The california department of fish and wildlife (cdfw) is the responsible agency for conservation of californiawildlife species and the habitats upon which they depend

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) received a Formula Grant award of $4,170,616 from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 8) under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety Program (CFDA 15.611) for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. This award supports CDFW's Big Game Unit in delivering statewide conservation and management activities for five key species: mule deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and black bear. The funding enables the development and implementation of species-specific conservation and management plans, coordination of monitoring and research initiatives, habitat enhancement projects, and technical assistance across CDFW's six terrestrial regions throughout California.

The grant supports CDFW's leadership and coordination functions including oversight of external contracts with non-governmental organizations, universities, and governmental entities; internal resource assessment projects; public outreach and engagement; and research coordination efforts. These activities complement rather than duplicate other CDFW programs funded under the Pittman-Robertson Act. The award provides resources for CDFW to fulfill its statutory responsibility as the lead state agency for wildlife conservation and habitat management across California's diverse ecosystems.

The big game unit in the game conservation program ofthe wildlife branch is responsible for coordinating statewide conservation and management activities for muledeer (odocoileus hemionus), ELK (cervus canadensis), pronghorn (antilocapra americana), bighorn sheep (oviscanadensis), and black bear (ursus americanus). These activities include the development of species conservationand management plans recommendations and implementation of conservation and management actions oversight ofexternal contracts with non-governmental organizations and universities and governmental entities, internalresource assessment projects coordination of monitoring, research and habitat enhancement projects providingtechnical assistance and expertise regarding resource issues engaging the public through outreach and providingleadership and coordination for research efforts across the six terrestrial cdfw regions. Regional jurisdictionsthroughout california (i.e., northern region (RL), north central region (R2), BAY delta region (R3), centralregion (R4), south coast region (R5), inland deserts region (R6)). Wildlife branch activities provide leadership, provide direction and complement regional activities, and do not duplicate other cdfw activities supported byeither state or federal assistance funds under the wildlife restoration pittman-robertson act (PR).