California Fish And Game Jobs
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Join the dedicated employees who love their jobs. Our employees are committed to managing and protecting California's diverse wildlife, and the habitats upon which they depend. Download a list of all CDFW classifications (PDF)(opens in new tab).
Qualifications: Equivalent to graduation from college with major workin wildlife management, zoology, fisheries management, botany or otherrelated biological science, including at least 15 semester units, orits equivalent, of course work in natural resource interpretation,natural resource communications, or similar subjects.
Fish and Wildlife Technicians perform work at fixed or temporary installations,such as fish hatcheries, and out in the natural environment. Fishand Wildlife Technicians are involved with hatching, raising, and plantingfish; releasing game birds; and cleaning ponds or animal pens. Theyalso remove barriers from streams or install and maintain fish screens,ladders, and traps. Fish and Wildlife Technicians plant, irrigate,and cultivate plants which serve as cover ore food for wildlife. Theyassist other departmental personnel by collecting field data on fishor wildlife by censuses and other means; trapping, tagging, or markingfish and wildlife.
Qualifications: Six months of experience in the natural resourcesfield such as parks, forestry or fish and wildlife; or one year ofcollege with a least six units in the biological sciences; or one yearof experience in the mechanical or construction trades.
Seasonal Employees supplement permanent staff and help with a greatvariety of departmental activities. Seasonal employment is agreat way to gain experience and to learn about CDFW. Seasonal Employeesare not required to take examinations before appointment. Seasonalemployees may collect field data on fish, wildlife, and plants; collectwildlife samples and specimens; clean out fish and animal enclosures;install fish screens and ladders; or maintain building equipment. Themost common classifications are Fish and Wildlife Seasonal Aids*, Fishand Wildlife Scientific Aids, Seasonal Clerks*, and Student Assistants.
Wildlife Officers provide the public with hunting and fishing informationand protect California's diverse resources from poaching and overuse.They are required to carry and use firearms; they usually work aloneand on weekends and holidays; and often work during the night. Wildlife officerspatrol on foot, on horseback, by plane, boats, and in a variety of vehicles.They investigate reports of violations, collect and preserve evidence,write reports, and testify in court.
Wildlife officers are also expected to promote and coordinate hunter educationprograms, collect and report information on the conditions of fish andwildlife and their habitat, and represent the CDFW at local schools andmeetings of special interest groups, e.g., hunting and fishing clubs,Lions Club, Rotary, Audubon, etc.
Wildlife officers have assignments in both rural and urban areas of the State.They are typically assigned to and responsible for enforcing the lawin a specific geographical area of the State. They enforce all Fish andGame laws related to hunting, recreational and commercial fishing, trapping,pollution, falconry, and exotic animal laws. Following is a list of someof the specialized duties and assignments that are available for bothlimited term and permanent assignment:
There are more than 70 careers to choose from at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We value dedicated individuals with diverse education, experience and training backgrounds. Some professional jobs require a college degree. Several have specific academic credit requirements.
On USAJobs.gov, you can search job openings by discipline (series), location, salary and other parameters. You can create a personal account where you can build, upload and post your résumé and supporting documents (e.g., college transcripts, optional cover letter) and apply for jobs. Visit USAJobs.gov to search our careers. You can save the search to be notified when new positions are accepting applications.
This also means enforcing wildlife laws for the sport fishermen who land more than 300 million pounds of commercial fish every year. Game wardens have had to lay the law down in several recent marine poaching cases:
Fish and game warden cadets, the newest wildlife officers of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, begin their careers with a salary of between $42,840 and $57,768. From there, fish and game warden salaries are as follows:
These monthly differentials can result in a significant increase in salary for some fish and game wardens. For example, if a fish and game warden earns an annual salary of $50,000 but qualifies for the general recruitment and retention, geographic recruitment and retention, and education stipends, his or her annual salary could increase by $7,000 or more.
There are thousands of dams in California, most of which were built and are operated for water supply and flood protection benefits with little consideration for their effects on fish. As a result, native salmon and steelhead have lost large amounts of their habitat. Dams and barriers block migration upstream to high-quality habitat and restrict migration of juvenile fish to the ocean.
Allow fish passage into Cochran Creek to help sustain populations of coho, steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout, while enhancing and expanding productive tidal, brackish, freshwater, and riparian...
Recover Klamath River salmonid populations by removing 4 dams on the Klamath River (Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and JC Boyle) and opening up fish passage to over 400 miles of potential spawning and...
Bring together farmers, conservationists, universities, and state and federal agencies to demonstrate innovative solutions for reintegrating fish food created in floodplain wetlands back to the river...
Estuaries and lagoons provide critical feeding and nursery habitat for juvenile fishes and are important transition zones between freshwater and ocean. However, estuaries have become dramatically reduced in size and quality due to development and watershed modifications such as diking and draining.
The Aquatic Species Assessment Tool (ASAT) will provide an integrated quantitative framework for assessing the impact of management actions on salmonids and other sensitive listed fish species that...
With seven regional offices across the state, we're fully immersed in key geographies where wild fish influence the community. We build partnerships with landowners, agencies, and the local community to find the best solutions for both fish and people.
Hatcheries and releases of hatchery reared salmonids into the wild can negatively impact wild populations through competition, predation, disease, and loss of fitness and genetic diversity. Hatchery influences are especially apparent to for anadromous species where dams blocked access to spawning habitat and hatcheries were established as mitigation. Inland trout can also be impacted with stocking of hatchery fish for recreation.
Harvest relates to legally regulated commercial, tribal, and recreational fisheries, as well as illegal harvest (poaching). Over-harvest can have substantial impacts on fish populations, particularly for those with already limited abundance or distributions, those which are isolated or reside in discrete habitats making them easy to catch (e.g. summer steelhead), or those that attain large adult size (e.g., Chinook salmon).
Transportation corridors such as highways confine stream channels and increase sedimentation, pollution, and habitat degradation from storm runoff and altered streamflows. Culverts and other passage or drainage modifications associated with roads often block migration and restrict fish movements, which can fragment populations.
Many heavily logged watersheds once supported the highest species diversity and abundance of fishes, including anadromous salmon and steelhead. Improperly managed logging increases sediment in streams, increases solar input which increases stream temperatures, and degrades riparian cover. Stream habitat is also degraded by the extensive network of unpaved roads that supports timber extraction.
Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Celebrating our Member States: Idaho - Redfish Lake and the Sawtooth Mountains define the pristine wilderness of Idaho, and mark the iconic spawning waters for the brilliant red-scaled Sockeye Salmon as they return from the Pacific Ocean.
How can you help promote the better utilization of fisheries on the West coast? Join our team of dedicated professionals. Visit our Career Center to explore the opportunities, create a profile, apply for jobs, and design a job agent to receive notifications when new positions that meet your interests and expertise are posted.
On March 29, 2021, NOAA Fisheries announced the allocation of an additional $255 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Round 2). The funding will support activities previously authorized under Sec. 12005 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, CARES Act (Round 1). It will be allocated to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fishery participants who have been negatively affected by COVID-19. Upon receipt and approval of individual spend plans, the Commission staff will work with the various states, tribes, and territories to communicate and disseminate; information, applications, and other correspondences to fishery participants for requesting funds. Specific deadlines will be established in which all applications must be received; it will be noted that late applications will not be accepted.
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