What’s the Difference Between CDFW and the Commission?

October 10, 2019

Question: Can you explain the purpose of the California Fish and Game Commission? (Anonymous)

Answer: The California Fish and Game Commission was established by California’s Constitution and is composed of five Commissioners appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

Many Californians are not fully aware of the identity, function or responsibilities of the Commission, and believe it to be the same as, or part of, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Actually, the Commission is a separate entity from CDFW and does not oversee CDFW’s day to day operations.

The Commission has been involved in the management and wise use of California’s fish and wildlife resources since 1870. Generally speaking, the Commission’s primary function is to promulgate regulations, in which it makes decisions involving topics such as seasons, bag limits, and methods of take for game animals and sport fish. CDFW then implements and enforces such regulations.

With the passage of the Marine Life Management Act in 1998, management authority for many commercial fisheries has been transferred from the State Legislature, and now resides with the Commission.

Some have criticized the Commission’s regulatory actions as being nothing more than a rubber stamp for CDFW’s recommendations. A review of the Commission’s actions on various CDFW recommendations indicates that this is not the case. In many instances, the Commission rejects or substantially modifies actions recommended by CDFW, but only where it is convinced that such action is in the best interest of the resource and truly reflects the wishes and needs of the people. The Commission often relies on CDFW’s biological data and recommendations, since CDFW has the largest staff of experts for compiling data on California’s wildlife.

You can learn more about the Commission on their website at https://fgc.ca.gov/. Their meetings are held monthly and video coverage is both live-streamed and archived.

The Commission is political and can literally be weaponized to make decisions that conform to the wishes of a few very powerful people, especially the governor. Reference the mysterious resignations and temporary appointments made during the MLPAI in the early 2000s.

Appointments are made by the governor,

Temporary appointees have full voting rights

but don't need to be confirmed by the state senate for 6 months.

A perfect setup to do the bidding of a powerful few

When I am philosopher king I will require my F&G appointees to have actually spent time outside at some point in their lives.