Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:03 am Post subject: Dept. of Fish and Game
Heres the link to the rules and regs.
If anybody plans on taking more then insects then should read up on this;
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/pdffiles/fg1502.pdf _________________ “Look down at me and you see a fool;
look up at me and you see a god;
look straight at me and you see yourself.”
I'm new to california...but if it's anything like IL then I can try to explain the general rules.
National Parks, Wilderness areas, recreation areas: Off limits totally...even hard to get legit permits and they make it a pain in the ass, even if you're with a major university or institution, working on a well funded grant.
National Forests: Open to collecting totally. You can walk in, set up equipment, and take home as much as you want, as long as it's not for commercial sale. Park rangers still DO hold the right to close any areas...so a good idea is to check in with the local ranger and tell him what you're doing. I've found that if you show up unannounced they tend to be a little more hostile towards whatever you are up to. It is also a good idea to have a copy of the letter from the Nat. Forest office to "collectors", which was published in the Lepidopterists Society News...I have photo copies and if a know-it-all cop tries to send you packing you have this letter to show.
State Parks, Forests etc: Permits required through Fish and Game (in IL it is department of natural resources...maybe its Fish and Game here? no idea). Getting a permit usually means you are associated with a museum or institution and are doing scientific research. However...if you talk to a site ranger he has the right to grant you access for collecting, so sometimes all you have to do is show up and ask! Make sure to talk to whoever is in charge...the secretary at the office might say yes but you could get in trouble later.
Nature Preserves: Permits required. Run by the same guys that do the State Parks, but they are much tighter with what happens in them. Chances are it will be impossible to get an OK from a ranger to collect on them, and permits can be a little trickier.
I have found that most government agencies have NO idea how to manage insects...either they don't exist at all, or they are treated like large mammals (eg...taking ONE is the same as taking a deer, the National Park's are like this). For the most part it is heavily over-regulated and it makes life hard for entomologists and discourages kids with butterfly nets who may be an entomologist some day. I could go on all day about this...haha. Basically there is no rundown on the "catch limit" like there is for herps, so you can come home with as much as your car can hold. Of course all federally and state listed insects (threatened or endangered) are off limits.
This was the breakdown in IL...please correct me if I am wrong! I'm new so who knows what it might be like here...each state operates these things differently, even if it's a National Forest.[/b]
I remember when I used to work in intertidal marine research, we would fill out and fax a special form to Dept of Fish and Game, letting them know that we would be collecting and what not, with the date and area.
We were collecting inverts......but the ocean is a different story, eh? _________________ -Neshan W. Sarkisian
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"I just cant <EDIT> without a roach in my mouth"
-Cacoseraph
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