any good place to hunting critters near Los Angeles?

[Prototype]

I'm living LA downtown, and planning to field hunt this weekend.

any recommendable place to hunt some spiders, scorpions, and centipedes?

 

[AntikInsomniak]

The Angeles Forest has some interesting stuff. I found some small centipedes, jumping spiders and scorpions this past winter break. Wasn't even hunting for anything either. Just backpacking. If you want a better area to go looking for things to find, I'd suggest taking a trip out to Joshua Tree. You wont regret it.
If you're close to Santa Monica, you could try their little nature preserve. I've heard some good things, but I haven't been there myself.

 

[The Snark]

Angeles Forest

(Gloom and doom mode) Los Angeles National Forest to be exact. Depredation permit required which is impossible to acquire. Get caught collecting so much as a snail sneeze without one and face a fine that would finance the Queen Mary III

I mention this because the entire habitat is severely encroached upon constantly due to it's proximity to the population areas and literally hundreds of people each day thinking 'Just a few of this and that won't be missed'.

 

[AntikInsomniak]

(Gloom and doom mode) Los Angeles National Forest to be exact. Depredation permit required which is impossible to acquire. Get caught collecting so much as a snail sneeze without one and face a fine that would finance the Queen Mary III

I mention this because the entire habitat is severely encroached upon constantly due to it's proximity to the population areas and literally hundreds of people each day thinking 'Just a few of this and that won't be missed'.

For what it's worth, I don't go out to collect (except for specimens for my related undergrad/grad research, and even then we have a sort of 'protocol' to not harm a population). I prefer to take photos. Thank you for stating the damage that collecting causes btw, given that I feel a lot of people seem to not care about affecting the local wildlife. Especially right here in SoCal. It was sad to me when I noticed that a certain area that I visit that was once filled with both A. eutylenum and B. californicum had diminishing populations.

 

[gunslinger]

(Gloom and doom mode) Los Angeles National Forest to be exact. Depredation permit required which is impossible to acquire.

Snark, do you have any more specifics on this topic?

I ask because I thought that USFS memorandum from 1998 from the Deputy Chief of the National Forest System clearly stated that insect collecting for recreational purposes on all NF lands does not require a special use permit.

Of course, that letter is fairly old and I think each forest unit can amend this for certain reasons, it wouldn't apply to ESA listed species, etc. But I thought it was still generally accepted that under most conditions, collecting on NF land was acceptable for recreation.

 

[The Snark]

Snark, do you have any more specifics on this topic?

Nothing up to date. Always a good idea to check with the USFS before planning any trips into the forests. For the LA area that would be 701 N Santa Anita Av. Arcadia. I don't remember the phone #
Yes, each unit can have their own restrictions so it's best to check with central. And of course a hefty chunk of the area is also listed as National Monuments and other restrictions may apply. Don't forget it is also a good idea to check with F&G before planning a collecting trip.

 

[gunslinger]

Nothing up to date. Always a good idea to check with the USFS before planning any trips into the forests. For the LA area that would be 701 N Santa Anita Av. Arcadia. I don't remember the phone #
Yes, each unit can have their own restrictions so it's best to check with central. And of course a hefty chunk of the area is also listed as National Monuments and other restrictions may apply. Don't forget it is also a good idea to check with F&G before planning a collecting trip.

Ok, gotcha, I agree its always a good choice to check locally wherever you are going out. Collecting is a complicated topic to say the least, and the rules aren't always administered the same way across the board even when the rules are technically the same.

 

[The Snark]

and the rules aren't always administered the same way across the board even when the rules are technically the same.

You could repeat that a few hundred times. I remember a couple checking at Santa Anita, I double checked for them at Oak Grove then they got slammed by F&G for depredation and damage to riparian areas. Shifting logs to look under them in a dry stream bed.
The USFS is renowned for not exactly being on top of it. In one locale you get laid back don't really care and in another, fanatical zealotry. High erosion areas like the San Gabriels usually attract the zealots. Always go to the head office for the low down if possible.

 

[gunslinger]

they got slammed by F&G for depredation and damage to riparian areas

Wow, very interesting.

