In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly Q&A column:

Question: I’m a 100% disabled war veteran and have a canine companion dog (yellow lab) that goes with me everywhere as my hearing dog. I lost most of my hearing in the war from enemy fire. Is it legal to take a companion dog turkey or deer hunting? Can my dog go turkey hunting on a leash, not as a hunting dog but as a hearing dog? My dog has never been trained to hunt and he won’t be part of that life. He wouldn’t be chasing game but because he is my second set of ears, can he be used for hearing? (Larry L.)

Answer: Yes, you can use your dog in the situations described. Generally, there’s no prohibition against using dogs (having them with you) while bird hunting, but there is a one dog per hunter limit during general deer season. No dogs are allowed during archery deer season or while hunting with an archery-only tag (California Code of Regulations, section 265).

Q: While bank fishing in the Delta recently, I watched some people nearby land a legal-sized sturgeon. They took some pictures and were about to release the 63-incher when a family came running up and asked if they could keep it for dinner. It appeared to me that the catch-and-release fisherman felt compelled to give it to them, and he did. I could not tell if the sturgeon was properly tagged prior to the transfer of ownership because the family left pretty quickly. I thought I might offer one of my tags as I am also a catch-and-release fisherman who has never landed a sturgeon and would never need three tags, but I am wondering if this would be legal. Not knowing, I decided not to give up my tag. My question is, can someone donate a sturgeon tag to another fisherman? (Rob Grasso)

The May Nothin' But Sand beach cleanup will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at Dockweiler State Beach, Playa del Rey.

Hosted by Heal the Bay, the cleanups are held on the third Saturday of each month at different locales and are an opportunity to help keep our local shores tidy.

Volunteers should plan to meet at 11999 Vista Del Mar, at the end of Imperial Highway. All cleaning supplies will be provided, so volunteers are welcome to just show up (those younger than 12 need to be accompanied by a parent).

Attendees should plan on wearing closed-toe shoes and bringing their own drinking water and snacks as well as a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and a jacket. More information on what to wear and bring is available on the Heal the Bay website.

Liability waivers can be printed in advance and must be signed before pitching in. Participants 17 and younger must have a parent or guardian sign their form.

Groups of 10 or more are asked to email Eveline Bravo or call (800) 432-5229, Ext. 148, to let organizers know they plan to join.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Sunset at Dockweiler State Beach. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Campers, anglers and hikers enjoying the outdoors may have encounters with wild animals -- including black bears, which are estimated to number 40,000 in California. Certain precautions can and should be taken when it comes to interaction with these omnivores, especially by limiting food odors that attract bears.

"Bears are constantly in search of easily obtainable food sources," said Marc Kenyon, California Department of Fish and Game statewide bear program coordinator. "A bear’s fate is almost always sealed once it associates human activity with potential food. It’s always unfortunate when a bear has to be killed because people either haven’t learned how to appropriately store food and trash, or simply don’t care."

The California Department of Fish and Game shares the following precautionary tips that should be taken when in bear country:

-- Keep a clean camp by cleaning up and storing food and garbage immediately after meals.

-- Never keep food in your tent. Instead, store food and toiletries in bear-proof containers or in an airtight container in the trunk of your vehicle.

-- Use bear-proof garbage cans whenever possible or store your garbage in a secure location with your food.

-- Don’t bury or burn excess food; bears will still be attracted to the residual smell.

-- Garbage should be packed out of camp if no trash receptacles are available.

-- While hiking, make noise to avoid a surprise encounter with a bear.

-- Keep a close watch on children and teach them what to do if they encounter a bear.

-- Never approach a bear, pick up a bear cub or attempt to attract a bear to your location; observe the animal and take pictures from afar.

-- If you encounter a bear, do not run; instead, face the animal, make noise and try to appear as large as possible.

-- If attacked, fight back; if a bear harms a person in any way, immediately call 911.

