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Recreation
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- Written by: Editor
COBB, Calif. – The Friends of Boggs Mountain will be offering a nature walk on the interpretive trail at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 15.
This is an opportunity to get some exercise, enjoy a hike and note what is going on in the world of nature in the forest as well.
The interpretive trail has more than 50 signs identifying the plants, shrubs, trees, mosses and wildflowers encountered on the path.
Both the mountain dogwood and the common snowberry are beginning to leaf out, shoots of the giant horsetail should be emerging, and witches butter is to be found after the recent heavy rains.
If hikers are lucky, they'll also be treated to the spring song of the diminutive Pacific Wren.
The 1.3-mile hike will be on moderate terrain and will be led by Darlene Hecomovich.
Wear sturdy shoes, dress appropriately for weather conditions, and bring water and enthusiasm.
Meet at the parking lot kiosk promptly at 9 a.m. The forest entrance is located off Highway 175 just 1½ miles north of Cobb Village. Turn at the blue State Fire Station/Boggs Mountain Forest sign.
For further information phone Darlene Hecomovich at 707-928-5591 or email at
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- Written by: Editor
NORTH COAST, Calif. – California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, Mendocino Unit invites the public to attend a Jackson Demonstration State Forest Recreation Task Force meeting.
The meeting will be held at the Cal Fire Howard Forest Headquarters Training Center, 17501 North Highway 101 in Willits at 10 a.m. Friday, March 14.
The contractor will provide an overview of the results of the Recreation User Survey conducted in Jackson Demonstration State Forest in 2013.
Information regarding the meeting is available at the Cal Fire Fort Bragg office, located at 802 North Main St., telephone 707-964-5674. Office hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
More information also is available at http://calfire.ca.gov/resource_mgt/resource_mgt_stateforests_jackson.php .
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- Written by: Carrie Wilson
Taking wildlife in a survival situation
Question: If a person in California found himself in an emergency survival situation, and had to take California wildlife in an otherwise illegal manner in order to survive, do the various California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) or other laws specifically describe an exemption for such exigent circumstances? (W.B.)
Answer: No, there are no provisions in the Fish and Game Code or Title 14 to allow for any illegal take of fish and wildlife resources under the circumstances you describe.
Sturgeon fishing report cards
Question: I bought my annual sturgeon report card this last year and was able to get out fishing a few times, but despite my good efforts, I never caught a sturgeon. Now I can’t find that report card but I have nothing to report anyway, so do I need to even worry about it? If so, and if I don’t end up finding my report card, how do I check in? (Anonymous)
Answer: Whether or not you fished for or caught sturgeon, all sturgeon anglers are required to return their Sturgeon Fishing Report Card or report their card data online. Although the deadline was Jan. 31, CDFW still encourages anglers to return 2013 cards by mail to the address printed on the card, or submit card data online at www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/InternetSales/CustomerSearch/Begin .
Since you have lost your card, you can report it as lost by submitting an affidavit. The affidavit is available at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=41126&;inline=1 .
Thank you for asking what you should do because any person who fails to report online or return his or her report card (any type) to CDFW by the deadline may be restricted from obtaining the same card in a subsequent license year.
You could also be subject to an additional fee for the issuance of the same card in a subsequent license year.
Sturgeon Fishing Report Card data is a key part of the white sturgeon stock-assessment program and is essential for documenting accidental catch of threatened green sturgeon.
Legal shotgun and rifle stocks?
Question: What kind of shotgun and rifle stocks are legal to hunt with? A friend thought my shotgun stock was illegal because it is a full stock but has a pistol grip. Is it legal to hunt with a pistol-gripped stock or thumb hole stock? (Joe L.)
Answer: CDFW laws do not address nor control this feature in firearms. As long as the firearms you are using are legal to use, these different stocks are also legal to use. Please check the California Penal Code for laws regarding possession and use of firearms. You can also check with the California Bureau of Firearms in the Office of the Attorney General at https://oag.ca.gov/firearms .
Why are commercial fishermen allowed more lobsters than sport fisherman?
Question: Why are a small number of commercial lobster fishermen allowed to use thousands of large enclosed metal traps to catch lobsters to sell for money?
This doesn’t seem fair when sport fishermen who just want to catch some lobsters to eat are restricted to either open hoop nets or diving for them. It seems like commercial fishermen are allowed to compete unfairly with local sport fishermen? (Rod D.)
Answer: Questions regarding allocation between the commercial and recreational lobster fishing sectors is a common one, and there are reasons why the resource is shared between the two sectors in the manner that it is.
CDFW is mandated by law to allow for the sustainable use of lobster by both the commercial and recreational fishing sectors.
While our laws say that recreational fishermen are entitled to harvest for sport (not subsistence), commercial fishermen must make a living off the resource.
Currently, there are less than 195 commercial lobster operator permits in existence and there were approximately 37,000 recreational lobster report cards sold this season, according to the CDFW Marine Invertebrate Project.
More than 50 of the commercial lobster operator permits are non-transferable and will cease to exist when these fishermen quit fishing.
Commercial fishermen are required to use traps with strict regulations concerning mesh size and escape ports that allow large numbers of sublegal-sized lobsters to come and go freely from traps.
Recent CDFW surveys show that the recreational sector is now dominated by hoop netters, whereas it previously was dominated by divers.
Finally, there are large, productive areas that are closed to commercial lobster fishing but open to recreational lobster fishing, such as Santa Monica Bay, San Pedro Bay, San Diego Bay, the lee side of Catalina Island and many breakwaters and jetties.
Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at
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- Written by: Editor
NORTH COAST, Calif. – North Coast steelhead and salmon anglers are reminded to return fish tags to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in a timely manner.
Tag return information is a vital tool for biologists as they calculate harvest and estimate population size of Chinook, coho and steelhead runs.
“We’ve had people send us huge envelopes with several years’ worth of tags, but the information is only useful in the same season the fish are caught, ” said Mary Claire Kier, CDFW Trinity River Project Environmental Scientist. “We need anglers to send in their tags right away, before they get lost or forgotten in tackle boxes or pockets of fishing vests.”
Please return all Trinity River fish tags, by mail or in person, to:
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
5341 Ericson Way
Arcata, CA 95521
A tag return form can be found online at www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Fishing/Monitoring/FTag/ .
Anglers can also simply send the tags wrapped in or taped to a piece of paper with their name, address, date and location that the fish was caught or the tag was found.
Please specify if the fish was caught live or found dead, or if the tag was found loose. If the tag was found on a caught fish, please note whether the fish was kept or released.
If the tag is being returned by mail, please cut the knot off of the tag as the knot can cause the envelope to catch in the postal sorting equipment.