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.

California monarchs

Q: Are there two populations of monarch butterflies in California?

A: The bottom line is that it’s unclear, but we continue to track the research, as we are responsible for their conservation and successful migration.

In addition to the declining population of migratory western monarch butterflies, scientists are seeing an increase in resident monarchs that breed year-round. Resident monarchs have been reported in higher numbers in coastal areas from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay Area. Historically, the migratory monarch population overwintered in coastal groves from October to March. During the rest of the year, monarchs migrated and bred throughout states west of the Rocky Mountains. In the past, winter breeding may have occurred at a low level. However, over the past few years it has expanded concurrent with the decline of the migratory population. A 2021 scientific study estimated that there were approximately 12,000 resident monarchs — more than six times the remaining migratory population.

Scientists are currently looking into which factors are influencing the transition to year-round breeding. One hypothesis is that the expansion of nonnative tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) in home gardens may induce winter breeding. Climate change could also play a role as warmer winter weather exposes monarchs to temperatures that can cause them to break reproductive diapause early.

It is unclear whether resident monarchs represent a separate population from the migratory population or if there is intermixing. If they are distinct populations, questions remain over whether the resident and migratory populations can persist side by side. Finally, scientists are still trying to determine if the transition to year-round breeding represents a persistent trend or is a short-term adaptation to local conditions.

As a trustee agency, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is tasked with protecting California’s flora and fauna, including terrestrial invertebrates like monarch butterflies for their ecological value and enjoyment by the public. California Fish and Game Code (FGC) section 1021 directs CDFW to “take feasible actions to conserve monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for successful migration.”

Turkey hunting guides

Q: I’m a fairly inexperienced turkey hunter but I’m interested in learning more this fall. Other than word-of-mouth, do you have any suggestions on how (and where) I might find a good guide?

A: Yes! CDFW maintains a list of licensed guides for both hunting and fishing. You can find the list on our website, and sort by services offered, species targeted and/or county, as well as by name or permit number if you’re looking for a particular guide. Guided hunts are often worth the investment for new hunters – you’re paying for their shared knowledge and experience, and it greatly increases your chances of a successful outing! Good luck!

Lake and streambed alteration

Q: My neighbor is dumping dirt in the creek by our home. Is this legal?

A: It might be. California Fish and Game Code (FGC) section 1602(a) requires notification to CDFW of any activity that would substantially alter the bed, bank or channel of a river, stream or lake, or dispose of material where it could enter into a river, stream or lake. Therefore, it would be illegal for your neighbors to alter the creek bed by your home without notifying CDFW. CDFW requires a Lake and Streambed Alteration (LSA) Agreement when a project activity may substantially adversely affect fish and wildlife resources. For more information, please visit CDFW’s LSA Program online.

FGC section 5650 outlines prohibitions on water pollution including discharge of any of the following into California waterways:

(1) Any petroleum, acid, coal or oil tar, lampblack, aniline, asphalt, bitumen, or residuary product of petroleum, or carbonaceous material or substance.

(2) Any refuse, liquid or solid, from any refinery, gas house, tannery, distillery, chemical works, mill, or factory of any kind.

(3) Any sawdust, shavings, slabs, or edgings.

(4) Any factory refuse, lime, or slag.

(5) Any cocculus indicus.

(6) Any substance or material deleterious to fish, plant life, mammals, or bird life.

If you believe you have witnessed an environmental crime, you should document the incident(s) via CalTip: wildlife.ca.gov/Enforcement/CalTIP. Other agencies, including local government entities, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and Army Corps of Engineers, to name a few, may also have legal authority over these activities.

Bag vs. possession limit

Q: What’s the difference between a bag limit and possession limit? Is the possession limit always double the bag limit?

A: “Bag limit” is defined in California Fish and Game Code (FGC), section 18 as the maximum limit, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles or amphibians that may lawfully be taken by any one person during a specified period of time. “Possession limit” is defined in FGC, section 19 as the maximum, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians that may be lawfully possessed by one person.

The answer to your second question is no, the possession limit is not always double the bag limit. Possession limit and bag limit are frequently different, so it’s crucial to consult the appropriate regulations for the fish, game or other species you are attempting to take. As an example, during waterfowl season the daily bag limit is seven ducks. The possession limit for ducks is triple the daily bag limit so a hunter can legally possess 21 ducks.

CDFW Photo