing tides and flows that water from one river is mixing with water from other rivers, and that can confuse salmon returning upstream.

“There’s a natural instinct of fish to follow flow,” said Jason Julienne, the senior environmental scientist who oversees CDFW’s Sacramento Valley anadromous fish hatcheries. “And where you have a mixing of flows from different tributaries, as is the case in the Delta, it can confuse adult Chinook salmon coming back to the Central Valley that are depending on sense of smell cues to get where they’re supposed to go.”

Other factors that can contribute to fish straying include the trucking of fish downstream to a release point, and water delivery operations such as diversions, pumping and dam releases.

CDFW can determine the origin of raised fish thanks to a coded wire tag that’s implanted in a portion of all hatchery-raised fish at about five months old. The tag is uniquely coded to the hatchery where it was raised, it contains information indicating the age of the fish and the location where it was released.

It's also possible (and fairly common) for fish to make it all the way back to a different hatchery than the facility where they were raised.

Delta Smelt Experiment

Q: What’s the latest on CDFW’s experiment with the Delta smelt population?

A: CDFW continues to work alongside several partner agencies to learn more about the decline of Delta smelt and what might be possible to aid in the survival of the endangered species.

The Delta Smelt Experimental Release Study involves releasing 90,000 laboratory-raised fish into the Delta this season to determine which methods prove the most effective at production, tagging, transport and release of the fish into the wild. Learning which plan works best could someday help to supplement the population with a goal of aiding in the recovery of the species.

While being raised in captivity, each fish is marked by hand with an adipose fin clip or a fluorescent tag. A particular color indicates to scientists the date, location and experimental method of the release.

Recently 32 metal 20-gallon containers were filled with 200 Delta smelt and emptied directly into the Sacramento River into a specially designed submerged cage. The cage provided a safe environment while the fish adjusted to the river temperature and their new surroundings before they were fully released a few hours later into the river. Through Delta smelt monitoring surveys that are conducted routinely each year, CDFW can learn about their health and survivability.

“Last year was the first time we were able to uniquely mark fish from different experimental release events and get decent numbers of adult fish recaptured in our monitoring surveys,” said CDFW Environmental Program Manager Dr. James Hobbs. “We’re releasing adult fish just before the spawning season, and we’re hoping these fish will meet up and produce the next generations.”

Unfortunately, the same factors responsible for the near disappearance of the fish are still present including a less than reliable flow of freshwater, low food productivity, loss of wetland habitats, predation by non-native species and other reasons. But scientists say the experiment is showing some positive results with survival and recovery of released adults.

Apprentice Hunts

Q: What program does CDFW have that offers hunting instruction for beginners or young people?

A: CDFW has apprentice and special hunts that are designed to involve groups not traditionally experienced with hunting opportunities. The hunts are intended for first time or novice-level hunters, with a strong emphasis on hunter education principles and ethics while developing hunting and shooting skills.

Pen-raised pheasants allow for these hunts to happen in locations featuring easy walking, safe shooting and adequate open space for participants to spread out. These birds present a larger and slower moving target than wild birds, allowing more time to follow direction from their CDFW escort and practice safe shooting skills.

CDFW currently holds about 65 apprentice hunts each year. Junior hunts, women’s hunts, family hunts and mobility impaired hunts all fall under the description of apprentice hunts.

Apprentice hunters must possess a valid California hunting license and upland game bird stamp or validation and participants are selected through a random drawing process.

Further information on apprentice and special hunts are at CDFW Apprentice Hunts.

Bighorn Sheep Survey

Q: What does CDFW do with the information gathered at the bighorn sheep survey in Southern California?

A: CDFW organizes a survey each year to determine the number of bighorn sheep in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

After receiving specialized training on how to classify the sex and age of bighorn sheep, some 150 volunteers break into small groups that spend most of the day hiking and looking for bighorn sheep.

Volunteer observations help CDFW calculate population estimates that assist the department in monitoring the health and long-term sustainability of this unique population of desert bighorn sheep that occupies high-elevation habitat.

Volunteer assistance is welcome because the areas being surveyed are large, widespread and in some cases very rugged. Volunteers using binoculars or a spotting scope greatly aid CDFW in accomplishing the survey’s goals.

Participants must be at least 16 years of age and be capable of hiking up to five miles in mountain terrain. Volunteers for the March 3, 2024 event can sign up here: Bighorn Sheep Survey Form.

Free Hunting Days

Q: When are the next California Free Hunting Days?

A: Under state law the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director designates two Free Hunting Days. In this license year, they are Nov. 25, 2023, and April 13, 2024. On these days, eligible California residents may hunt without purchasing a California hunting license, provided other requirements are met.

Those requirements include proof of completion of a hunter education course, possession of a valid Free Hunt Days Registration and any required tags, federal entitlements and entry permits. All hunting participants in Free Hunting Days must be accompanied by a hunter at least 21 years of age who possesses a valid California hunting license.

