To encourage the protection and enhancement of critical
deer habitat, to provide added protection to landowners from depredations of
trespassers and to provide greater access for the public to hunt on privately
owned or controlled lands, the department may establish cooperative hunting
areas and issue permits for the take of deer as specified subject to the
following conditions:
(a) Definition
and Scope. A cooperative deer hunting area is an area of private land located
within critical deer habitat as determined by the department in deer quota
zones (see Section
360) which require public
drawings. The cooperative hunting area shall encompass not less than a total of
5,000 acres, except that such area may consist of neighboring lands not less
than 640 acres in size under the control of one or more owners.
(b) Application Process.
Applications designated on a form issued by the department
are available from the department's website at
https://wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Deer,
headquarters, and regional offices:
Region 1, 601 Locust Street, Redding 96001 (530)
225-2300
Region 2, 1701 Nimbus Road, Rancho Cordova 95670 (916)
358-2900
Region 3, 2825 Cordelia Rd., Suite 100, Fairfield 94594
(707) 428-2002
Region 4, 1234 East Shaw Avenue, Fresno 93710 (559)
243-4005
Region 5, 3883 Ruffin Rd., San Diego 92123 (858)
467-4201
Region 6, 3602 Inland Empire Blvd., Ste. C-220, Ontario
91764 (909) 484-0167
(1) Definitions.
(A) 'Immediate family' is defined as 'the
spouse of such person, any child or stepchild of such person or of the spouse
of such person, any spouse of any such child or stepchild, any grandchild or
step-grandchild of such person or of the spouse of such person, any spouse of
such grandchild or step-grandchild, any sibling of such person sharing
ownership in the property, and any spouse of any such sibling.' Immediate
family need not live in the household or reside on the property to
qualify.
(2) Eligibility
Requirements.
(A) A person (as defined by
Fish and Game Code Section
67)
owning at least 640 acres within a cooperative deer hunting area shall be
eligible to apply for a cooperative deer hunting area permit. Applicants shall
designate up to two individuals eligible to receive deer tags by the date
below, except for applicants in zones X-3a, X-5a, and X-5b (defined in Section
360(b), Title 14,
CCR); applicants may apply for one deer tag in those zones. Such individuals
shall be at least 12 years of age, possess a valid California hunting license,
and be either the landowner or immediate family of the landowner. Individuals
shall not be eligible for a cooperative deer hunting tag if they hold a deer
tag in the same license year for a premium or restricted hunt as defined in
708.1 of these regulations.
(B) No
individual may submit more than one cooperative deer hunting area application
per deer season nor may there be more than two cooperative deer hunting area
applicants for a given parcel of land.
(3) Application Materials.
The following application materials must be submitted to
the department's regional office nearest the proposed cooperative deer hunting
area and must be received prior to the first Friday in August.
(A) Completed application form pursuant to
subsection (b)(4)
(B) Applicable
fees for first deer tag resident, second deer tag resident, or non-resident, or
previous year's Unsuccessful Deer Tag Letter per applicant, pursuant to
subsection
702(c) of these
regulations.
(C) Proof of property
ownership (copy of deed)
(D) Proof
of property size (property map)
(4) Application Form, Form DFW 1409 (Rev.
10/23), hereby incorporated by reference. Application forms are available
pursuant to subsection (b).
(A) For both
First and Second Applicant:
Applicant's name, relationship to owner, mailing address,
home phone number, day phone number, driver's license number, GO ID number,
printed name, signature, and acknowledgement of compliance with
provisions.
(B) Deer
hunting zone in which qualifying lands are located.
(5) Review and Approval.
The department shall review the cooperative deer hunting
application, verify the content thereof, and certify that the lands consist of
critical deer habitat prior to the issuance of a cooperative deer hunting area
permit and deer tag. Only those applications that are filled out completely
will be accepted. There shall be no fee for a cooperative hunting area
permit.
(c) A
deer tag issued pursuant to the provisions of this section is valid only during
the open deer season for the deer specified in subsections
360(a) and
360(b) and may
only be used on the lands specified in the landowner's application.
(d) All provisions of the Fish and Game Code
relating to the take of birds and mammals shall be a condition of all permits
and tags issued pursuant to this section.
(e) Any permit or tag issued pursuant to
Section
554 may be cancelled or suspended
at any time by the commission for cause after notice and opportunity to be
heard, or without a hearing upon conviction of a violation of this regulation
by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Notes
Cal. Code
Regs. Tit. 14, §
554
Note: Authority cited: Section
1575, Fish and Game Code.
Reference: Sections
713 and
1575, Fish and Game
Code.
Note: Authority cited: Section
1572,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
1570-
1572,
Fish and Game Code.
1. New
section filed 6-29-83 as an emergency; effective upon filing (Register 83, No.
27). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL within 120 days or
emergency language will be repealed on 10-27-83. For prior history, see
Register 81, No. 41.
2. Certificate of Compliance including
amendments filed 9-30-83 (Register 83, No. 40).
3. Amendment of
subsections (a) and (b) filed 8-9-84; effective upon filing pursuant to
Government Code Section
11346.2(d)
(Register 84, No. 32).
4. Editorial correction of subsection (b)
filed 10-29-85; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 85, No.
44).
5. Amendment filed 7-17-87; operative 7-17-87 (Register 87,
No. 29).
6. Amendment of subsection (b) filed 6-27-2000; operative
6-27-2000 pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections
202 and
205(Register
2000, No. 26).
7. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 7-1-2024;
operative 7/1/2024 pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(b)(4)(A) (Register
2024, No. 27).
