Wild Pigs at Grizzly Island

January 30, 2020

Question: A couple of years ago, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife started running draw hunts to help depredate destructive wild pigs at Grizzly Island Wildlife Area. I put in last year and didn’t get drawn, but I’m curious as to whether the pigs are still a problem, and whether other opportunities to hunt pigs there might come up in the future. (Alex)

Answer: Yes, Grizzly Island has been sponsoring the annual wild pig hunts since 1998 and will be doing them again in March and April. The origin story of the wild pigs at Joice Island is a bit of a mystery, but they were likely originally escapees from a rancher or brought in by locals for hunting purposes long ago. Neighbors recall the pigs being a nuisance since about the mid-1960s. Today, a couple hundred pigs live in the Suisun Marsh. The pigs can cause damage to habitat through rooting, which can create conditions allowing non-native invasive plants to outcompete with native plants for resources. The pigs could also potentially create erosion problems if the herd were to get too large.

The hunts have proven to be very popular. Passes are issued to 32 hunters, and in total hunters typically take eight to 12 animals per year. While this doesn’t go far toward managing the population (60-70 percent of the population would need to be removed in order to make an impact), it’s still a great opportunity to try hunting for wild pigs – and there’s no application fee! CDFW is accepting applications for the hunts until 4 p.m. on Feb. 14.