The Department of Fish and Game’s Keep Me Wild campaign was developed in part to address the increasing number of conflicts between black bears and people, and provides further tips for living and visiting safely in bear habitat.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A young black bear foraging in the Falls Picnic Area caused the closure of parts of San Bernardino National Forest in 2009. Credit: California Department of Fish and Game  

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro will hold a special "Grunion Fish-tival" on Thursday at 7 p.m. to supplement its regular "Meet the Grunion" program. The evening will include a film on grunion as well as the added opportunity to hatch grunion eggs, make grunion origami and other arts and crafts and interact with grunion researchers.

The cost to attend is $5 for adults and $1 for seniors, children and students. Tickets can be purchased onsite (cash only).

Afterward, those who wish to participate will head to the beach to await the spawning run, which has a projected two-hour window of 11:05 p.m. to 1:05 a.m.

Grunion may only be caught in the months of March, June and July; because grunion are not in season now, the outing is for observation only.

Runs are a sight to behold. For four consecutive nights, beginning on full- and new-moon phases during spring and summer, the small, silvery fish leave the water to spawn on beaches. The shoreline may glisten with fish as the silversides attempt to lay and fertilize their eggs.

There is no limit to the number of fish that may be caught during open season (the next one begins June 3), but the California Department of Fish and Game asks that people catch only what they will eat. Catchers 16 and older must possess a valid state fishing license.

The program will be offered again on June 3 and 17 and July 16.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro. Directions and parking information are available on the website.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Grunion come ashore to spawn twice a month during spring and summer. Credit: Gary Florin / Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Registration is open for anglers interested in participating in Big Bear Lake’s "Fishin' for $50K Trout Derby." The third annual tournament, scheduled Saturday and Sunday, June 11-12, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., offers the chance for a lucky angler who catches the grand-prize tagged trout to net $50,000 (the tags will look similar to that in the photo above, from the inaugural tournament, though will be a different color to thwart possible cheating).

"We're calling all bounty hunters, or in this case bounty anglers, to come up to Big Bear to catch a tagged trout worth $50,000," said Big Bear Lake Resort Assn. Chief Executive Rick Shoup. "The grand prize is no pocket change."

There will be a total of 10 tagged trout planted, including the one particular fish worth the top prize. Prizes for the other nine fish include Big Bear lodging and adventure packages.

In addition to the tagged trout, anglers who catch the largest fish by weight in four classes -- adult male, adult female, male child younger than 16 and female child younger than 16 -- will be awarded prizes. There will also be a bonus prize of $500 awarded to the overall largest trout by weight caught using Berkley PowerBait.

The entry fee is $40 for adults and $25 for children under 16. The tournament is limited to the first 750 registrants.

Free entry will be given to those who stay at least one night June 10-12 at a participating Big Bear Lake Resort Assn. lodge, and to anglers who rent a pontoon boat at a participating marina in Big Bear Lake the weekend of the tournament. 

An awards ceremony will take place June 12 at 3 p.m. in the Big Bear Visitor Center parking lot. The ceremony will include a raffle, with thousands of dollars' worth of fishing gear, bait and tackle from national manufacturers up for grabs. Prizes for tagged fish that have not been redeemed, with the exception of the $50,000 grand prize tagged fish, will be donated to the raffle.

Read the rules, or go online or call (800) 424-4232 to register for the tournament. Registration may also be completed online, by mail or by fax.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A tagged trout similar to this could be worth $50,000. Credit: Dan McKernan / Big Bear Lake Resort Assn.

The California Department of Fish and Game will be holding a deer hunting clinic on June 18 as part of its advanced hunter education program.

Co-sponsored by the Pacific Coast Hunter Education Assn. and the California Deer Assn., the class will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Canada De Los Osos Ecological Reserve in Santa Clara County.

The clinic, specifically designed for hunting deer in California, will cover deer biology; hunting locations, techniques and requirements; methods for locating deer; field dressing and care of game.

The cost is $45 and space is limited, so those interested are advised to register early. A barbecue lunch is available for an additional $10.

