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.