SECTIONS 3400-3409 - California Statutes

FISH AND GAME CODE

SECTION 3400-3409

3400. It is the policy of the state actively to ensure the
improvement of wildlife habitat on private land in order to encourage
the propagation, utilization, and conservation of fish and wildlife
resources on those lands now and for the future in cooperation with
private landowners. The commission and the department may develop a
private wildlife habitat enhancement and management program for the
implementation of this article.

3401. (a) The commission may authorize the department to issue
revocable, nontransferable licenses for the operation of wildlife
habitat enhancement and management areas on any private lands it
determines are suitable for habitat enhancement, management,
utilization, propagation, and conservation of fish and wildlife
resources of those lands. Any private lands affected by a habitat
enhancement and management plan licensed pursuant to this article
shall not be available for use by the general public without the
consent of the landholders. No public access road shall be closed to
the public under this article as a result of licensing a wildlife
habitat enhancement and management area or implementing the wildlife
habitat enhancement and management plan.
(b) The commission shall authorize hunting during the rut only in
a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area when that hunting
is consistent with the management plans prepared for that area or
herd and does not result in an overall negative effect on the deer
herd population in that area.

3402. (a) A license for a wildlife habitat enhancement and
management area may be issued to any landholder or combination of
landholders upon approval by the commission of an application
submitted by the landholder. As used in this article, "landholder"
means any person who owns, leases, or has a possessory interest in
land.
(b) Each license application shall be accompanied by a
nonrefundable fee in an amount established by the commission which,
in conjunction with the fees collected pursuant to Section 3407, is
calculated to meet the department's actual costs in administering all
aspects of the habitat enhancement and management program. The
application shall be accompanied by a wildlife habitat enhancement
and management plan and such other information about the proposed
wildlife habitat enhancement and management area as may be required
by the commission.
(c) An application for a license may be submitted by any number of
landholders if all parcels to be included in the wildlife habitat
enhancement and management area are contiguous and, in combination,
are of a size suitable for the management of the species included in
the wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan. The landholders
shall designate one landholder who shall represent them in all
dealings with the commission and the department. The designated
landholder shall be responsible for the operation of the wildlife
habitat enhancement and management area.
(d) A landholder who does not own the fee to the land may apply
for a license pursuant to this article only if the owner signs the
application.

3403. The commission shall require the landowners of a wildlife
habitat enhancement and management area to post all or part of its
boundaries with public land. The commission may require the owners of
a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area to post all or
part of its boundaries with private land.

3404. (a) The commission may adopt regulations necessary for the
administration of this article.
(b) After notice and a hearing, the commission may revoke the
license for any violation of any provision of this code or any
regulations adopted pursuant thereto or for any violation of the
terms of the license.

3406. (a) Upon approval of the wildlife habitat enhancement and
management plan, the department shall issue a license, which shall be
valid for five calendar years, authorizing the taking of those
species of fish, game birds, and game mammals designated in the
wildlife habitat enhancement and management plan, pursuant to the
plan and regulations of the commission for the operation of the
wildlife habitat enhancement and management area. Regulations adopted
pursuant to this section may supersede any provision of this code
designated by number in the regulation, but shall do so only to the
extent specifically provided in the regulation.
(b) During the first year of operation of a wildlife habitat
enhancement and management area under a wildlife habitat enhancement
and management plan and, thereafter, until the operator demonstrates
habitat enhancement in the area acceptable to the department, no
person shall take, and the plan shall not authorize the taking, of
deer except during the general open season and consistent with the
bag and possession limits for the fish and game district or the zone
in which the wildlife habitat enhancement and management area is
located.
(c) The activities conducted pursuant to each wildlife habitat
enhancement and management plan shall be reviewed annually by the
department and reviewed by the commission at a public hearing. Each
licensee shall annually submit information to the department about
past activities and the activities intended to be conducted in the
succeeding year. Any change to the wildlife habitat enhancement and
management plan or the regulations applicable to the wildlife habitat
enhancement and management area shall be proposed to the commission
by the department or the licensee at the license review hearing.

3407. The commission may require that any fish, bird, or mammal
taken in a wildlife habitat enhancement and management area licensed
pursuant to this article be marked for identification with a
distinctive tag or seal issued by the department prior to being
removed from the area. A deer tag shall be countersigned by a person
who is authorized to countersign deer tags pursuant to Section 372 of
Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. Any fish, bird, or
mammal so identified may be possessed and transported at any time
during the period for which the tag or seal is valid. The fees for
tags and seals shall be established by the commission in amounts
which, in conjunction with fees collected pursuant to Section 3402,
are calculated to meet the actual costs incurred by the department in
administering all aspects of the habitat enhancement and management
program.

3408. Any landholder who has paid the fee required by this article,
has a valid license issued pursuant to this article, and who is
conducting activities pursuant to an approved wildlife habitat
enhancement and management plan that could be licensed or permitted
pursuant to another provision of this code shall be exempt from any
requirement to obtain that other license or permit or to pay any
other fee. This section shall not, however, be construed to exempt
anyone from any requirement pertaining to hunting and sport fishing
licenses and stamps.

3409. The department shall report every three years on the wildlife
habitat enhancement and management program conducted pursuant to
this article. The report shall include a listing of landholders
participating in the wildlife habitat enhancement and management
program, the wildlife habitat enhancement and management activities
undertaken, the wildlife species managed, and harvest data. The
report shall be submitted to the Speaker of the Assembly, the
Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Rules, and the chairpersons of
the policy committees in each house that have jurisdiction over the
subject of this article. The report shall also be made available to
the public upon request.