CHAPTER 5. Management of Deer [450. - 460.]

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC 5.

in effect

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 450. Section 450.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Legislature to encourage the conservation, restoration, maintenance, and utilization of California’s wild deer populations. Such conservation shall be in accordance with the principles of conservation of wildlife resources set forth in Section 1801 and in accordance with the objectives and elements stated in “A Plan for California Deer, 1976.”

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 451. Section 451.

As used in this chapter “general deer hunting season” means the annual season for the area in question as is set by the commission under its general regulatory powers, or set by statute, for the taking of male deer.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 452. Section 452.

The department shall designate deer herd management units and designate the manager for the units. Such units may encompass a single deer herd or a group of deer herds having similar management and habitat requirements and characteristics. Boundaries of such units, unless appropriate, need not follow county boundary lines.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 453. Section 453.

The department shall develop plans for such deer herd management units. The objectives of such plans shall be the restoration and maintenance of healthy deer herds in the wild state and to provide for high quality and diversified use of deer in California.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 454. Section 454.

Such management plans shall contain the following program elements: (a) Document existing information on deer herd management units and programs to obtain information that may be needed. (b) Develop programs to maintain and increase the quality of deer habitat statewide. Such programs will emphasize cooperative action between the department and the appropriate land management entities, both public and private. Emphasis shall be directed towards identifying critical deer habitat areas and the maintenance and management of such areas. (c) Develop programs to reduce natural mortalities where such reduction may be critical to meeting deer herd plan objectives. (d) Develop programs to decrease the illegal taking of deer through modern law enforcement methods supported by public and private cooperative efforts. (e) Develop diversified recreational use programs, including both hunting and nonhunting uses, consistent with the basic individual deer herd management unit capabilities.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 455. Section 455.

Deer herd management unit plans shall be reviewed annually and shall be the basis for department recommendations to the commission pursuant to this chapter.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 456. Section 456.

The department shall biennially report to the Legislature and to the commission on the progress that is being made toward the restoration and maintenance of California’s deer herds. The report shall include program activities regarding deer habitat, particularly addressing problems dealing with identification and preservation of critical deer habitat areas; the amount of revenue derived from the sale of deer tags during the two previous fiscal years; a list of expenditures during the two previous fiscal years and proposed expenditures during the current fiscal year; and a report of general benefits accrued to the deer resources as a result of the program.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 457. Section 457.

(a) Not later than December 15 of each year, the department shall determine its proposed recommendations to the commission relating to the management of deer, including its recommendations as to whether any antlerless deer hunts should be ordered. (b) The recommendations shall include all of the following: (1) The number, if any, of antlerless deer that should be taken in particular deer management units. (2) Proposed dates for any recommended taking. (3) The number of permits proposed for each management unit. (4) Whether the permits should be either-sex permits.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 458. Section 458.

(a) Not later than December 15 of each year, the department shall provide notice of the details of its proposed recommendations under Section 457 to the board of supervisors of each county affected by a recommendation, by certified mail. (b) Not later than the February 1 next following the department’s notice, the board of supervisors of any affected county may elect to hold a public hearing on one or more of the department’s proposed recommendations. The director or the director’s representative shall attend all hearings held pursuant to this subdivision. (c) The board of supervisors of any affected county may, by resolution, elect not to exercise the rights conferred by this section. (d) This section applies only to the counties of, and to those districts or parts of districts in, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Lake, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba Counties.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 459. Section 459.

(a) Not later than the February 1 next following the department’s notice, the board of supervisors of any affected county that has held a public hearing pursuant to Section 458 may, by resolution, object to one or more proposed recommendations of the department, or may, by resolution, determine that one or more proposed recommendations should be modified, and state the necessary modification. (b) A resolution objecting to or stating necessary modification of a proposed recommendation shall be based on testimony and information presented at a hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 458, or presented to the board of supervisors at its meeting to consider the resolution. (c) The department shall not recommend to the commission, and the commission shall not authorize, the taking of antlerless deer in an affected county if the board of supervisors of that county submits a resolution objecting to that taking. (d) If a board of supervisors of an affected county submits a resolution determining that one or more proposed recommendations of the department relating to the taking of antlerless deer should be modified for that county, the department and the commission shall do one of the following: (1) The department shall modify its recommendations and the commission shall modify its orders to incorporate the modification determined to be necessary by the county board of supervisors. (2) The department shall not recommend, and the commission shall not authorize, the taking of antlerless deer in that county.

Cal. Fish and Game Code - FGC § 460. Section 460.

(a) Prior to each meeting of the commission at which the commission considers the regulation of deer and takes action pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 255, the department shall recommend to the commission the deer herd units to be placed under a general deer hunting season. (b) At the same time, the department shall do all of the following: (1) Recommend to the commission, subject to the provisions of Sections 458 and 459, whether any antlerless deer should be taken and if so, in which deer herd management units. (2) If in the judgment of the department there are deer herd management units in which hunting pressure would adversely affect the deer herd, impair the hunting experience, or endanger the public safety, recommend to the commission those deer herd management units where hunter numbers should be restricted, and those which should be removed from the general deer hunting season designation. (3) Inform the commission of the condition of each deer herd management unit. (4) Recommend to the commission, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 458 and 459, the number, if any, of antlerless deer that should be taken in deer herd management units, whether the permits should be either-sex permits, the proposed dates for the taking, and the number of permits proposed for each deer herd management unit. (5) Recommend to the commission the establishment of any hunter-restricted quota units, if needed, and the number of the quota and manner in which the quota permits should be issued. (c) Upon receipt of the recommendations and information required by this section, the commission shall make that material known to the public, and shall also make known to the public the commission’s determinations regarding proposed regulations.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026