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Recreation
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Terrace Middle School Wrestling Team put on a strong showing at the Tournament of Champions qualifier in Windsor this weekend.
Head Coach Scott Derby said the team took nine athletes to the event, with eight of them winning medals.
The team’s most valuable wrestler for the tournament was Liam Davis, who placed first in his varsity bracket by pinning his opponent with a cow-catcher in the first round.
Coach Derby gave an honorable mention to Hernan Romero, who had the largest bracket of the entire tournament, wrestled hard and placed first.
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- Written by: Mendocino National Forest
The funds will be used to enhance and manage off-highway vehicle, or OHV, motorized recreation on National Forest System lands.
The grant proposal supports law enforcement activities such as public information and education, enforcement and resource protection as well as ground operations like maintaining trails and equipment, operating water systems and monitoring trail conditions.
“Public participation is an essential part of the grant process and is very important to the forest’s OHV program. We appreciate your support and input on the proposal for the current Grants and Cooperative Agreements cycle,” said Forest Engineer Shannon Pozas.
The MNF will submit the preliminary grant application to the OHMVR by March 4.
The public will be able to review and comment on the MNF’s preliminary grant application by visiting http://olga.ohv.parks.ca.gov/egrams_ohmvr/user/home.aspx from March 5 to May 6.
For more information about the California OHMVR program, visit http://www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/.
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- Written by: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
Question: I was lobster fishing recently and didn't realize until I was pulling up my hoop nets that I'd left my measuring gauge in the car by mistake. I was sure that the lobster I caught was of legal size, but when the game warden measured it, it was short. I am worried how much this is going to cost me. Can you please give me an idea so that I can prepare for it? (James P., Huntington Beach)
Answer: We are not able to speculate on the total amount as courts set their own fees on top of base fines and those amounts can differ from court to court. Until you receive notification from the court, here's what you can do. First, find your citation number (which begins with two letters). It should appear in the upper right corner and the bottom left corner of your citation. Then, in the bottom left-hand corner of the citation, look for the phone number of the court where your citation will be filed. Call that number and give them your citation number. They may be able to look up your case and give you the correct fine amount that you can expect to pay.
Please allow at least two to four weeks from the time of you received your citation for the ticket to be filed and for it to show up in their system.
Sea urchin harvest
Question: With the abalone harvest being closed, we are planning on harvesting urchin during this year's trip to the coast. Is it legal to be in the water with an abalone iron while harvesting urchin? And is it legal to clean the urchin at the shoreline and only bring the uni or gonads back to the residence for consumption? While we are not able to harvest abalone, we will be happy to harvest urchin to help the abs recover. (Mark C., Chico)
Answer:You are allowed to enter the water with an abalone iron as long as you do not use it to harvest or attempt to harvest abalone. To clean your urchins, you will need to either take them to a designated fish cleaning station or do it at home. Game wardens need to be able to count and identify the species of whatever you have harvested.
Hunting partner laws?
Question: Is it legal to bring along a friend or family member on a hunting trip if they do not have a license or tag? I have found nothing in the regs book. Also, when hunting with an archery-only tag in the general season, is it legal to be hunting with someone who carries a general rifle tag and rifle? (Chris Gaylor)
Answer: No problem bringing an unlicensed friend or family member with you on your hunt, as long as they do not attempt to take wildlife. In fact, a great way to introduce persons who are interested in hunting, or even just the outdoors, is to take them hunting with you. They may gain from the experience of accompanying you on your hunt and it may spark an interest in hunting. If you are successful in your hunt, consider sharing the meal with them.
It is legal to be hunting with someone who carries a rifle and a general rifle deer tag while you are hunting with an archery-only tag. Just be sure that if you take a deer, it's done with archery equipment only.
Open carry of a firearm?
Question: Is it legal for me to carry a holstered pistol for protection while hiking in our local wilderness areas? This could help to protect my family from any threat of dangerous wildlife - either to scare it away or to defend ourselves, if needed. (Alex P.)
Answer: Neither the Fish and Game Code nor Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations regulate non-hunting related firearm possession. We recommend that you consult the Department of Justice's Firearms Laws Summary to help determine when and where you may possess loaded firearms of any sort. You must also be aware whether any local rules or ordinances prohibit firearm possession whether it be in a park, unincorporated portion of a county, or some other seemingly wild place. Cities, counties, park districts and other governmental entities may have the authority to prohibit possession of firearms in those places within their jurisdiction. While we understand your safety concerns, understand that attacks from wild animals are extremely uncommon and will hopefully not be the reason you would avoid recreating in nature.
If you have a question for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, email
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- Written by: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Young hunters have additional opportunities. Junior Hunting License holders can hunt March 23-24, the weekend before the general opener, and the two weeks after the general season closes, May 6-19, using shotguns or any other legal method of take. CDFW is offering 25 special turkey hunts reserved just for Junior Hunting License holders.
California’s archery-only spring turkey season runs from May 6-19. New this year, CDFW is offering a drawing for seven, archery-only hunts throughout the general and archery seasons near Millerton Lake in Madera County.
CDFW’s SHARE Program, which provides public hunting access to private properties, is offering drawings for spring turkey hunts on two private ranches in Tulare County, the 722-acre River Ridge Ranch and the 975-acre Hart Ranch. Both properties are new to the SHARE program for the spring turkey season.
With growing populations of wild turkeys in almost every part of the state, the spring turkey season has become one of the most anticipated events on the upland bird hunting calendar.
Shooting hours for spring turkeys are from one half-hour before sunrise to 5 p.m. Both a hunting license and an upland game bird stamp validation are required to hunt wild turkeys, although an upland validation is not required of Junior Hunting License holders.
Nonlead shot is required when taking wild turkeys with a shotgun anywhere in the state except when hunting on licensed game bird clubs. These regulations apply to both public and private land, including all national forests, Bureau of Land Management and CDFW properties. For more information on nonlead ammunition regulations, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/nonlead-ammunition.
Applications for CDFW’s special spring turkey hunting opportunities must be made through CDFW’s Automated License Data System.
Hunts are grouped into four separate drawings: Junior Hunts, General Opening Weekend Hunts, Archery-Only Hunts and Balance of Season Hunts. There is a $2.42 application fee and only one application per hunter is allowed for each drawing. Applications allow hunters to select their top three hunt choices in order of preference. Hunters may only be drawn once per application. The application deadline for these hunts is as follows:
Junior Hunts: Saturday, March 2, 2019
Opening Weekend General Season Hunts: Saturday, March 9, 2019
Archery-Only Hunts: Sunday, March 10, 2019
Balance of the Season Hunts: Wednesday, March 13, 2019
To apply, please visit CDFW’s online sales site, sign into your account, select the “Purchase Licenses” link and select “2018 – Hunting” from the menu on the left side of the page. The spring turkey hunt application items will be available under the “Drawings” section on the right side of the page.
After submitting your application, checking out and completing payment, you will be able to download a receipt confirming your entries into the drawings.
For more details and descriptions of these hunts, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/turkey-hunts.
Hunters will also find the “SHARE Hunts Multi Choice Application” available in the same location online after signing into their accounts.
The application fee for the Tulare County private ranch turkey hunts is $11.62 per hunt with all of the proceeds returned to participating landowners to pay for these hunts and additional opportunities.
For more details and descriptions of these SHARE hunts, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/share#51518483-general-hunts and select the links for the River Ridge Ranch and the Hart Ranch.