Petition DFG - East Park Lake

[wmidbrook]

East Park Lake will be opening up for a new Elk hunt this fall. The place is infested with feral hogs especially in the winter once the campground there is shut down and the cattle leases are active.

DFG is going thru the process of making muzzleloaders legal on Department of Reclamation lands surrounding the lake.

Having helped one of the local ranchers round up stray cattle on park property, I've seen lots of pig after the campers move out.

How would or could we go about petitioning DFG to make a muzzleloader pig hunt available up there?

It would be a fairly inexpensive way for DFG to make a quality, limited entry pig hunt for muzzleloaders available to the public by buying out the cattle leases. Can't imagine the cattle leases costing the state more than $10k/year.

 

[F350]

Don't own a muzzleloader but I'd sign the petition or send an email/letter if it will help some other hunters.

 

[superduty]

Don't own a muzzleloader either but I could make room in the safe. Always room for another. Let me know where to sign.

 

[scott0san]

Sounds like a great plan.......how about adding Archery hunting to the petition

 

[wmidbrook]

I'll make a few phone calls tomorrow and try to find out if the thought of a pig hunt has entered the DFG radar or not.

I'll also ask if they have any suggestions on how to show them there's a strong interest.

It just seems that if DFG can get agreement fostered between Colusa County (to make muzz and/or archery tackle legal), the Bureau of Reclamation and the Cattle lessees, that's over half of the work involved in making a hunt available.

And they've probably done most of the footwork already for this new elk hunt...so, it may be an opportune time for us to speak up.

If walnut trees that drop their crop after the first rains were planted....like some drought resistant english walnuts, that'd sure go a long ways to pull pig out of those surrounding hills during the late fall, early winter months down onto park lands opening up more opportunity. My guess would be that the area could support maybe 20-60 pigs being harvested without degrading the hunt. If surrounding property owners over-harvested, that could also affect the hunt. That type of number is best left to real biologists to figure out.

I will say one thing though...that if it's open to an unlimited number of hunters, those pigs would get wise right away and it wouldn't be much of a hunt.