#cdfw

did u guys know that turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are not even native to california despite the way they own the streets/rule the school in east bay and are found basically statewide

not only that but the california department of fish and wildlife (!!) [fka the department of fish and game because they were mainly focused on improving fishing and hunting stocks] tried to introduce turkeys as a game animal into the state THREE SEPARATE TIMES the last of which occurred AS LATE AS 1959

The first introduction by the [California Fish & Game Commission] occurred in 1908 with the release of 22 turkeys from Mexico to the San Bernardino Mountains. That year, turkeys were also released into lower Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park, and Tulare County. By 1918, the initial stock of turkeys was wiped out, in part due to blackhead disease. In 1928, the F&GC attempted another effort at stocking wild turkeys in California, this time with birds bred in captivity from Arizona. 3,350 game farm turkeys were released in 23 counties throughout the state [Ed.: 23 COUNTIES??!??!!?!] but the program was eventually unsuccessful at establishing a viable wild turkey population. These populations of wild turkey didn’t fare well out in the wild, having been raised to depend on humans for food and shelter and the program was shuttered in 1951. It wasn’t until the California Fish and Game Commission started to populate areas of California with wild-caught turkeys from Texas in 1959 that the introduced species started to gain a foothill in the state. The commission started with sixty-two Texas birds that were released in San Diego County. This subspecies, the Rio Grande turkey (M. g. intermedia), has been widely introduced throughout the western United States and makes up most of the population of wild turkeys in California. Today, wild turkeys are established in about 29,000 square miles in California according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This represents 18.5% of the total area of California. 2004 estimations of the total wild turkey population in California was 242,000.

btw i know this article/website layout looks like some shady AI-generated thing but i looked it up the author is a real person with a consistent research background and all the sources cited lead to real places that make the claims they are cited in service of ^_^

Don’t repeat past mistakes on wolves

June 29, 2017 - Here we go again. Since 1995, the Capital Press has been following the reintroduction of gray wolves in the West, starting with wildlife managers depositing 66 wolves from Canada in Yellowstone National Park and Idaho.

From the start, the wolves have thrived. Wildlife management officials were surprised at how quickly a few dozen wolves multiplied into hundreds. Not only that, they spread in all directions, showing up in Oregon, Washington state, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.

Most recently, wolves have taken up residence in California. This was to be expected. Anyone who has witnessed their proliferation across the region knew it was just a matter of time before the predators found a home in sunny California.

Wildlife managers now have decades of experience managing the apex predators, and dealing with the problems they create for ranchers. They know wolves that become accustomed to killing cattle or sheep need to be eliminated from the wolfpack as soon as possible. They know that some wolfpacks will leave livestock alone — provided plenty of other food is available — but others will be a problem.

Witness the Profanity Peak wolfpack in Washington state. Wildlife managers killed seven members of the pack last year only to find that a former member may again be attacking calves this year as part of a new wolfpack.

Managers in Oregon and Washington have struggled to come up with a plan to keep wolves under control. Washington even spent about $800,000 on a mediator to get various stakeholders — ranchers and environmentalists — together to talk about the problems wolves have created.

All of which should have been instructive for the folks at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. They took part in a recent workshop for Northern California ranchers who face the prospect of losing livestock to their hungry new neighbors.

An unfortunate exchange occurred at that meeting, when CDFW wildlife program manager Karen Kovacs told ranchers they have to trust the department. “Well, you don’t trust us,” was the response from some ranchers.

The department’s managers will soon find out that trust has to be earned. To withhold information from ranchers — whose livelihoods are at stake — makes no sense and only creates more problems.

CDFW sees itself as being in the middle of the wolf issue. Maybe. A more apt description is that ranchers are in the middle, trying to keep wolves from attacking their livestock.

Wildlife managers in Oregon and Idaho have learned to work with ranchers. Washington managers were a little slow on the uptake, but seem to be doing better at that.

California managers would do well to avoid the mistakes their colleagues made in those other states. They need to pick up the phone and ask them what they have learned the hard way.

They will find out that wolves are robust, smart and need no help from them. Wolves such as OR-7 trotted more than 600 miles from northeastern Oregon into Northern California and back into Oregon and found a mate, and he did it on his own.

There’s nothing a wildlife manager can do for wolves. Ranchers and their livestock, on the other hand, need all of the protection they can get.

Attn: Wildlife Artists!

This year’s species is the nothern pintail duck.

Check out... https://legalweed.gq/420/the-california-department-of-fish-and-wildlife-cdfw-blog-post-on-illegal-grow-cleanup-illustrates-seriousness-of-environmental-damage-unregulated-market-leads-to/

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Blog Post On Illegal Grow Cleanup Illustrates Seriousness Of Environmental Damage Unregulated Market Leads To

On January 15 they published the following information highlighting the damage the black market is doing to California’s environment

They write..

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Orange County Parks (OC Parks) completed a clean-up of a black market marijuana grow at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

The team clean-up effort was conducted in two phases (Dec. and Jan.) and removed approximately 3,120 pounds of trash, 1,500 feet of plastic irrigation piping, 24 ounces of pesticides as well as other forms of garbage that can be detrimental to the environment.

For the clean-up, OC Parks worked with a specialized hazmat contractor, Clean Harbors, to ensure the pesticide was removed and disposed of correctly. Through testing, the pesticide was confirmed to be carbofuran, a highly toxic and banned substance. Just a teaspoon can kill a 300-pound black bear.

“Protecting California’s natural resources takes commitment from federal, state, county and city entities. I commend all those that were involved in this effort to identify the black market grow, eradicate it and clean it up,” said David Bess, Deputy Director and Chief of the CDFW Law Enforcement Division. “Working together, we can protect the environment and help the permitted cannabis market thrive.”

During routine flights over Orange County with the National Guard’s Counter Drug Unit, CDFW spotted a black market marijuana grow. On Sept. 27, CDFW and Newport Beach Police Department conducted an eradication mission at the site. Attempts to apprehend the suspects were unsuccessful.

Officers eradicated 500 plants and confiscated 75 pounds of processed marijuana. The grow, when in full production, contained almost 1,500 plants. During the eradication, CDFW documented numerous environmental violations including streambed alterations, haphazard pesticides left on the property, trash within 150 feet of a waterway and a poached deer.

Between 2013 and 2018, CDFW has removed more than 2.4 million feet of irrigation pipe, 50 tons of fertilizer and 65 gallons of chemicals (many illegal in the U.S.) on black market grows. CDFW has also removed 709 dams and water diversions resulting in restoration of 800 million gallons of water back into local watersheds.