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PROTECT HUNTING
Our hunting tradition and wildlife habitat is under serious threat. Care about the future of our heritage?
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Field Wire.
Subscribe to our Field Wire email newsletter and receive immediate updates on issues critical to you and join the COHA Action Team. |
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| "Our Association believes that it is no longer enough to simply conserve and improve habitat, we must also get involved with the 'Decision Makers' that are determining the use of this valuable, renewable resource." |
Andy Wood,
President of the California Deer Association |
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Don Koch Confirmed as DFG Director
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In April 2008, Don Koch was appointed to the position of Director of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In order to remain in that seat for the remainder of the current administration, Mr. Koch would have to be confirmed by the State Senate within 12 months of his appointment.
This past February, to begin the confirmation proceedings, Mr. Koch was brought up for hearing in the Senate Rules Committee – the first step of the process. COHA was pleased to testify in support Mr. Koch’s confirmation at the hearing. However, concerns over time-honored general DFG problems tied the hearing up with the committee eventually putting the vote over until a later date. In mid-April, Mr. Koch was again brought up for hearing in Senate Rules Committee. After an hour of tough questions by committee members, COHA again provided testimony in support of Mr. Koch, while noting concerns relating to Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) water deliveries to the refuges and Grasslands wetlands. Following testimony in support and in opposition to Mr. Koch, the committee voted 5-0 to pass Mr. Koch on to the Senate Floor for consideration. On April 16th, Mr. Koch’s conformation passed off the Senate Floor with a 36-0 vote. Mr. Koch is now officially the Director of the Department of Fish and Game.
COHA staff has a long and positive working relationship with Mr. Koch. COHA staff spent a tremendous amount of time working with him to address Klamath water and other northern California issues during Koch's tenure as DFG Region 1 Manager. Mr. Koch has also proven to be highly accessible and supportive of COHA issues and efforts during his past 12 months while serving as Acting DFG Director. COHA looks forward to working closely with Mr. Koch to address the concerns of our membership during the remainder of his term as DFG Director under Governor Schwarzenegger. |
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SHARE Program Grows in 2008/2009
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The SHARE Program, a private lands hunting access program created by California Waterfowl Association legislation in 2003, was expanded during the 2008/2009 hunting season to include 18 total landowners, with new hunts being offered for the first time during a special late season white goose hunt in the Imperial Valley in February. Applications for interested hunters were made available on CWA, COHA and the Department of Fish and Game’s websites, and demand was particularly high for waterfowl hunts in the Central Valley and white goose hunts in the Imperial Valley. The first hunts began in late December (Central Valley) and were completed in early March (Imperial Valley, North Coast). Hunts are currently limited to waterfowl and pheasant only, but should be expanded in future years to other species as federal Farm Bill grant monies become available.
The future for SHARE looks bright. Last year, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 3-0 to direct the DFG to dedicate $100,000 to support the Program in future years. COHA staff also recently had a very positive meeting with the new DFG Director, Don Koch, regarding the future role of DFG in administering the Program. Finally, a provision was included in the recently approved 2008 Farm Bill which could likely provide substantial future federal funding for SHARE.
The SHARE Program was authorized in 2003 through CWA-sponsored legislation, AB 396 (Harman). As required by the legislation, a pilot program was implemented to determine overall landowner and hunter interest. With the pilot program now approved by the California Fish and Game Commission and funding in the process of being secured, DFG will eventually be required to implement the program on a statewide basis.
At least 18 other states have voluntary private land access programs, and literally millions of acres of private lands have been opened to public hunting. The main objective of California’s program is offer low-cost private land hunting opportunities in an effort to retain existing hunters and encourage other individuals to take up hunting for the first time. Other goals include fostering improved relations between hunters and landowners, financially supporting farmers and other landowners who provide public access for hunting and encouraging responsible hunter behavior in the field.
Hunting opportunities through SHARE are currently limited to waterfowl and upland game birds only, but could be expanded in the future to include any game species, including deer, wild pigs and other big game species as funding becomes available. |
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Public Hunt Programs - Sacramento Valley National Wildlife Refuges/State Wildlife Areas
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In January, COHA and CWA convened a “Duck Hunters Forum” at the Sacramento International Sportsmen’s Expo (ISE) in January. The Forum, which also included representatives of the Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was well attended by interested hunters. Topics for discussion included the use of assigned ponds, law enforcement, hunter access procedures and other issues of interest to public area hunters.
