California Department of Fish and Game

California's wildlife is one of its greatest natural resources and as such, the California Department of Fish and Game works to protect its diversity and beauty. The program runs habitat protection, cleanup, maintenance, and supply. It also handles commercial, recreation, scientific, and educational uses of the lands. The mission statement of the Department is " to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public." There are a variety of subsections in the Department including the Lands Program which manages more than a million acrs of fish and wildlife habitat. The more than 700 properties provide fish, plantlife, and wildlife throughout the state. The state is divided into six separate wildlife regions to make management easier for the Department. In addition to the Lands Program, the Comprehensive Wetland Habitat Program was begun in 1990 to handle wetland preservation. The Department's Office of Spill Prevention and Response is the state's first line of defense against oil and other dangerous and toxic materials spills. Once cleanup of the spills are complete, the Office works to restore and enhance the damaged areas.