California Code of Regulations › Title 14 - Natural Resources › Division 1 - Fish and Game Commission-Department of Fish and Game › Subdivision 2 - Game, Furbearers, Nongame, and Depredators › Chapter 8 - Wildlife and Public Shooting Areas › Section 555 - Cooperative Elk Hunting Areas

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
To encourage protection and enhancement of elk habitat and
					 provide eligible landowners an opportunity for limited elk hunting on their
					 lands, the department may establish cooperative elk hunting areas and issue
					 license tags to allow the take of elk as specified in Section
					 364, and subject to the following
					 conditions:
(a) Definition and Scope.
				  A cooperative elk hunting area is an area of private land located within the
				  boundary of an area open to public elk hunting (as identified in Section
				  364). Minimum size of a
				  cooperative elk hunting area shall be 5,000 acres, except that contiguous
				  parcels of at least 640 acres in size may be combined to comprise a cooperative
				  elk hunting area. Within an area open to public elk hunting, the number of
				  cooperative elk hunting license tags issued shall not exceed 20 percent of the
				  number of public license tags for the corresponding public hunt and shall be of
				  the same designation (i.e., antlerless, spike bull, bull or either-sex) as the
				  public license tags.
(b)
				  Application Process. Application forms are available from the department's
				  headquarters and regional offices. A person (as defined by Fish and Game Code
				  Section
				  67)
				  owning at least 640 acres within a cooperative elk hunting area shall be
				  eligible to apply for a cooperative elk hunting area permit. Applicants shall
				  designate one individual eligible to receive one elk license tag by the date
				  indicated under subsection (3) below. Such individuals shall be at least 12
				  years of age and possess a valid California hunting license. A person may
				  annually submit a cooperative elk hunting area application where they own
				  sufficient habitat as described in subsection (a) above, for each public hunt
				  area in which their property occurs.
(1)
				  Applications shall be submitted to the department's regional office nearest the
				  proposed cooperative elk hunting area. Department of Fish and Game regional
				  offices are located as follows:
Northern California and North Coast Region, 601 Locust
					 Street, Redding 96001 (530) 225-2300
Sacramento Valley and Central Sierra Region, 1701 Nimbus
					 Road, Rancho Cordova 95670 (916) 358-2900
Central Coast Region, 7329 Silverado Trail, Box 47,
					 Yountville 94599 (707) 944-5500
San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra Region, 1234 East
					 Shaw Avenue, Fresno 93710 (559) 243-4005
South Coast Region, 4949 View Crest Avenue, San Diego 92123
					 (858) 467-4201
Eastern Sierra and Inland Deserts Region, 4775 Bird Farm
					 Road, Chino Hills 91709 (909) 597-9823
(2) Completed applications must be received
				  by the first business day following July 1. Only those applications that are
				  filled out completely will be accepted. The Department will evaluate
				  applications to determine if the specified parcels are of sufficient size
				  within the boundary of a public elk hunt area, and contain important elk
				  habitat. Rejected applications and those that are incomplete will be returned
				  within 15 days of receipt by the department. If the number of accepted
				  applications exceeds the license tags available, the department will determine
				  successful applicants and a list of alternates by conducting a random drawing
				  from the pool of qualified applicants as soon as possible after the application
				  deadline. For any license year that the demand for cooperative elk hunting
				  license tags within an area open to public hunting (as identified in Section
				  364) exceeds the number of tags
				  available, tags will be first issued to applicants that did not receive a tag
				  the previous year. If the quota is not filled, tags will be issued to the
				  remaining applicants by random drawing.
(3) Successful applicants will be notified by
				  the department as soon as possible after the application deadline. Applicants
				  shall submit the name, address, and valid California hunting license number of
				  designated elk license tag recipients and payment of elk license tag fees by
				  check, money order, or credit card authorization in the amount specified by
				  subsection
				  702(b)(1)(L)(M),
				  to the department's regional office nearest the proposed cooperative elk
				  hunting area, by the first business day following August 1.