The Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve Hunt Program

In cooperation with

The CA DFG and The California Deer Association

General Hunt Program Information

Thank you for your interest in the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve Hunt Program. The reserve is private property, located just 9 miles East of Chico and owned by the CSU, Chico, Research Foundation. The mission of the reserve is to preserve critical habitat and provide a natural area for environmental research and education. As part of the purchase agreement, the Research Foundation cooperatively developed a program with the California Department of Fish and Game to allow hunting and fishing. Hunting and fishing is allowed on the reserve by permit only. This program provides a unique opportunity to gain access to property that would otherwise be closed to the general public.

The Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve offers hunting opportunities for deer, quail and turkey. Our goal is to provide a high quality hunting experience. In order to maintain this high quality, we limit the number of hunt days and number of hunters on the reserve at any given time. To insure that all interested parties get an equal chance for a hunting date, a random lottery system is used.

All hunters must have a valid California hunting license and appropriate deer tags and/or bird stamps before applying for any hunt on the BCCER. All California Fish and Game Code laws apply. Each hunter will be required to read, sign and return the Hunting Regulations Form and the BCCER Liability Release Form prior to being issued a permit. All persons under 18 years of age must sign the Minor Liability Release Form and be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Hunting is restricted to the species for which the hunter has been issued a permit. Shooting at any other species or targets is strictly prohibited. All hunters will report hunting results by phone within five working days after hunting by calling the Research Foundation at (530) 898-6977 or mailing tags to: BCCER, CSU Chico Research Foundation, 400 West First Street, Chico, CA 95929-0215.

No overnight camping or fires are allowed on the BCCER. All vehicles are required to stay on established roads and designated parking areas. No ATV’s or mountain bikes are allowed. The Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve is a research and educational facility. While reserve use is restricted during hunt seasons some overlap is unavoidable. University staff and researchers will have been informed to avoid areas open to hunting whenever possible and hunting guests should be extremely careful not to disturb or interfere with research areas or equipment. Please be respectful and remove all shell casings, garbage, and toilet paper.

Each person is allowed one application as the primary applicant, per hunt period. Applications may be obtained at The California Deer Association's BCCER Hunt Program Page. Each primary applicant is allowed up to two guests, who may hunt or observe. Hunters who are guests on one application are allowed to apply as the primary applicant on a separate application. Hunters are not allowed to submit multiple applications as the primary applicant, for the same hunt date. Doing so will result in disqualification from the drawing process. The drawing results will be posted at www.caldeer.org.

Deer

The BCCER offers a unique opportunity to hunt deer in a setting that is becoming more and more uncommon in California. The reserve straddles Big Chico Creek, one of the southernmost drainages of the Cascade Range. The topography is steep, characteristic of the rim-rock, volcanic canyons of this part of the range. The vegetation is varied, with open oak woodlands, areas of heavy brush and cover, and a mature riparian zone along the creek. During the early part of the season it can be quite hot, and dry. Hunters should be prepared for the heat and should be in top physical condition.  

In order to hunt deer on the reserve, hunters must first purchase a deer tag through the California Department of Fish and Game. There are three deer tags that can be used on the BCCER, the regular season A-1 archery and C4 tags and the late season G1 tag. You must already have your deer tag before you apply to hunt on the BCCER. The A-1 and C4 tags are available through either the DFG tag drawing or over the counter at DFG in Sacramento (note-the C4 tags sell out every year, which means you need to get them early). For the G1 tags, you must be drawn in the premium tag drawing in June. Once you have your tag, you can then apply for the BCCER drawing. Each drawing is for a specific hunt period.

For the C4 hunt, all hunt periods are two days long. Every hunt period will fall on either a Friday and Saturday or a Sunday and Monday.

For the G1 season, hunters who are drawn will have hunting access on the reserve for all nine days of the season.

Applications for 2008 Deer Hunting on the BCCER

Turkey

Turkey drawings take place in the spring and fall for each respective hunt season. Each drawing is for a specific hunt period. All hunt periods are two days long. Every hunt period will fall on either a Friday and Saturday or a Sunday and Monday.

Fees

Fees collected by the hunt program are used for administering the hunt program, maintaining access roads, and habitat improvement projects such as browse improvement, fire fuel load reduction, and invasive species control. Habitat improvement projects improve forage for game species by generating palatable resprouts while decreasing the risk of catastrophic fires and decreasing competition with less edible species.

As a means of fund raising, an opening-day turkey hunt is auctioned at the National Wild Turkey Federation banquet and the California Deer Association banquet each year.

Application fee: $5.00 per hunt period applied for

Hunt access fee: $35.00 per hunter

Scouting

• Pre-hunt scouting is advisable for deer hunters, especially for hunter who are drawn for the C4 hunts.

Use permits valid for the week leading up to the specified hunt period will be issued with hunt tags. Hunters will be allowed to drive their vehicles onto the reserve only on the days for which they have been drawn to hunt. There is no vehicle access for scouting purposes. All scouting in the reserve must be done on foot. With the exception of hunt seasons, use permits are available for access to the reserve all year and can be obtained online.

There are a number of good locations from which to scout along the canyon rim adjacent to Hwy 32. A good pair of binoculars and spotting scope is recommended to scout from the canyon rim. During the early part of the C4 season, deer are bedded down for most of the day. Try to locate deer moving from water to bedding areas early and late in the day. During the G1 season, deer will have begun to migrate onto the reserve from higher elevations.When the weather cools the deer tend to move about during the day, with more activity on the ridges.

Special G1 Auction Hunts

As a means of fundraising for the reserve, the University Research Foundation sells 7 permits for the G-1 season. These permits are sold at the California Deer Association (CDA) dinner banquets each year.
                                 

Information about upcoming hunts is available at:

The California Deer Association Homepage

 Hunter information phone number
530-898-6977

Applications for 2008 Deer Hunting

Reserve Hunt Map
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