Outdoor Notes / Pete Thomas : Storms Are Blamed for Poor Opening of Dove Hunting Season
Southland dove hunters for the most part were less than successful in all areas during the Sept. 1 opener.
Department of Fish and Game officials attributed the poor hunting to stormy weather conditions before opening day, which had an average hunter success rate of just three birds each in the traditional shooting areas.
Wardens reported hunter pressure was down by 50% overall, and birds were scattered, with results equally poor in all hunting areas.
Dove season continues through Sept. 30 and there will be no second season.
DFG offices in the north said it is still too early to assess the effects of the recent rash of the Northern California fires on the deer distribution as a string of northern deer hunting season openers draw near.
They predicted, however, that most deer will escape the fires and return to habitat islands and traditional locations after the blazes have passed.
The DFG cautioned hunters to check with the U.S. Fire Service, Bureau of Land Management and Dept. of Forestry offices to learn if any restrictions are in place in specific hunt zones.
The department said it is offering exchange tags to hunters holding central Sierra deer tags for zone D6 because of large scale fires in the area.
General rifle seasons get under way Saturday with the opening of the first period of zone X11 in eastern Tehama County and parts of surrounding counties.
Six more northern deer zones--northwestern and central zones B1-B3, D1, D2b and D18--open Sept. 19 and zones D3, X6, X7a, and X7b are set to open Sept. 26.
Openers for eight northeastern zones--X1 through X5c--begin Oct. 3, and X11’s second hunt begins Oct. 17.
A project to create 1,000 new acres of wetlands habitat at the 4,668 acre San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Riverside County was approved at the Wildlife Conservation Board meeting Aug. 18 in Sacramento.
The Board approved expenditure of $5.1 million for various wildlife and parklands projects.
The $1.2-million allocation at San Jacinto will pay for construction of a pipeline to bring reclaimed water to the area. The Eastern Municipal Water District is cooperating with the DFG on the project, which is expected to provide a permanent source of low-cost secondary treated water.
The area was acquired to offset the loss of wildlife habitat that occurred with the construction of the State Water Project. Development of a dependable water supply is a prerequisite for the development of wildlife habitat and subsequent public recreation on this property.
Another high priority was improving access for anglers at coastal and inland waters.
Among the fishing access allocations approved were $500,000 for the Imperial Beach Fishing Pier in San Diego County, $115,000 for boating and fishing facilities at Lake Shastina in Siskiyou County, $66,950 for Dana Point Fishing Pier in Orange County, $82,000 augmentation for McNear’s Beach Fishing Pier in Marin County, and $10,000 for Eagle Lake Fishing access in Lassen County.
The largest allocations were for $1.7-million to add 1,049 acres of wetlands at the Los Banos Wildlife Area in Merced County, an area which accommodates the Aleutian Canada goose, greater sandhill crane and other waterfowl.
Among other acquisitions approved were 23 acres of coastal wetlands at the mouth of the San Dieguito River in San Diego County, 98 acres at Kerman Ecological Reserve in Fresno County, 240 acres at Red Lake Wildlife Area in Alpine County, and 76 acres in Colusa County.
Bighorn sheep gained 640 acres of room to roam in Riverside County, while the threatened desert tortoise picked up 480 acres of crawl space in Kern County.
Protection of riparian habitat along the upper Sacramento River was boosted with a $43,000 conservation easement over 76 acres that contain several threatened and endangered species.
Fish habitat also came in for special consideration, with $79,800 set aside for trout habitat enhancement projects in Madera County’s Big Creek, Chiquito Creek Drainage and Portuguese Creek.
The Bureau of Reclamation announced that it will install a structure in Lake Shasta to give better temperature control of water released from the Dam in an effort to aid salmon spawning and rearing in the Sacramento River.
Specially designed temperature curtains will be installed in the reservoir to allow waters of various levels and temperatures best suited for the salmon fisheries, which were damaged by warm waters released in the summer and last fall by the Bureau.
Construction is expected to be completed in 1989.
Meanwhile, at the request of the DFG, a flow-diverting rock structure is being installed in Old River near Lathrop to help the salmon in the San Joaquin River, the Department of Water Resources announced.
The barrier will increase water flows in the river, improving conditions for salmon going upstream to spawn.
Construction on that project is expected to be completed by Sept. 15.
Briefly Noted fishing expert Charlie Davis is teaching a two-part program this fall at Golden West College. Advance registration is advised. . . .Blue and ruffled grouse hunters will have the same limit as last year, two birds per day and two in possession, the DFG said, correcting an earlier release which had set limits of two per day and two per season. . . .Entries for the California Fish and Game Commission’s annual Photography Award Program are due by Dec. 31, 1987. For details, contact the commission at 1416 Ninth St., Box 944209, Sacramento, Calif., 94424-2090. . . .A day-long training clinic for owners of retriever hunting dogs of the Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto and surrounding areas will be held Sept. 26 at Goose Hill Gun Club in Jackson Valley, near Ione. Further information available by calling 209-24-2175. . . .Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) was awarded an honorary membership with the Los Angeles Rod and Reel Club because of her “outstanding legislative record in Sacramento on behalf of sportfishermen, hunters and others who enjoy California’s natural resources.”
