The
following information is from the California Department of Fish & Game website.
For additional information click
here
Loss
of habitat is the single most important challenge facing wildlife populations
and wildlife managers today. In response to this problem, the California Department
of Fish and Game created the Private Lands Management (PLM) Program, which offers
landowners economic incentives to manage their lands for the benefit of wildlife.
Benefits to the landowner and wildlife resources are increased by allowing the
landowner to maintain wildlife resources without an economic loss. Landowners
who enroll in this "ranching for wildlife" program consult with biologists to
make biologically sound habitat improvements that benefit wildlife, like providing
water sources, planting native plants for food, and making brush piles for cover.
In return for these habitat improvements, landowners can charge fees for wildlife
viewing, hunting and fishing. This partnership between wildlife managers and private
landowners helps conserve and maintain wildlife habitat in our state. Additional
facts about the PLM program:
...
• There are currently
90 PLM properties in California.
... •
The program encompasses more than 854,000 acres of wildlife habitat. ...
• California
has about 101 million acres of land, about half of which is privately owned. ...
• The largest
PLM property is 270,000 acres; the smallest property is 340 acres.
...
• The average
PLM size is about 9,952 acres; half have fewer than 4,500 acres.
...
• Many wildlife
species benefit, including deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, wild turkeys, quail,
waterfowl, and endangered species like sandhill crane. ..
• The program
began in 1979 as a three-year pilot program with five ranches in five counties.
In 1983, the California Legislature voted to make it a long term program ..
• Participation
in the program requires the submission and acceptance of a sound management
plan. .. •
PLM areas are licensed for five-year periods; annual reviews ensure that agreed-upon
habitat improvements have been made. ..
• Many PLM properties
offer expanded hunting season dates and/or bag limits. ..
• Wherever possible,
"parity hunts" with similar season dates are offered for people hunting on public
lands adjacent to these properties. ..
• Wildlife do
not recognize property boundaries between public and private lands, so improvements
to a PLM property can benefit adjacent public land as well. |