The dates were chosen intentionally to provide the widest variety of hunting opportunities and options for people trying hunting. On Nov. 25, waterfowl seasons and many upland game seasons, from rabbit and squirrel to dove, pheasant, quail and fall wild turkey will be open in various zones throughout the state. April 13, 2024, was chosen with two other popular species in mind, wild pig and wild turkey. More information is available at CDFW’s Free Hunting Days webpage.

Best Time to Visit Nimbus Hatchery

Q: Is this the best time of the year to watch salmon spawning at Nimbus Hatchery, east of Sacramento?

A: November is the start of a four month stretch when the Nimbus Fish Hatchery is most busy, with Chinook salmon returning up the American River for about two months, and then steelhead trout make that trip in January and February. This hatchery is one of 21 operated by CDFW and it attracts the greatest number of visitors – about 65 thousand people annually in addition to about 10 thousand children on field trips.

CDFW Interpretive Services Supervisor Laura Drath said the hatchery is back to full strength after the pandemic, meaning all tours and public spaces are available. The list of activities includes play areas for children and a preschool story and craft program called Tot Time on Sunday mornings. Visitors can feed fish in the raceways, then walk along the river bluff to see salmon in their natural habitat. Finally, it's also possible to watch as fish filled with eggs make their way up the fish ladder to the processing room where hundreds of thousands of eggs are extracted and then raised on-site until they’re large enough for placement into the river. The Nimbus Hatchery produces about 4.5 million Chinook salmon and 430,000 steelhead trout each year.

This hatchery is widely visited and visitor-friendly because it’s located so close to a populated urban area (about 20 miles east of Sacramento). Drath said this facility is in a great position to represent the important work being done by CDFW.

The Nimbus Fish Hatchery is open to the public every day of the year except Christmas Day (rain or shine).

Oil Spill Fingerprints

Q: Can CDFW track down the source of a mysterious oil spill?

A: Within CDFW is the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR). That’s where the Petroleum Chemistry Lab (PCL) has a staff of chemists whose primary task is determining where spilled oil came from. Hundreds of oil spills or leaks occur in the state annually, with incidents ranging from tanker truck rollovers to pipeline leaks to natural offshore seeps. When it’s not obvious which company or facility is the source of a spill, the PCL steps in.

Petroleum is a mixture of thousands of individual components that indicate the geographic location, age, thermal characteristics and organisms of a geologic oil reservoir. These factors create unique signatures or fingerprints that help chemists identify one oil sample from another. When oil is collected by CDFW during an investigation, OSPR’s scientists can identify the source of that spill by comparing the fingerprints to samples from the most likely potential sources. That work can lead to the collection of fines and even criminal charges in cases when the responsible party isn’t admitting fault. The PCL is one of just a handful in the country doing this work.

Quail hunting

Q: How many shotgun shells am I allowed to have in my shotgun when quail hunting? I want to know if my gun needs a plug installed.

A: The short answer to your question is -- yes, you need a plug in your shotgun.

California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section 311(a) states that only shotguns “incapable of holding more than three shells in the magazine and chamber combined” may be used for taking resident small game species that include quail, pheasant, rabbits, squirrels, etc. Furthermore, the regulation goes on to specify the type of plug required. “If a plug is used to reduce the capacity of a magazine to fulfill the requirements of this section, the plug must be of one piece construction incapable of removal without disassembling the gun.”

And then there are federal regulations requiring a maximum three-shot capacity in shotguns when hunting migratory birds such as doves, snipe, ducks and geese. These are spelled out in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 50, part 20. Hope this helps.

Bakersfield lake

Q: I saw photos online of a fish with odd looking teeth that was caught in a lake in Bakersfield. Some people thought it might be a piranha. Did the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) look into this?

A: Yes, they were great photos, which made it easy to identify the fish as a pacu. Pacus are a popular tropical aquarium species that often outgrow their tanks and are unfortunately released by owners who no longer want them. Pacu and piranha can be differentiated by the shape of their mouth and teeth. When the mouth of a pacu is opened the gap between the upper and lower lip form a squarish gap, whereas on the piranha the upper and lower lip form a V-shape. And while pacu teeth may appear sharp, they are no comparison to those of piranha, which are as sharp as razors.

Winter cold water temperatures probably would have taken the fish out if the angler hadn’t. Based on their tropical water temperature requirements, we do not anticipate pacus, or piranha either, are capable of invading California waters. For more information, visit our Don’t Let it Loose campaign online.

Russian River coho

Q: What’s the status of the coho salmon population in the Russian River?

A: Before the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program (RRCSCBP) began at Warm Springs Hatchery in 2001, coho salmon were close to extirpated from the Russian River basin. Only a few juveniles remained, and these juveniles were used to start the broodstock program.

Over the past 10-15 years, adult coho returning to the Russian River have fluctuated from approximately 100 to more than 700 a few years ago, with an average of around 300-500. The recent drought has resulted in fewer than 300 adult coho returning in winter 2020/21. The majority of these adult returners are fish that were released as juveniles in Russian River tributaries through the RRCSCBP. The program released between 100,000 and 230,000 coho annually, with an average of approximately 180,000.

