California Fish and Game Commission Holds Hybrid Meeting
At its October meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission acted on several issues affecting California’s natural resources. Here are some items of interest from this week’s meeting held in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe with an option for the public to join via Zoom.
Newly appointed Commissioner Anthony Williams joined the stage at this Commission meeting. Williams served as commissioner from 2015 to 2019.
Regarding whether to list the Western Joshua tree as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), after lengthy deliberations, the Commission continued the agenda item until its meeting in February 2023, keeping the public record open for the specific purpose of continuing to provide input from tribal governments.
At the request of the Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has agreed to co-host with local tribes an emergency summit regarding tribal actions, environmental concerns, and needs related to conservation efforts of the Clear Lake Hitch.
For the 50th year in a row, the Commission has designated a lake and more than 25 miles of waterways as Heritage and Wild Trout Waters, celebrating two of the state’s many scenic trout fisheries. This year the Commission accepted CDFW’s recommendation to designate approximately 30 miles of the North Fork Mokelumne River which supports a robust trout fishery consisting of coastal rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout , and Silver Lake, a remote lake in Tulare County that contains a heritage population of Little Kern golden trout.
Commission passed 90-day extension to emergency regulations for conditional catch of Southern California rainbow trout after approving CDFW’s request for a six-month extension to deliver its review report one year on the application for listing the species under CESA.
The Commission has approved an application for an experimental fishing license to test the feasibility of catching king crabs and other deep-sea crab species using crab pots (traps).
The Commission passed emergency regulations to amend and clarify fyke net regulations to minimize the risk of federally protected species entanglement and to extend the current identification requirement in place south of Pt Arguello, Santa Barbara County, to apply statewide.
The Board cleared a Notice of Intent to Amend the Rules to allow CDFW to accept the electronic display of licenses on a CDFW mobile application.
The full Commission – Chair Samantha Murray, Vice-Chair Erika Zavaleta, Commissioners Jacque Hostler-Carmesin, Eric Sklar and Anthony Williams – were present.
The agenda for this meeting and supporting information is available on the Commission’s website. An archived audio file will be available in the coming days. The next Plenary Commission meeting is scheduled for December 14-15, 2022 in the San Diego area.
Media Contacts:
Jordan Traverso, CDFW Communications, (916) 212-7352
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The California Fish and Game Commission was one of the first wildlife conservation agencies in the United States, even before the US Commission of Fish and Fisheries. There is often confusion about the distinction between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Commission. In the most basic terms, CDFW implements and enforces regulations set by the Commission, as well as provides biological data and expertise to inform Commission decision-making.
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