Those 16 or younger will be admitted free but must be accompanied by an adult. Registration, including fee payment, closes two weeks before the workshop date and can be completed online. After registering, participants will receive an email with a map to the facility and a list of items to bring. For more information email or call DFG Lt. Dan Lehman at (916) 358-4356.

-- Kelly Burgess
Twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Mule deer in a field. Credit: Gary Zahm / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Barring adverse weather, water or road conditions, the following is a list of Southern California and Eastern Sierra waters, listed by county, that will be stocked with rainbow trout or channel catfish throughout the week of May 16 by the Department of Fish and Game:

Trout:

VENTURA: Reyes Creek.

SANTA BARBARA: None.

ORANGE: None.

LOS ANGELES: Castaic Lake, Cuddy Creek Pond, Elizabeth Lake and Pyramid Lake.

SAN DIEGO: None.

IMPERIAL: None.

RIVERSIDE: Diamond Valley Lake, Hemet Lake, Lake Fulmore and Strawberry Creek.

SAN BERNARDINO: Big Bear Lake, Jenks Lake, Santa Ana River, Silverwood Lake and South Fork of the Santa Ana River.

INYO: Baker Creek, Big Pine Creek, Bishop Creek Dam Intake No. 2, George Creek, Goodale Creek, Independence Creek, Lone Pine Creek, lower Bishop Creek, Middle Fork Bishop Creek, Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Shepherd Creek, South Fork Bishop Creek, Symms Creek, Taboose Creek and Tinemaha Creek.

MONO: Bridgeport Reservoir, Convict Creek, Mammoth Creek and McGee Creek.

Catfish:

LOS ANGELES: Alondra Park lake, Belvedere Park lake, Downey Wilderness Park Lake, Echo Park lake, Hansen Lake, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, lake in Hollenbeck Park, Lincoln Park lake and MacArthur Park Lake.

Photo: A trout breaks the surface at the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery near Independence. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

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Come fall, Californians could find themselves with fewer parks to visit and fewer services available at parks that are open. That was the tenor of the plan that California State Parks officials outlined Friday as they targeted for shutdown 70 of the state's 278 parks because of budget problems.

The closure plan is far from final, and if it does come to pass the closures wouldn't go into effect until September, said State Parks Director Ruth Coleman.

Coleman also raised the possibility of diminished services -- i.e., closing bathrooms, lifeguard towers and other facilities -- throughout the state park system to cut $11 million in the coming fiscal year and $22 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year. But the budget details haven't been finalized.

Times Daily Travel and Deal blogger Mary Forgione has the details, including the full list of parks slated for closure, on her post: California State Parks: Salton Sea, Palomar on list of possible shutdowns

Photo: Tufa formations have an unreal look on Mono Lake at sunset. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

The Angeles National Forest announced Thursday that it will reopen about 98,000 acres of forest that has been closed since the 2009 Station fire. As I reported in Outposts on April 1, forest officials have been doing public outreach and relying a lot on volunteers to clear out invasive species as part of the forest restoration. Shown above is a hillside in the San Gabriel Mountains that burned in the fire and was adorned with wildflowers in spring 2010 -- proof that this fire-adapted ecosystem can rebound.

Areas that will reopen include Charlton Flat Picnic Area, Gould Mesa Campground, Bear Canyon Trail, Paul Little Picnic Area, Mill Creek Summit Picnic Area, Silver Moccasin Trail, Sunset Ridge Trail, Indian Canyon Trailhead, Canteen Trail and the entire San Gabriel Wilderness area. Forest officials say more than 100 miles of hiking trails are being reopened.

In addition, the U.S. Forest Service announced that the portion of the Pacific Crest Trail that runs through the forest will reopen, with some minor reroutes. This is good news for PCT thru-hikers, who had a roughly 40-mile detour last summer.

Hikers should also be thrilled that the Angeles National Forest has finally posted a high-resolution zoomable map showing the closure area (frame grab image at right). A word of warning: Downloading the map can be excruciatingly slow; I found it quicker to just use the online zoom feature.

Check the Angeles National Forest website for the latest Station fire restoration updates.