The number of adult coho in the Russian River is indeed very low and very likely the result of a relative lack of suitable habitat, and especially a lack of adequate water, especially during the dry summer months. The latter problem obviously is exacerbated by the current drought conditions. Recovery of the endangered Central Coast coho salmon will require continued habitat restoration, combined with other management actions such as population enhancement through genetically guided conservation hatchery intervention.

Kayaking for crabs

Q: I want to catch crab from a kayak and am confused by the regulations. I live in Los Angeles, and I want to go off the coast and use crab traps and hoop nets. Are these allowed?

A: State regulations do not allow for the use of traps to recreationally take any species of crabs in Southern California south of Point Arguello in Santa Barbara County. You may use hoop nets to recreationally take crabs south of Point Arguello, provided you follow the regulations in CCR, Title 14, section 29.80(b). Visit CDFW’s Invertebrate Fishing Regulations page for full text of the regulations.

Junior hunting license

Q: My grandson is a junior hunting license holder who turned 16 years old in August. Does he need an adult hunting license for the 2021-22 season or can he still hunt with his junior license for this year?

A: First, thanks for being an awesome mentor to your grandson. We think some of the most treasured memories and greatest bonding moments between generations of family are in the duck blind, in the field while hunting big game, in a boat fishing, etc. Good news: Your grandson is still eligible for his discounted Junior Hunting License because he was 15 years old at the beginning of the 2021-22 license year on July 1. However, now that he has turned 16 years old, if he wants to go waterfowl hunting, he’ll need to purchase a federal duck stamp. Federal law requires it – specifically, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section 509, which deals with concurrence with federal law. CCR, Title 14, section 509(c) states: It shall be unlawful for any person aged 16 years or older to take any migratory waterfowl unless at the time of such taking the person carries in his or her immediate possession an unexpired federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp validated by his or her signature written in ink across the face of the stamp or an unexpired federal migratory bird hunting and conservation electronic stamp issued in his or her name prior to any taking of such birds.

As a junior hunting license holder, he will not need a California Duck Validation, in case you didn’t know. The California Fish and Game Commission adopted the regulation to not require hunters who possess a junior license to also purchase a California Duck Validation for consistency and to give our junior license holders that extra break.

Also, he is still eligible for all the youth hunts, apprentice hunts and junior hunts this season – so we hope you take advantage of some of those great opportunities. For young waterfowlers, the Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days, February 5-6 in the Balance of the State Zone, is a special opportunity you don’t want to miss. Enjoy hunting with your grandson!

Managing deer populations

Q: What is the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) role in managing deer populations on public lands?

A: CDFW’s role in managing deer and other hunted species across California includes population monitoring, movement monitoring (i.e., migration corridors and habitat linkages), administering appropriate levels of hunter take and enhancing habitat.

Public land makes up about 48 percent of the state’s deer habitat, with most of it being federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Since CDFW owns and directly manages less than one percent of the state’s deer habitat, CDFW collaborates with federal and state agencies, private landowners, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders on land management projects that improve deer and other wildlife habitat. Over the last six years, CDFW has awarded over $2.1 million through its Big Game Grant Program to non-profit groups (such as California Deer Association, Mendocino County Blacktail Association and Mule Deer Foundation) for habitat enhancement projects on California’s public lands.

Geoduck clamming

Q: I’d like to know the rules for catching geoduck clams at Dillon Beach in Marin County. Can I use a hand pump to catch them, or do I have to dig them out by shovel?

A: Since March 2021, you can no longer use hydraulic pumps to extract clams. While you must dig for them by hand, you can use certain devices to help, including suction devices commonly known as slurp guns or clam guns. California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 14, section 29.20(c) makes it unlawful to possess any hydraulic devices, or other device, capable of liquifying sand to aid in the harvest of clams anywhere clams may be taken. CCR, Title 14, section 29.20(c) states the following:

(c) Gear restrictions. It shall be unlawful to use anything other than the following hand-operated devices to take clams: spades, shovels, hoes, forks, rakes, devices that use suction to remove clams commonly known as slurp guns or clam guns, or rigid pipes used to prevent the collapse of holes when digging for clams. It shall be unlawful to use any other device to take clams, including any hydraulic devices. It shall be unlawful to possess a hydraulic pump, or other device, capable of liquifying sand to aid in the harvest of clams anywhere clams may be taken. It shall be unlawful to possess any such unauthorized device, except in their permanent residence, concurrently with any clam. No instrument capable of being used to dig clams may be possessed between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise, on any beach of this state, except tools and implements used in the work of cleaning, repairing or maintaining such beach when possessed by a person authorized by appropriate authority to perform such work.

View more information about invertebrate fishing regulations.

Media contact:
Ken Paglia, CDFW Communications