Hunting Boar and Wild Pigs in California and Worldwide

More Fund-Raising Big Game Tags In 2012

The California Department of Fish and Game just announced that in 2012 four fund-raising big game tags will be offered to the public. Hunters can purchase tag drawing chances for $ 5.66 a piece. Deadline for your purchase is June 2, 2012.

The following random drawings for big game tags are being offered: One open zone deer tag and one Owens Valley zone elk tag (as in 2011). This year DFG will add one northeastern California pronghorn antelope tag and one Kelso Peak/Old Dead Mountains desert bighorn sheep tag.

For details go to http://wildboarhunting.blogspot.com/ or directly to the DFG website at dfg.ca.gov/licensing/hunting/huntingfaqs.html.

PJJ

Help Save Endangered Species at Tax Time!

DFG News January 12, 2012

California’s wild animals and plants need your help, and there’s an easy way to do it! Just make a voluntary contribution on line 403 and/or line 410 of your state income tax return (Form 540). By contributing any amount over one dollar you can support the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Fund and/or the California Sea Otter Fund. What you donate this year is tax deductible on next year’s return. Californians can receive state income tax credit from the Franchise Tax Board for helping wildlife.

“The voluntary donations made by Californians at tax time are incredibly important in our efforts to save threatened and endangered species,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “These funds have provided critical support for many state-listed species such as the Bakersfield cactus, Owens pupfish, San Francisco garter snake, California tiger salamander, marbled murrelet, Mohave ground squirrel and many more. These donations will help ensure that California’s extraordinary biodiversity is maintained for future generations.”

There are 387 listed plant and animal species, from little “bugs” that most of us have never heard of, to the iconic California sea otter. Hundreds more are at risk. Money raised through the tax check-off program helps pay for essential DFG research and recovery efforts. Such work allowed the California brown pelican and American peregrine falcon to be de-listed in 2009.

A second tax check-off fund was created specifically to facilitate recovery of the California sea otter, which is listed as a State Fully Protected Species and a Threatened Species under the federal Endangered Species Act. Based on the most recently completed survey, there are fewer than 2,800 sea otters remaining in California. This small population is extremely vulnerable to oil spills, environmental pollution, predation by white sharks and other threats. Many sea otter deaths have been linked to pollution flowing from land to the sea, including fecal parasites, bacterial toxins and chemicals that have been linked to coastal land use.

According to DFG Wildlife Veterinarian and lead sea otter researcher Melissa Miller, the California Sea Otter Fund provides crucial funding to help scientists better understand and trace causes of sea otter mortality, identify factors limiting population growth and work collaboratively with stakeholders to prevent pollution of California’s nearshore marine ecosystem. This fund is made possible entirely through voluntary contributions by citizens of the state of California. The California Sea Otter Fund has become especially vital during the current economic downturn, because other sources of support for sea otter conservation and research have decreased or are no longer available. There are no other dedicated state funding sources available to continue this important work.

You can support this research by making a contribution on line 410 of your state tax form 540, the California Sea Otter Fund. DFG works with Defenders of Wildlife to help promote the Sea Otter Fund. An excellent video about the sea otters’ current plight is on their website, www.defenders.org

More information on the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation tax check-off program is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/taxcheck.

A reminder!

AMAZING PIGS - MYSTERIOUS BOAR is a collection of little known, unusual and fascinating facts about pigs, wild pigs and boar. This easy to read, fact filled, amusing and entertaining compilation of facts appeals to young and old with even a passing interest in pigs. The booklet also offers details even seasoned hunters may not have known before.

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Go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200757120 for more information on the deal.

Hunting Wild Boar - Hunting a world citizen made easy

Peter Jaeckle, $ 5.95

This completely new, condensed boar hunting manual in the style of the classic 'Hunting Boar And Wild Pigs - The Definite Guide To More Successful Boar Hunting' is built on new articles by the author and on research and information published since the original book was first offered ten years ago. It adds to and goes beyond the original boar book without unduly burdening the reader with information that is not of primary importance in the field. More . . .

Available exclusively through Amazon for $ 5.95.

Order the booklet exclusively from Amazon until March 20, 2012 for $ 5.95.

With Kindle Prime you can borrow it for free from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library once a month "without a due date."

Read about the new program here.

Use the shopping cart below to order other books in the series "On Hunting Boar".

Boar Books, Tutorials, Audio Books

Copyright Peter Jaeckle 11/2011.
All rights reserved.

"Hunting Wild Boar - Hunting a world citizen made easy"

Injured Turkey Released Back Into the Wild – Just In time for Thanksgiving

Wild turkey hit by arrow captured, treated and released by DFG.

The Department of Fish and Game and veterinarians of UC Davis worked together to treat a wild turkey that had been shot with a target arrow as reported by DFG News. The bird had been living in the Davis area with an arrow protruding from his body. He was eventually captured with a netgun.

Game warden Warden Patrick Foy and DFGWildlife Veterinarian Ben Gonzales transported the animal to veterinarian teaching clinic of UC Davis where “the two-year-old male turkey was evaluated by a team of veterinarians specializing in avian species and surgery. Dr. Michelle Hawkins, associate professor of veterinary medicine determined that the arrow had penetrated the soft tissue of the turkey’s tail but had missed the bird’s vital organs . . .”

“This turkey was very lucky, we had some of the best veterinary care in the world available just across the freeway,” said Warden Foy. “It was a real animal ‘ER’.”

