Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, announced Friday the Legislature has approved his proposal to help ensure the conservation of big game habitats in California through public-private partnerships with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“Maintaining sustainable hunting lands in California requires considerable collaboration and resources,” said Sen. Dodd, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Outdoor Sporting Caucus. “Many in the outdoor sporting community are the most conservation-minded because they want to leave future generations the same opportunities they’ve had. My bill will help ensure the continued conservation of these wild habitats.”

In 2010, the Legislature established the Big Game Management Account, funded by hunting license fees, to pay for research and habitat restoration to benefit big-game species.

Senate Bill 370 clarifies the law to allow public and private entities, including nonprofit organizations and federally recognized tribes, to continue their valuable habitat work.

Doing so is critical to achieving program objectives including contracting for aerial surveys and captures of wild sheep, as well as important research at institutions like UC Davis and Humboldt State University.

SB 370 is sponsored by the California Deer Association and the California chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation and is supported by more than a dozen outdoor sporting organizations. It was approved this week with overwhelming support of the Assembly after previously passing out of the Senate.