California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Patch of the California Department of Fish and Game
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1909 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Headquarters | 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, California |
| Annual budget | $539 million (2007) |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | California Resources Agency |
| Website | http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/ |
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protects the state's fish, wildlife, plant and native habitats. It is responsible for related recreational, commercial, scientific, and educational uses. It also works to prevent illegal poaching.
The Game Act was passed in 1852 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor John Bigler. The Game Act closed seasons in 12 counties for quail, partridge, mallard and wood ducks, elk, deer, and antelope. A second legislative action enacted the same year protected salmon runs. In 1854, the Legislature extended the act to include all counties of California. In 1860, protection controls were extended for trout. Lake Merritt (Oakland, California) was made the first game refuge of California in 1869, believed to be the first in the United States.
In 1870, the Legislature, with the support of Governor Henry Huntly Haight, created the Board of Fish Commissioners. The Board stipulated that fish ladders were now required at state dams. The Board outlawed explosives or other deleterious substances, and created a $500 fine for violations. In 1870, the first fish ladder in the state was built on a tributary of the Truckee River, and a state hatching house was established at the University of California in Berkeley.
In 1871, the state appointed the first Game Wardens to handle wildlife law enforcement, making the Enforcement Division of the Department of Fish and Game the first state law enforcement agency enacted in California. Over the next 30 years, the Board of Fish Commissioners were given authority over game in the state as well as establishing hunting and fishing licenses.
In 1909, the Board of Fish Commissioners changed its name to the Fish and Game Commission. The Division of Fish and Game was established in 1927, set up within the Department of Natural Resources. In 1951, the Reorganization Act elevated the Division of Fish and Game to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG).
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