(DFG News 11/17/2011/UCDavis School f Veterinary Medicine)

“He will fly again,” said Dr. Hawkins. “The arrow was removed from the turkey and antibiotics were administered. When the turkey awoke, it was evident he was ready to go home.”

Good luck was with the turkey in more than one way. The arrow had missed his vital organs. It only penetrated soft tissue. It helped that he was located so close to UC Davis. Moreover, good fortune was also with him because wild pigs did not detect him nor did they have a chance to transform him into an early Thanksgiving Dinner.

Wild pigs eat weak and injured animals of all kind.

Turkey season lasts till November 27, 2011. The turkey was shot before the season opened. Use of a target arrow on game is also illegal.

PJJ

Reduced fee fishing and hunting licenses for disabled Veterans.

Veterans with service-related injuries of fifty percent or more can get reduced fee hunting and fishing licenses and are eligible to participate in special hunting opportunities.

“The 2011 Sport Fishing License (Reduced – Disabled Veteran) and Disabled Veteran Hunting License cost only $6.44 when purchased at DFG license counters.”

The first disabled hunting license must be purchased from a DFG sales office. Proof of successful participation in a Hunter Safety Course and “certification from the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs or a copy of a previous year’s California Disabled Veteran Hunting License is required at the time of application.”

Sales offices are located in Eureka, Fresno, Los Alamitos, Monterey, Napa, Rancho Cordova, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego and Stockton.

Some wildlife areas, ecological reserves and National Wildlife Refuges have hunting blinds that are accessible to mobility impaired hunters. The Department of Fish and Game also works with military installations to improve wildlife management. The department also provides tags for participating installations for deer and Tule elk to be issued to military personnel

PJJ

Habitat Restoration and Maintenance at Carlsbad Lagoon

October 18, 2011 DFG News

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will begin a maintenance dredging operation at the Batiquitos Lagoon Ecological Reserve in November.

“The 542 acres of vast eelgrass beds, mudflats and both salt and freshwater marsh habitats support the many fish and avian species that inhabit the area. The land is jointly owned by DFG and the State Lands Commission and both have the responsibility for conservation and preservation of the resources in the lagoon. The State Lands Commission is partnering with DFG to provide contracting assistance to ensure the project is completed on time and within budget.

The project will remove 118,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand that has been drawn in from the ocean at the mouth, accumulating to form a shoal in the central basin . . . that hinders the flow of incoming and outgoing tides. During the operation, the dredged sand from within the central basin will be pumped onto South Ponto Beach to the south of the lagoon inlet, where it will provide habitat for grunion and shorebirds and enhance the recreational experience for beachgoers . . .

DFG will address erosion concerns in the western basin during a later phase of the project. Two nesting areas for California least terns (Sternula antillarum browni) and western snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) were created in the western basin during the original restoration project. Unprotected edges of these sites have experienced ongoing erosion, resulting in loss of nesting habitat and steep, unstable slopes.”

DFG

DFG Wardens Pinch Lobster Poachers at Redondo Beach Pier

Lobster season just started. Piers along the California coastline are popular spots for recreational lobster fishermen. Unfortunately, a small percentage of sports anglers does not play by the rules. They also frequent the piers. Is it therefore surprising that Fish and Game wardens also join the crowd? Not to you and to me. But not to the perpetrators.

“We are focusing our patrols on the worst abusers of our lobster resource to protect it for responsible users,” said Assistant Chief Paul Hamdorf of the California Department of Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division. “We are successfully using a team patrol concept and will continue to seek out those who intentionally violate fishing and hunting laws.”

California spiny lobsters. DFG photo by Derek Stein.

With lobster season open and under way, wardens throughout Southern California are making numerous lobster poaching cases, but nowhere has the poaching pressure been greater than Redondo Beach.

On Sept. 29, two nights prior to the lobster season opener, Wardens Michele Budish and Kory Collins observed five men poaching lobsters from the King Harbor Jetty. They observed the men for approximately four hours and ultimately contacted them at 2 a.m. as they drove away in their pickup. The five men possessed 132 lobsters, many of them were shorter than the size limit. All five subjects were arrested for gross overlimit of lobster and possession of lobster for commercial sale. They were booked into Redondo Beach Police Department jail, their gear was seized as evidence, and their vehicle was towed. Arrested during the case were Ramon Gonzalo Montes, 28, Omar De Leon Aguilar, 26, and Juan Manuel De Leon Haro, 34, all from Los Angeles and Augustin Granados, 67, and Ruben Flores, Jr.,38, both of South Gate. Budish and Collins returned to the King Harbor Jetty the same night and made four more lobster poaching cases totaling 13 additional poached lobsters before the morning sun came up. All lobsters from the night’s cases were photographed as evidence and successfully returned to the ocean.

Recreational lobster fishing season opened Oct. 1, 2011 and extends to Mar. 21, 2012. Lobster fishing regulations are found on page 57 of the Ocean Sportfishing Regulations and are available at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/sportfishing_regs2011.asp.

Lobster report cards are required for all anglers fishing for lobsters. The report card must be filled out prior to fishing for lobster, a common violation that has generated numerous warnings since the season opened, but will transition to citations soon. Data from the lobster report cards helps biologists closely monitor the health of the population.

Lobster seasons and size limits are set to allow lobsters the opportunity to reproduce prior to being old enough to retain by anglers, which takes about five to six years.