California Waterfowl is proud to offer exceptional hunts and other outdoor opportunities to servicemen and women through its Veteran Hunt Program.
The program promotes wellness through outdoor healing and the camaraderie of fellow veterans. Participants have enjoyed hunter education courses, fun shoots, fishing trips and hunts for waterfowl, dove and turkey from the Klamath Basin to the southern San Joaquin Valley.
CWA coordinates all hunt details and supplies food and lodging, shotgun shells, guns, jackets, gear bags, duck calls, shirts, hats and more to all participants. Hunts are free and are limited to veterans.
All of these hunts are open to any veteran currently serving or who has served in the military, naval or air service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. A committee reviews applicants and selects veterans best suited to enjoy the hunt.
In addition to these opportunities, the Hunt Program has blinds reserved on most lottery hunt days for people who are veterans and/or mobility impaired—click here for more information.
Want to read about some of our hunts? Click here.
Sponsored by:
UPCOMING HUNTS
Popup veteran Goose HUNTs
Hunt dates: TBD
Application type: Special application
Cost: Free
Region: Sacramento Valley
For: Veterans or active-duty military*
Capacity: Multiple hunters
Restrictions: none
Description: CWA Veteran Hunt Program and some extremely gracious landowners and Volunteer Guides have donated POP-UP (when the geese are there you gotta go) goose hunts for VETERANS. VHP will provide hunts from the Delta Islands, Dixon, Colusa area, over to the west side of the valley near Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, and in between. These hunts are not for the faint of heart, as it will be mornings as early as 3am setting up decoy spreads into the thousands.
You must know that you could be notified as little as 24-48 hours before the day of the hunt. We do our best to get notice out well before each hunt, but it is not always possible.
*Open to any active-duty service member, or veteran of the military, naval or air service who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Learn more about the Veteran Hunt Program.
GRIZZLY RANCH Veteran waterfowl hunts
Hunt dates: 2/8/25
Application type: Special application
Cost: Free
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: Veteran* or active-duty military
Restrictions: none
Description: This is a California Waterfowl-owned property in the famed Suisun Marsh, bordering Grizzly Island Wildlife Area. Grizzly Ranch is over 900 acres and the wetlands are managed by CWA biologists. Decoys and transportation to and from the blinds is provided. Ten groups of two hunters will be drawn on each hunt date. Hunters will draw for blinds the morning of the hunt.
Click here to visit our application website.
GRIZZLY RANCH Veteran waterfowl hunts
Hunt dates: 12/14 and 12/15
Application type: Special application
Cost: Free
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: Veteran* or active-duty military
Restrictions: none
Description: This is a California Waterfowl-owned property in the famed Suisun Marsh, bordering Grizzly Island Wildlife Area. Grizzly Ranch is over 900 acres and the wetlands are managed by CWA biologists. Decoys and transportation to and from the blinds is provided. Ten groups of two hunters will be drawn on each hunt date. Hunters will draw for blinds the morning of the hunt.
Separate hunters will be drawn for each hunt date. You may apply for both days.
Click here to visit our application website.
GOOSE LAKE Veteran waterfowl HUNT
Hunt dates: 2/8/2025
Application type: Lottery
Cost: Free
Region: Tulare Basin
For: Veterans or Active Military
Capacity: 3 hunters
Restrictions: Blind #1 at the Houchin Unit will have the option to hunt the entire unit or hunt from the floating blind or stand-up blind. One member of the hunting party must be able to push the floating blind out to the desired hunt location.
Description: CWA's Goose Lake property located just south of Lost Hills consists of 2,175 acres of total habitat. In 2014, we reconstructed 300-acres of wetlands on the Houchin Unit to improve water use efficiency and promote the growth of waterfowl food plants, such as swamp timothy and watergrass.
New-The 926 acre Badger-Almond Unit has undergone separate restoration/reconstruction efforts since acquisition in 2014. In 2015 CWA restored the eastern 320 acres of fallow farmland into 300 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands and 20 acres of upland habitat. In 2018 through a project funded by NAWCA and WCB, CWA reconstructed 346 acres of previously developed ground by NRCS to allow for more efficient moist soil management practices. No all-season roads. Access will be closed with inclement weather.
Click here to visit our application website.
BUTTE CREEK ISLAND RANCH/SANBORN SLOUGH veteran WATERFOWL HUNT
Hunt dates: 12/11 and 2/8
Application type: Special application
Cost: Free
Region: Sacramento Valley
For: Veteran* or active-duty military
Restrictions: none
Description: Butte Creek Island Ranch -this 110-acre, CWA-owned property - sits between Butte Creek and Sanborn Slough, across from the famed Little Dry Creek unit of the Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area. Hunts will take place either in stand-up blinds or pit blinds located in three separate units. Mallards and wood ducks are common in the area, as they come into the marsh after feeding in nearby rice.
Sanborn Slough-This 260-acre, newly acquired CWA-owned property sits between Sanborn Slough and Cherokee Channel, across from the famed Little Dry Creek unit of the Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area. Hunts will take place in stand-up blinds scattered across the wetland unit. Hunters will boat to selected blinds.
Decoys and transportation near the blind is provided. Overnight lodging and meals provided.
Special thanks to Closed Zone Farms for providing mowing and discing services to CWA’s Butte Creek Island Ranch and Sanborn Slough properties.
*Open to any active-duty service member, or veteran of the military, naval or air service who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Learn more about the Veteran Hunt Program.
Click here to visit our application website.
DENVERTON veteran WATERFOWL HUNTS
Hunt dates: 11/27, 12/7, 1/4, and 2/8
Application type: Special application
Cost: Free
Region: Suisun Marsh
For: Veteran* or active-duty military
Restrictions: none
Description: This is a California Waterfowl owned property encompassing 762 acres and located in the Suisun Marsh off Highway 12. The hunt area consists of three Xfowler floating blinds and three Black Box Pit Blinds. Hunters will arrive Friday night for dinner. Each blind will have a volunteer guide. the volunteer guide will help with blind safety, waterfowl identification, decoy placement, bird retrieval, calling, etc.
*Open to any active-duty service member, or veteran of the military, naval or air service who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Learn more about the Veteran Hunt Program.
Click here to visit our application website.
View the Denverton drone video here.
DISPATCHES FROM THE VETERAN HUNT PROGRAM
Exciting News: Promotion Announcement for Jeff Smith at California Waterfowl!
We are delighted to announce the well-deserved promotion of Jeff Smith to the position of Director of Hunting and Education Programs at California Waterfowl. Jeff has been an integral part of our organization for an impressive 16 years, demonstrating unwavering dedication and passion for educating the public on the vital role of hunting in conservation efforts.
2024-25 Waterfowl Seasons and Bag Limits Finalized
The California Fish and Game Commission voted today to approve the seasons and bag limits for the 2024-25 waterfowl season. California Waterfowl provided testimony at the hearing in San Jose.
2024 CWA End of Season Survey
Welcome to the 2024 CWA End of Season Survey. You may notice that we reduced the number of questions significantly for this year’s survey to focus only on waterfowl seasons and bag limit issues
