Today, Safari Club International (“SCI”) and its litigation partners asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to block any shooting of mule deer on Santa Catalina Island while their challenge to the legality of the deer-eradication plan proceeds. SCI’s involvement in this case is supported by the non-profit SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education.
Earlier this year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife bypassed full environmental review and approved a permit for the Catalina Island Conservancy to implement the Catalina Island Restoration Project, a multi-phase effort that purports to use deer eradication and habitat manipulation to restore “native” species to the island.
The project is scheduled to begin baiting and shooting deer in September 2026. Accordingly, SCI and its partners have requested the Court preserve the status quo before irreversible action begins.
That motion contends that the project was approved through an unlawful process that bypassed the environmental review and public participation required before agencies authorize sweeping, irreversible changes to a unique island ecosystem. The requested injunction would temporarily halt implementation while the Court determines whether the Department lawfully approved the project and issued the Restoration Management Permit that authorizes deer-removal activities.
The motion demonstrates that SCI and its partners are likely to succeed on the merits for several independent reasons. First, the Department failed to comply with a mandatory prerequisite under the California Environmental Quality Act: obtaining the concurrence of the Director of Fish and Wildlife. Of more than 100 comparable documents posted on the Department’s website—including several signed on the same day or the day before—this is the only one handled differently. SCI and its partners therefore question whether the Department’s rush to approve a project submitted by an entity with close ties to Governor Gavin Newsom led it to bypass its standard, legally required procedures.
Further, the project constitutes a public nuisance and violates the public trust because it authorizes the permanent elimination of a public wildlife resource without meaningful analysis of the consequences. Third, the Department exceeded its statutory authority by treating mule deer—a game mammal managed under California’s wildlife laws—as an “invasive” species outside the State’s game-management framework. Last, SCI and partners challenge the legality of the Restoration Management Permit itself.
“SCI’s ask is simple: make sure all the right steps are taken before slaughtering all the mule deer on Catalina Island,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “No administration, including Governor Gavin Newsom’s, should be permitted to deny the public the full environmental review, transparency, and science-based decision-making this issue demands. An injunction is necessary to ensure the Court—not politics—decides whether this project was lawfully approved.”
“One of the SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education’s missions is to support litigation to protect hunting access and promote scientific wildlife management. The deer eradication is not supported by good science and will wipe out a big game hunting opportunity in an area where few exist,” said SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education President Rew Goodenow. “This is a crucial case, and an even more important injunction, to ensure the deer are not eradicated before the Court can review the arguments.”
This is a significant early victory for the coalition, and the injunction request should be heard before any baiting or shooting occurs on the island, per the schedule agreed to by the parties. The Conservancy has also represented that it does not intend to proceed with those activities until the Court resolves this legal issue.
About Safari Club International: Safari Club International is a leading advocate for hunters and sustainable-use conservation worldwide. SCI works to protect the freedom to hunt, promote science-based wildlife management, and ensure that wildlife decisions are made through transparent, lawful, and accountable processes. SCI was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1973 and has since grown to represent approximately 100,000 members and advocates and 172 Chapters across the country and around the world.
About the SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education: The SCI Center for Conservation Law and Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting hunting, scientific wildlife management, and sustainable-use wildlife conservation through support for litigation and public and policymaker education. The Center creates change where it matters most: in courts, commissions, and legislatures. The Center seeks to engage the broader conservation community to support its essential mission.
