Fish and Game Commission Adopts 2014 Big-Game Tag Quotas
The California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) finalized big-game tag quotas at their April 15 meeting in Ventura. A total of 204,337 deer, 316 elk, 200 pronghorn antelope and 14 bighorn sheep tags were approved for distribution to California’s hunters for the 2014 hunting season.
“Hunters should be aware of the changes for the 2014 season,” said Stuart Itoga, CDFW Big Game Program Coordinator. “We are still dealing with the after-effects of several large wildfires, and the drought conditions are not helping the habitat recover. A prolonged drought could negatively impact big game species populations, but the biggest hurdle for hunters now is gaining access to hunting grounds.”
Notable changes from the 2013 hunting season include a reduction in the D6 general season tag quota from 10,000 to 6,000; a reduction in the G11 deer hunt from 500 to 250; loss of the Del Norte elk hunts and a reduction in antlerless elk hunting opportunities in the Owens Valley hunt area; and a 40 percent reduction in overall bighorn sheep tags due primarily to a recent disease event in the Kelso/Old Dad hunt area. No tags are being issued for that hunt zone this year.
The 2014 Big-Game Digest can be found online at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/publications/digest/ and the final tag quotas will be posted for the individual programs at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/Hunting/.
Hunters are urged to review this information carefully as there are significant tag quota changes to consider.
