Originally published in the Winter 2019 issue of California Waterfowl.

by JOHN CARLSON, JR., PRESIDENT

It’s one of the most important questions out there, because if we want people to hunt, we need to make sure they have the opportunity.

I am proud and thrilled to say that’s exactly what California Waterfowl provides: opportunity, and lots of it. Between our Hunt Program, Veteran Hunt Program and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, we provided more than 3,400 hunting and fishing opportunities all over California in the 2018-19 season, featuring not just waterfowl hunts, but also dove, deer, pig and turkey hunts, and halibut, striper and tuna fishing trips.

With numbers like that, if CWA were a Type A or B wildlife area or national wildlife refuge, it would rank 12th in the state, putting it in the top third. Many hunts include volunteer or professional guides, making them suitable for youth and novice hunters. And many of our properties have blinds accessible to the mobility-impaired.

In addition to giving folks more opportunities to hunt, this also reduces pressure on public lands.

Although California Waterfowl offers public hunting on our properties, many of our hunts and fishing trips are made possible by generous donations from land owners, club owners and guides. But we need more. The need for donated hunts is especially acute in Southern California, where public-land hunters are packed into just a few refuges. The San Joaquin Valley, while rich in duck clubs, is also underrepresented in the Hunt Program.

These donations serve a higher purpose: One of the leading factors that causes people to give up on hunting is lack of places to hunt. When you donate a hunt to the Hunt Program, you are helping to keep hunting strong in California.

In addition to providing opportunities in the field, CWA’s advocacy team works tirelessly to increase hunting opportunity in California.

When the federal government gave states the opportunity to end their duck seasons on Jan. 31 instead of the last Sunday in January, CWA fought to get that implemented here. As a result, we all have five more days of duck hunting in most of the state this year. (You can learn more here.)

Our team also fought to extend eligibility for youth hunting licenses and many youth hunting opportunities to 16- and 17-year-olds. That extension was temporary, but we are fighting in Sacramento to make it permanent.

And we work to increase and the quantity and quality of public land hunting in California through our Public Lands Hunters Committee and through ongoing meetings with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. New waterfowl hunting opportunity in 2018 on 2,170 acres at the Cullinan and Dickson Ranch units of the San Pablo Bay NWR is one example. CWA staff and committee members provided significant input to refuge personnel both in private conversations and via participation at public hunt program meetings prior to these areas being open.

If you’re looking for places to hunt, be sure to check out our Hunt Program. And if you’re looking to make a contribution to hunting access in California, please give us a call.

Have a great winter!

John

jcarlson@calwaterfowl.org

GET INVOLVED
Would you like to apply for hunts? Would you like to donate a hunt? Would you like to help by volunteering or making a donation to offset Hunt Programs costs? You can find information here. You can also reach out directly to our Hunt Program coordinators: Garrett Williams is at 209-324-8801, and Carson Odegard is at 916-960-9848. Their email addresses are gwilliams@calwaterfowl.org and codegard@calwaterfowl.org.

WOW!
If California Waterfowl were a Type A or B state wildlife area or national wildlife refuge, it would rank in the top third in terms of opportunity provided in 2018-19:

Hunter visits | Wildlife Area/NWR
9,564 | Gray Lodge
8,627 | Mendota
7,345 | Yolo
7,076 | Sacramento
6,967 | Delevan
5,387 | Wister
5,333 | Grizzly Island
4,201 | Little Dry Creek
4,103 | San Jacinto
4,055 | Los Banos
3,732 | Colusa
3,423 | CWA - #12
2,867 | San Luis
2,781 | Sutter
2,766 | Volta
2,747 | Kern
2,725 | Howard Slough
2,215 | Kesterson
1,449 | Llano Seco
1,441 | Salt Slough
1,165 | Gadwall
934 | Merced
783 | Shasta Valley
727 | Freitas North
621 | China Island
574 | Ash Creek
565 | Salton Sea/Sonny Bono
545 | West Bear Creek
477 | Freitas South
453 | Goodyear Slough
444 | Island Slough
414 | Honey Lake-Fleming
333 | Butte Valley
291 | Honey Lake-Dakin
220 | Joice Island
159 | West Family Junior Unit
121 | Willow Creek
90 | Delta-Twitchell Unit
69 | Gold Hills