Fish And Game Commission Denies Petition To Ban Waterfowl Hunts At Del Norte County Wildlife Area

The California Fish and Game Commission announced a petition to ban waterfowl hunting at Lake Earl Wildlife Area in Del Norte County in the northwest corner of California has been denied. Here’s the commission’s explanation:

Among action on a number of petitions, the Commission denied a petition to end waterfowl hunting on the Lake Earl Wildlife Area in Del Norte County. The petition was filed over concerns shooting was occurring too close to a nearby business and residence bordering the wildlife area, along with claims that poaching, wasting of game and hunter misconduct were occurring.

Waterfowl hunting has taken place for many generations on the Lake Earl Wildlife Area and Commission staff noted that the California Fish and Game Code already addresses the illegal conduct described in the petition. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Law Enforcement Division is also aware of the claims raised in the petition. The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors and Del Norte Waterfowlers group both opposed the petition.

The commission also announced new inductees into the California Waterfowlers Hall of Fame:

Also relating to waterfowl, the Commission recognized five new inductees into the California Waterfowlers Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to enhancing waterfowl and their habitats in California.

The new inductees are philanthropist William F. Berry; Glenn Olson of the National Audubon Society; retired University of Nevada, Reno Professor Jim Sedinger; Bob Shaffer, formerly with the Central Valley Joint Venture; and former Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith (posthumous).

Another news item from the meeting: A second 90-day extension of the conditional take of Southern steelhead “under certain circumstances.” There’s been a longstanding push to list these steelhead as endangered. Here are the details:

The Commission adopted a second, 90-day extension of emergency regulations allowing the conditional take of southern California steelhead under certain circumstances. The southern California steelhead is a candidate species for listing under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) by the Commission. The extension of emergency regulations will allow work to continue on projects relating to flood control, highway maintenance and improvement, and water supply for domestic and commercial uses.

With the Commission’s approval of a second, 90-day extension of conditional take, CDFW issued a reminder that the emergency regulations will expire on approximately May 15, 2023, after which no new CESA take authorization for southern California steelhead can be issued under the emergency regulations and all existing take authorizations issued under Section 749.13 of the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, will expire.

Check out the agenda for the meeting can be found here.