COHA also met on April 16th with Sacramento NWR Complex staff to discuss proposed changes to the USFWS’s Sacramento Valley hunt program, particularly at Sutter and Delevan NWRs. In addition, the Complex released its final Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Sacramento, Sutter, Delevan and Colusa NWRS, which will guide the hunt and habitat management programs on those NWRs for at least a 15-year period. COHA staff, along with CWA staff and CWA’s Unattached Hunters Committee, reviewed the draft CCP and provided written comments.
COHA’s general goal in working with both the USFWS and DFG is to avoid any new unreasonable restrictions those who hunt on state and federal lands, and to ensure a balance of free roam, assign pond and assigned blind hunting opportunity on these public areas - both in terms of quality and quantity. |
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COHA Seeks Additional Public Hunting Opportunities in the Central Valley
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In addition to recently participating in a public workshop on CA State Parks' efforts to increase recreational opportunities in the Central Valley, the following written comments were submitted by COHA to encourage CA State Parks to facilitate additional hunting opportunities.
To Whom It May Concern:
The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) would like to take this opportunity to briefly comment on the California State Parks’ Central Valley Vision Draft Implementation Plan. COHA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of our hunting heritage and the promotion of wildlife conservation, and represents approximately 30 different hunting and conservation-related organizations statewide.
Our Association strongly supports additional outdoor recreational opportunities and the protection of wildlife habitat, particularly in the fast-growing Central Valley. Thus, we generally support the goals and objectives contained in the draft document, and commend State Parks for undertaking such an important and long-overdue initiative.
However, we urge that more emphasis be placed on opportunities for recreational hunting, as there is very limited mention of hunting in the draft document. While we recognize that providing hunting opportunities is typically undertaken by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State Parks can also play an important role on its Recreation Areas and/or through cooperative agreements with other entities, both public and private.
State Parks should facilitate increased public hunting opportunities because the demand is there. A significant percentage of California’s hunters reside in the Central Valley. In fact, according to license data from DFG, Sacramento and Fresno Counties typically sell more hunting licenses than any other counties. It should also be noted that hunter demand on existing public lands in the Central Valley is high and likely exceeds available acreage. For example, on some state and federal waterfowl hunting areas the odds of a hunter being drawn via lottery to hunt on any given day now exceed 50, 60 or even 70:1. Also, surveys by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and others have shown that a key reason why hunters leave the sport is lack of access to hunting areas.
State Parks can help meet the high hunter demand in the Central Valley by not only opening more of its Recreation Areas to hunting, but also, as touched upon in the draft document, facilitating increased access to adjacent public lands and waters. For instance, currently there is a dearth of public boat launches along certain segments of the Sacramento River and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which negatively impacts local waterfowl and dove hunters. Allowing hunters to use State Parks lands/facilities to access nearby public or private lands, via the “base camp” concept discussed in the draft document, would help address this problem.
It should also be noted, that for certain game species such wild turkeys and wild pigs (exotic species for which hunting has proven an excellent management tool), there is currently relatively little public land available for hunting in California. State Parks could provide much-needed opportunities for wild turkeys along its riparian corridors, such as the Colusa-Sacramento State Recreation Area, or for wild pigs in the foothill areas surrounding the Central Valley, such as the Sutter Buttes State Park.
Two other State Park properties should also strongly be considered for including a public hunting program. First, the proposed Dos Rios property in Stanislaus County should be open to waterfowl and upland game bird (e.g. pheasant, doves) hunting. The property is adjacent to several duck clubs and is in an area with a strong tradition of waterfowl hunting. Likewise, should portions of the Tejon Ranch in Kern County be acquired by State Parks, hunting should be allowed. Currently, the Tejon Ranch provides some of the highest quality hunting opportunity in California, and is highly sought after by hunters throughout the United States for its wild pig, elk, wild turkey, quail, bear and deer hunting. Hunting has also proven fully compatible with the land conservation goals for the property.
