The Wire · CalGunHub

Fish and Game Commission votes to allow two black bear tags per hunter

Published April 16, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

The commission unanimously amended Title 14 to allow two black bear tags per license year; the 1,700-bear statewide harvest threshold is unchanged.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: Once the amended regulation completes final administrative filing and takes effect, licensed bear hunters in California may purchase two black bear tags per license year instead of one, with the change targeted at the 2026 bear seasons. The statewide season still closes early if the 1,700-bear harvest threshold is reached. Bear hunt area boundaries were redrawn to include all of Lassen and Modoc counties. No quota increase, spring bear season or hound hunting was approved. As of CDFW's April 22, 2026 release, the filing was still pending. This is general information, not legal advice.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously at its April 15-16, 2026, meeting in Sacramento to let hunters purchase two black bear tags per license year instead of one, adopting amendments to Title 14 sections 365, 366 and 708.12.

The statewide harvest threshold of 1,700 bears is unchanged, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife closes the season early if that number is reached, something that last happened in 2012. Recent annual harvests have run well below the cap, at about 1,180 bears in 2025.

"We haven't reached that harvest or come close to it in many, many years," CDFW information officer Peter Tira told ABC7 News.

The commission also redefined bear hunt area boundaries to include the entirety of Lassen and Modoc counties. CDFW scientists estimated the changes would add roughly 100 to 200 bears to the annual harvest, out of a statewide population estimated at about 60,000.

The rulemaking moved through a notice hearing Dec. 10-11, 2025, and a discussion hearing Feb. 11-12, 2026, before adoption. Supporters included the California chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the California Deer Association; the BEAR League opposed the change. The commission did not approve a quota increase, a spring bear season, or hound hunting.

"We're advocating for a second bear tag to reach the quota established by science, by the management professionals within the Department of Fish and Wildlife," Devin O'Dea, western policy and conservation manager for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, told MeatEater.

Update: CDFW confirmed the adoption in an April 22, 2026, news release, noting the regulation still awaited final administrative filing before taking effect, with the goal of being in place for the 2026 bear seasons.

Informational only, not legal advice. Facts are attributed to the sources listed above.