Outdoor Notes : DFG Has Finished Plans to Manage State Deer Herds

Seventy-nine management plans have been completed for California deer herds by the Department of Fish and Game and are available for public review at DFG offices in Long Beach, Fresno, Yountville, Rancho Cordova and Redding.

“The plans represent a major step forward in our ability to manage deer in California,” said Red Hunt, DFG chief of wildlife management. “They will guide us in identifying research needs, proposing hunting regulations and targeting habitat improvement. We plan to update them periodically to reflect changes in biological data, habitat and public input.”

The DFG plans to schedule informational meetings throughout the state this spring and summer to acquaint the public with the plans, which cover a total of 104 herds. They will also be reviewed by the Fish and Game Commission.

New legislation requiring fishing license agents to return all unused and expired 1985 licenses before receiving shipments of 1986 licenses may result in temporary shortages in some parts of the state, the DFG warns.

The rules are part of a new program designed to increase DFG efficiency in collecting license revenues. According to the DFG, delays are being caused by the additional time license outlets, mostly sporting goods dealers, need to make the transition to the new system.

Under newly elected President Brian J. Kahn, the state’s Fish and Game Commission will meet next Thursday and Friday at Monterey to discuss wetlands and waterfowl programs, possible sea otter transplants and federal steel shot requirements.

Also tentatively scheduled to be discussed will be 24 of the 79 deer herd DFG management plans, the commercial ghost shrimp fishery of Monterey Bay, the status of a plan to protect hardwoods in California, the DFG’s involvement in the review of county general plans, programs funded by deer tag sales, and the feasibility of using a punch-card system to monitor the taking of salmon in the ocean and the Klamath and Trinity river systems.

Kahn, 38, elected to a one-year term by his fellow commissioners Jan. 3, was appointed to the five-member commission in 1982 by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. The former Sonoma County supervisor succeeds William A. Burke of Brentwood.

The DFG has decided not to stock any resident trout waters with yearling steelhead trout from the Coleman national fish hatchery that are carrying whirling disease and a viral sickness called IHN.

The decision not to use the steelheads in state waters sets the stage for their destruction. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policy calls for destroying any hatchery fish that contract IHN.

Briefly The Angeles National Forest office reminds visitors that wilderness permits are required for entry into both the Sheep Mountain, if entry is from the East Fork, and Cucamonga Wilderness areas, but that permits are no longer required for entry into the San Gabriel Wilderness area. . . . The Lucky Trojans billfish club will hold its marlin tournament March 9-15 at Rancho Buena Vista, Mexico . . . Showtime: Southern California Boat Show, Los Angeles Convention Center, Jan. 31-Feb. 9. . . . The city of Santa Clara’s Electrical Department has withdrawn its application for a permit to continue studying the feasibility of three hydro-electric dams on the McCloud River.