California Field Dispatch

BLM released the Draft Supplemental EIS on January 13, 2026, analyzing oil and gas leasing and development across approximately 400,000 acres of public land and 1.2 million acres of federal mineral estate in south-central California. The planning area spans San Joaquin Valley foothills, Coast Ranges, and Carrizo Plain-adjacent terrain used heavily by pronghorn, tule elk, mule deer, and upland bird hunters. This is a direct pipeline from comment period to leasing — the protections written into this EIS determine whether wildlife corridors and sensitive habitat get enforceable buffers or get opened to drilling.

The companion Draft Supplemental EIS for the Central Coast Field Office covers 284,000 acres of public land and an additional 509,000 acres of split-estate federal mineral estate stretching from the Bay Area foothills south through the Diablo Range and Salinas Valley. The area includes key blacktail deer habitat, wild pig range, and tributaries to the Salinas and Pajaro rivers that support steelhead. Public meetings are scheduled in Coalinga (March 14), Hollister (March 15), and Salinas (March 16).

CWD was detected in California deer populations for the first time in May 2024 — near Bishop (Inyo County) and near Yosemite. CDFW enacted emergency regulations establishing Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zones (CMZs) in hunt zones D-7, X-9a, X-9b, and X-9c. Hunters who take a deer within these zones are now required to submit tissue samples for CWD testing within 10 days of harvest. CDFW also added a new late-season buck hunt in D-7 to increase sampling of mature bucks, the demographic most likely to carry the disease. This is the biggest long-term threat to California deer hunting — your harvest data is the front line of surveillance.

California now has 10 recognized wolf packs, with the population expanding steadily south and east into deer and elk country. In October 2025, CDFW euthanized four members of the Beyem Seyo pack in Plumas County's Sierra Valley after the pack killed at least 87 cattle in seven months — more livestock than the entire wolf population of some western states. A UC Davis study pegged the total economic toll at over $2.6 million. California Farm Bureau is requesting $30 million in the 2026–27 state budget for the CDFW Wolf Program. For hunters, the relevant question is predator-prey dynamics: wolves are confirmed to be competing for deer and elk in Sierra county hunting zones, and the state's management response will shape that dynamic for decades.

Following publication of the first updated Black Bear Conservation and Management Plan in 27 years (April 2025), CDFW is moving through the Fish and Game Commission rulemaking process on a proposal to expand bear hunting into the Northeastern California Bear Conservation Region — an area not previously included in bear hunting zones. The plan, built on a new Integrated Population Model and over 5,000 public comments, found populations there to be sustainably huntable. This is a meaningful expansion of hunter opportunity backed by science, and BHA members should be aware of and support the public process.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is in the middle of its annual salmon season-setting process right now. After years of closures, the outlook for 2026 is genuinely good: the 2025 fall Chinook return to the Klamath/Trinity basin was 180% of forecast, and Sacramento River forecasts are improved. The PFMC March 4–9 meeting in Sacramento developed three regulatory alternatives; the public hearing where Californians can weigh in is March 23 in Santa Rosa, and final season adoption is April 7–12 in Portland. This is the process that determines when and whether California anglers can fish for salmon this year.

Year two of post-dam-removal monitoring on the Klamath River is delivering remarkable results. Monitoring data from fall 2025 recorded 11,722 adult Chinook salmon and 341 jacks returning to habitat above the former Iron Gate Dam site — water that was blocked for over a century. The total fall Chinook return to the basin was approximately 51,400 adults, 180% of the preseason forecast. Water temperatures are more natural, toxic cyanobacteria blooms have nearly disappeared, and biologists report salmon in "every nook and cranny of suitable habitat." CDFW has invested over $30 million in restoration projects to accelerate recovery. A $582,915 grant is also funding new public fishing and boating access in the Copco Valley on the restored river.

The Owens River and its tributaries in the Eastern Sierra support some of California's best wild trout fishing, but the system remains under chronic pressure from LADWP water exports to Los Angeles. CalTrout's active Owens River Protection Program works to maintain baseflows, restore riparian habitat, and monitor the effects of groundwater pumping on stream connectivity and trout populations. The same riparian corridors are key staging and travel routes for mule deer between summer and winter range in Inyo County. This is an ongoing fight with no single comment deadline — follow CalTrout for specific action windows.

The Eel River basin historically supported one of the largest steelhead runs on the California coast, but populations have declined sharply due to upstream diversions, sedimentation, and water temperature issues. CalTrout's active Eel River program is working to achieve consensus among agency, tribal, and conservation partners on priority recovery actions and policy reform needed to rebuild steelhead populations. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is the key regulatory body for instream flow standards on the Eel. This is a long-game policy fight — follow CalTrout for engagement opportunities.