If you are referring to the state agency (CDFW used to be CDFG before their name change?) than that is a totally separate issue. While it might be perfectly legal to collect on USFS lands according to federal law, state agencies further regulate wildlife and may have additional requirements.

Although I don't think you would run into a state agency all that often on federal land unless you were in some sort of high priority conservation area or really near high traffic areas?

CA is a tough state in many regards, and they have stricter environmental regs than most states. Combine the complexity that comes with the lack of standardized policy and enforcement and it really makes it very difficult to even know what is OK.

Starts to make your head hurt after a while................

 

[The Snark]

Yups. The state conservation gig sort of got laid down haphazardly layer by layer with various agencies treading on each others toes and meted out by government edicts which were prioritized according to the legislators personal preferences, whims, and where his/her spouse liked to go skinny dipping.
I preferred the fire fighters hierarchy written in the finest carbon deposits on the nethermost floor of hell: Local fire authority -> State fire Marshall, -> Federal fire Marshall -> God(ess)

 

[Willuminati]

hit up all the foothill hiking trails in the San Fernando Valley. Reseda, O'Melvany, Chatsworth. Good this time of year.

 

[REEFSPIDER]

There's some spots I know around Alta Dena in the foothills, Azusa canyon and the bridge to nowhere trail. The old Hollywood zoo trail. I've also had some luck in the coastal trails around rancho palos verdes. Aphonopelma have been found a lot in Azusa canyon. The Alta dena trails have a lot of diverse animals including insects arachnids and mammals and reptiles also. I'd even be down to go on some of these trails with you. There is also old gold mines around this area I have explored and found some crazy aquatic bugs living in this mine feeding on tadpoles.

 

[Willuminati]

There's some spots I know around Alta Dena in the foothills, Azusa canyon and the bridge to nowhere trail. The old Hollywood zoo trail. I've also had some luck in the coastal trails around rancho palos verdes. Aphonopelma have been found a lot in Azusa canyon. The Alta dena trails have a lot of diverse animals including insects arachnids and mammals and reptiles also. I'd even be down to go on some of these trails with you. There is also old gold mines around this area I have explored and found some crazy aquatic bugs living in this mine feeding on tadpoles.

Can I invite myself?

 

[REEFSPIDER]

Can I invite myself?

Bro I have friends who hike. But whenever I try and stop and mess with bugs they're like UNINTERESTED GOTTA KEEP OUR HEART RATE UP. So yeah man it would be dope to go collecting or observing wildlife with other local hobbyists.

 

[Willuminati]

Hahaha, well then Lets set something up soon! I stay in the 818!

 

[arachnothing]

I enjoy both the great outdoors(canyons, forests,deserts, chaparral) and the "local-remote"(defunct rail lines, refuse-strewn fields, paved rivers, dreadfully neglected or abandoned properties)for wildlife observation, invert hunts, and skull collecting. But i rarely have anyone along for the trip! Coyotes are not always fearful like they say, and Badgers are making a comeback. Had a couple near-miss-with-a-Puma! trips.....never mind the drifter run-ins.....too down to not be the only dude on a remote hill. Im in Long Beach, always up for a trip to nature's death traps!!
I took this photo in Carson, Ca. about 2 years ago now. Carson, Ca. No claw marks=cat. My feet arent tiny. Big Cat....

 

[jaredc]

I've found scolopendra in Angeles National Forest going up the winter creek trail. There are also a lot of desert millipedes and darkling beetles in the Pasadena stretch of the forest, right before you enter the protected area. I've never collected anything from the area, but I'd like to go again to stock up on oak leaves.

 

[MaelRadec]

Probably gonna hit up the Hollywood Zoo trail myself this week. I'll post if I find anything interesting.

 

[Bug Boy Wonder]

I know this is an old post, but a few other spots for looking at critters is fryman canyon in studio city, solstice canyon in Malibu, and Bronson canyon in Hollywood after rainy season.

 

[REEFSPIDER]

I know this is an old post, but a few other spots for looking at critters is fryman canyon in studio city, solstice canyon in Malibu, and Bronson canyon in Hollywood after rainy season.

Sitting here this morning thinking to myself. "Cant wait for this rain to stop theres gonna be alot of fauna to collect"