-- Julie Sheer

Photo credit: Julie Sheer. Map credit: Angeles National Forest

A sailboat participating in the Oregon International Offshore Race was struck by a breaching whale Thursday off the coast of Oregon. Thankfully, nobody aboard was injured.

The 38-foot vessel, ironically named L'Orca, was about a half-hour into the race from Astoria, Ore., to Victoria, Canada, when the whale breached and crushed the rigging and mast of the boat.

"Our boat was moving at about nine knots over the water, and all of a sudden, about a few inches, maybe a foot off the starboard side, a whale came breaching out of the water," crew member Ryan Barnes of Portland, Ore., told the U.S. Coast Guard in a videotaped interview. "It looked to be a humpback whale, about 30 feet in length roughly; it hit the mast about halfway to three-quarters of the way up, and proceeded to fall forward and on the starboard side of the boat.

"The mast came down as well as the forestay and all the rigging, and our tow rail and all our life lines on the starboard side of the boat were demolished as well."

Barnes said that the vessel did suffer some cosmetic damage in addition to the broken mast and rigging, but the crew, including his father -- boat owner Jerry Barnes -- was in the cockpit at the time and no one was injured. A U.S. Coast Guard rescue vessel responded to the scene and escorted the damaged boat and its occupants back to Astoria.

Unlike a whale vs. sailboat incident off the coast of South Africa last year, no photos have yet surfaced.

And while it's uncertain what injuries the whale sustained, they were likely minor. It did, however, leave behind a small memento of the incident.

"We have some nice pieces of whale blubber as a souvenir and proof of what happened," Barnes said.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Video: Ryan Barnes describes the whale breaching and striking his father's 38-foot sailboat, the L'Orca, during the Oregon International Offshore Race. Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert / U.S. Coast Guard via YouTube

Photo: The sailing vessel L'Orca at Astoria, Ore.'s West Basin pier after having its rigging and mast demolished by a breaching whale. Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert / U.S. Coast Guard

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly Q&A column:

Question: My question is about possession of waterfowl when processed. A friend shot more than 250 ducks in the just-completed waterfowl season, so I asked him if he was breaking the law by having more than 14 ducks in possession. He said no because he had them regularly processed into duck sausage, and once processed they’re considered out of your possession. Is this correct? Another friend saves all his ducks throughout the 100-day duck season and then gives them all to a butcher to process into sausage. He contends if you process the meat through a meat grinder, then it’s not considered part of the possession limit anymore because it’s now processed.

If you smoke your ducks or process them through a meat grinder and put them in your freezer, are they then out of your possession? A clarification of the "in possession" rule would be greatly appreciated. (Mike)

Answer: Your friends are mistaken and could be cited for possessions of overlimits. Generally, the daily bag limit is seven ducks, and the possession limit is two daily bag limits. Possession is defined as "fresh, frozen or otherwise preserved ..." (California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 1.17). Making sausage only preserves the birds; they are still in possession until eaten or given away.

Here's this week's Irvine Lake fishing report, written by veteran angler Steve Carson:

Trollers scored the lion's share of the trout this week at Irvine Lake, reported Jimmy Getty at the Pro Shop. "Trolling at 15 to 30 feet with  shad imitations like Needlefish or Rapalas is working pretty well," Getty said. "Shore anglers are catching trout very early in the a.m. on Mice Tails, Pinched Crawlers and Power Bait. Best areas were the west shore, near the dam, and Santiago Flats."

Crappie anglers continue to score limits using a couple of methods, reported Pro Team leader Marlon Meade. "Trollers are doing very well on the crappie using anything with a shad pattern trolled about 10 yards outside of the trees and off the cliffs," Meade said. "Drifting with Atomic Tubes at 15 feet in the same areas is also working very well for slabs up to about a pound. The fish are mostly spawned out at this point."

Bass anglers are finding fish in both pre-spawn and post-spawn conditions. Some topwater action is available early, but the mostly 2- to 7-pound largemouth are spread out at 1- to 40-foot depths, and are hitting best on various plastics and jigs.