DATE — EVENT
Weekends — Ecological Reserve Tours at Elkhorn Slough. Volunteers lead walks every Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Binoculars and bird books are available for the public to borrow at no cost. The visitor center and main overlook are fully accessible. The day use permit fee is $4.12 per person, ages 16 and older (permits may be purchased on-site). Groups of five should please notify staff that they are coming and groups of 10 or more can request a separate tour. For more information, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/lands/places-to-visit/elkhorn-slough-er.

Weekends — Guided Wildlife Tours at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, 3207 Rutherford Road, Gridley (95948), 12:30 p.m. The 90-minute walking tour covers slightly more than a half-mile through this premier birding spot that hosts migratory waterfowl and other wetland wildlife. Tours are cancelled in the event of heavy rain. No reservations are necessary for groups of fewer than 20 people. This land is part of the CDFW Lands Pass Program and its associated fee-for-use requirement. For more information on the Lands Pass Program, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/lands-pass. For more information on the tours, please call (530) 846-7505 or email lori.dieter@wildlife.ca.gov.

Various Days — Lands Passes Required on Certain CDFW Properties. Each visitor to a CDFW lands pass property who is 16 years of age or older must carry a lands pass while on the property. Visitors carrying a valid California hunting or fishing license in their own name are exempt from this requirement. School and organized youth group field trips are also exempt. The Lands Pass Program has existed on a limited number of CDFW properties since the 1990s. A daily (one-day) lands pass costs $4.32 and an annual lands pass for 2018 is $25.10. Revenue from lands passes helps support CDFW wildlife areas and ecological reserves. For more information, including which CDFW properties require a lands pass and purchasing instructions, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/licensing/lands-pass. For more information on the Lands Pass Program, please contact Julie Horenstein at julie.horenstein@wildlife.ca.gov.

1 — CDFW’s Annual Salmon Information Meeting, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa (95403). The public is invited to attend CDFW’s annual meeting on the status of California Chinook salmon populations and the outlook for 2018 ocean salmon fisheries. A review of last year’s ocean salmon fisheries and spawning escapement will be presented along with the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries. The meeting marks the beginning of a two-month long public process used to establish annual sport and commercial ocean salmon seasons. A list of additional meetings and other opportunities for public comment is available on CDFW’s ocean salmon webpage at www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon/preseason. For more information, please contact Kandice Morgenstern at (707) 576-2879 or kandice.morgenstern@wildlife.ca.gov.

2-4 — Fred Hall Central Valley Sports Show, Kern County Fairgrounds, 1142 South P St., Bakersfield (93307). Admission is $12 for adults, $10 seniors (62 and older), $7 military (with valid I.D.) and free for youths 15 years old and younger with a paid adult. For more information, please visit www.fredhall.com/bakersfield.

3-4 — Bighorn Sheep Survey, Angeles National Forest. CDFW, the U.S. Forest Service and the Society for Conservation of Bighorn Sheep are seeking public volunteers to assist biologists with a sheep count in the San Gabriel Mountains. No survey experience is necessary to participate but volunteers must attend an orientation on March 3 at 6 p.m. at the Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Arcadia. To signup online, please visit www.sangabrielbighorn.org. If you do not have access to the internet, please call (909) 584-9012 and leave a callback number to register.

3, 10, 17 — Elkhorn Slough Teachers on the Reserve Workshop, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, 1700 Elkhorn Road, Watsonville (95076). A one-day workshop offered three Saturdays in March that combine informative presentations with topical field activities to prepare teachers to lead school field trips to the reserve. Space is limited to the first 25 teachers who enroll. To register, please visit www.elkhornslough.org/education-program/teacher-developmentand for more information please contact Virginia Guhin at virginia.guhin@wildlife.ca.gov.

6 — California Fish and Game Commission Marine Resources Committee Meeting, 10 a.m., Justice Joseph A. Rattigan State Building, 50 D St., Conference Room 410, Santa Rosa (95404). For more information, please visit www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2018/index.aspx.

7-11 — Fred Hall Fishing, Tackle and Boat Show, Long Beach Convention Center, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach (90802). Admission is $18 for adults, $16 seniors (62 and older), $14 with military identification and free for youths 15 years old and younger with a paid adult. For more information, please visit www.fredhall.com/long-beach.

10 — Nest Box Survey, Orientation at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 3207 Rutherford Road, Gridley (95948). This free orientation meeting is required for participation in a field study. Crews of two or three collect detailed data that is used to understand and enhance the local wood duck population and other wildlife. The time commitment varies, but averages approximately four hours, twice a month, April through July. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. For more information, please call (530) 846-7505 or email lori.dieter@wildlife.ca.gov.

15 — California Wildlife Conservation Board Lower American River Conservancy Program Advisory Committee, 9 a.m., Sacramento County Board Chambers, 700 H St., Sacramento, California (95814). For more information, please visit  www.wcb.ca.gov.

21 — Last Day of California Spiny Lobster Recreational and Commercial Fishing Season, statewide. For more information, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/invertebrates/lobster.

21 — CDFW Conservation Lecture Series, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento (95814). Dr. Dave Johnston will discuss “Recent Advances in Effective Bat Mitigation in California.” For more information and to register, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/lectures.

22 — California Wildlife Conservation Board, 1 p.m., Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento (95814). The board will consider projects proposed under the Streamflow Enhancement Program. For more information, please visit www.wcb.ca.gov.

22-25 — Fred Hall Fishing, Tackle and Boat Show, Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd. Del Mar (92014). Admission is $15 for adults, $13 seniors (62 and older), $10 with military identification and free for youths 15 years old and younger with a paid adult. For more information, please visit www.fredhall.com/san-diego.

24 — 5th Annual San Joaquin River Fishing Derby, 7 to 11 a.m. with registration beginning at 6 a.m., Sycamore Island, 39664 Ave. 7 1/2, Madera (93638). The derby celebrates the San Joaquin River’s diverse fishing and recreational opportunities. Prizes will include an annual pass to Sycamore Island, a River Camp scholarship, river tours and a grand prize drawing for a California Lifetime Fishing License. There is no charge to enter the derby but participants must pay the regular Sycamore Island day use fee of $9 per vehicle and $5 per trailered boat. For more information, please visit https://goo.gl/5oXQBJ.

24 — Additional Spring Wild Turkey Season opens for Hunters with Junior Hunting Licenses (extending through March 25). For more information on upland game bird seasons and limits, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/upland-game-birds.

24-25 — Siskiyou Sportsmen’s Expo, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 24 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 25, Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds 1712 Fairlane Road, Yreka (96097). CDFW will be sponsoring its annual pond-fishing event for youths. For more Information, please call (530) 842-2767, email info@sisqfair.com, or visit www.sisqfair.com/sportsmenexpo.html.

31 — General Spring Wild Turkey Season Opens for Hunters with Junior Hunting Licenses (extending through May 6). For more information on upland game bird seasons and limits, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/hunting/upland-game-birds.