Deer-hunting season opens on Saturday, Aug. 13, in many parts of Santa Barbara County, and hunters are reminded that the 5,900-acre Sedgwick Reserve in the Santa Ynez Valley is an off-limits, no-hunting zone.
Managed by UC Santa Barbara for the University of California, the reserve is used year round by university researchers, students, schoolchildren, and others, and, therefore, "the potential for a serious accident is very high," said Michael Williams, the reserve's director.
Violators face felony prosecution.
Last year several arrests were made. The California Department of Fish and Game coordinates efforts to keep poachers off the reserve, in conjunction with the UCSB Police Department, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. UCSB police officers plan to increase their patrols of the reserve throughout the hunting season to protect university facilities and personnel.
The Sedgwick Reserve is one of seven natural reserves managed by UC Santa Barbara.
The University of California is responsible for oversight of a total of 35 reserves throughout the state.
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