Plan to Attend CDFW Public Workshop in Ventura This Tuesday on Lead Ammo Ban Implementation

California hunters who live from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara and corresponding points inland should make every effort to attend a California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) public workshop on the implementation of the state-wide ban on traditional lead ammunition. The workshop will be held Tuesday, April 15 in Ventura at 911 San Pedro Street from 7-8:30p.m.

At the workshop, a CDFW official will explain the proposed plan for implementation. See the PowerPoint here at the CDFW website. Following this presentation, you will have the opportunity to comment and provide your input. This is your opportunity to help shape CDFW’s final recommendation to the Fish and Game Commission, which is scheduled for submission to the Commission in September of this year.

Regulations to carry out the lead ammunition ban in California must be established by the Commission no later than July 1, 2015, with full implementation to be effective no later than July 1, 2019. In order to carry out AB 711 that he signed into law, Gov. Jerry Brown has directed state wildlife authorities to work with the public to produce the “least disruptive” regulations.

CDFW reports that is has been reaching out to interested parties, including hunters, through an opinion survey and sessions at sportsmen’s shows, meetings with hunting organizations and now public workshops throughout the state. After Ventura, workshops are planned for Eureka, Sacramento and San Diego. Details on these hearings have yet to be announced.

Hunters and all those appreciative of California’s hunting traditions who reside in the region should attend this hearing to make their voices heard.

The clock has been started on the writing of California’s rules to carry out the lead ammunition ban.