Lastly, it should be noted that hunters will gladly pay a reasonable fee for new opportunities, as is demonstrated by the longstanding willingness of hunters to pay to use state and federal wildlife areas and national wildlife refuges; thus, funding derived from hunting can help offset any new administrative costs to State Parks. In addition, there are opportunities to enter into cooperative agreements with DFG and others (e.g. nonprofit groups) in the implementation of any hunt program, which would further help to minimize any administrative costs.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Should you have questions or need more information regarding our input, please feel free to contact me at the number below.
Sincerely,
Mark Hennelly, Vice President
California Outdoor Heritage Alliance |
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COHA, CWA and Southern California Hunters Support Maximum Hunting Opportunity on San Jacinto Wildlife Area
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The California Waterfowl Association (CWA), COHA and local hunters are collectively working to maximize wildlife benefits and hunting opportunity on the Department of Fish and Game's (DFG) San Jacinto Wildlife Area (SJWA). Late last summer, DFG initiated its scoping process for an updated management plan for this Type A wildlife area which will guide both habitat management activities and the hunt program. The management plan will also determine other allowable recreational uses of the area, such as field trials and hunt tests.
Last September, CWA and COHA staff provided testimony supporting the need to maximize hunting opportunities on the area at a public meeting held at the SJWA headquarters, focusing on the need to maximize hunting opportunities on the area. Dozens of local hunters also attended the meeting and provided much-needed input. In addition, several environmental groups expressed their views, some of which were not necessarily compatible with hunting and game species habitat management.
With the comment period now closed, we expect the Department of Fish and Games a draft management plan to be released in the very near future. |
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Salton Sea Restoration
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In 2004, California Resources Secretary, Mike Chrisman, appointed the California Waterfowl Association (CWA) to the Salton Sea Advisory Committee, which was tasked with a lead role in helping the State and federal governments determine the Salton Sea's future – including formulating policy on how to deal with the Sea's increasing salinity, and the impact on the Sea's fishery and its surrounding wetlands. COHA staff represented CWA in this important Advisory Committee effort.
This committee, which was chaired by Mr. Chrisman, met on a monthly basis for roughly two years. In addition to our lead role on the Advisory Committee, COHA staff also took part in several subcommittees involving habitat and alternative Sea configurations on behalf of CWA. Our primary goal in participating on these committees was to ensure that the Salton Sea Restoration Plan maximizes waterfowl benefits and hunting opportunity throughout the Salton Sea region. To successfully achieve this goal, COHA staff teamed-up with the Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, and other conservation partners to secure a Salton Sea Advisory Committee preferred alternative that will greatly improve and increase waterfowl habitat in and around the Salton Sea. The partnership is now working on State Legislation, SB 51 (Ducheny), which would move the Salton Sea restoration process forward by creating a governance structure which is housed within the California Natural Resources Agency and staffed by the Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Water Resources. |
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Executive Order Recognizes Hunter-Conservation Connection
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In August, President George Bush signed an Executive Order entitled “Facilitation of Hunting and Wildlife Conservation” that directs federal agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, to increase public hunting opportunities and habitat enhancement efforts on federal lands.
See: Executive Order
In response to the order, the USFWS asked COHA and other hunting/conservation groups in California to provide input as to how federal agencies could best carry out the President’s directive. COHA provided a number of suggestions, including the following:
• Provide funding for California’s private land hunting access program, the Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Program.
• Encourage the California Department of Fish and Game to administer a “mentored hunting program” in California (as now being done in several other states) which encourages youth and adults to hunt.
• Providing dove hunting opportunities on USFWS lands. Currently, most California NWRS lands do not allow dove hunting.
• Unless required by federal law (i.e. purchased with federal Duck Stamp funds), abandon “60% Closed/40% Open” policies which limit NWRS refuges to a maximum of 40% open to hunting and 60% to be set aside as sanctuary/non-hunting areas.
• Considering allowing hunting for migratory birds to extend to ½ hour after sunset, should biological information support such a change.
• Urge states for which a migratory game bird season has been authorized (i.e. doves, swans, cranes) to, in fact, provide that opportunity to its citizens.
• Encourage the National Park Service and other federal resource agencies, where possible, to use hunting as a wildlife management tool. |
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CWA and COHA Joint Press Release |
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