The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now accepting applications for deer hunting opportunities at the Cosumnes River Ecological Reserve in Sacramento County for the 2022 A Zone and D-5 Zone general seasons.
CDFW initiated a limited deer hunting program within the ecological reserve in 2021 by offering three deer hunting access permits to property not typically open to deer hunting. The program proved safe and popular with hunters, and CDFW has doubled the number of deer hunting access permits it will offer during the 2022 general seasons.
Permits will be issued for six separate, one-week hunting periods – two permits for the A Zone and four for the D-5 Zone general seasons that fall within the reserve’s boundaries. Each permit will accommodate up to two hunters. Only archery equipment or shotguns with nonlead slugs may be used. Rifles, pistols or muzzleloaders will not be allowed due to safety concerns. Harvest is limited to one legal buck per hunter per access period.
The A Zone hunts take place in September within the reserve’s Arno Unit west of Highway 99. The D-5 Zone hunts are offered in late September and throughout October within the reserve’s Dillard Unit east of Highway 99.
Hunters can download the A Zone or D-5 Zone application online at the Cosumnes River Ecological Reserve web page. Hunters can also request an access permit application by calling CDFW’s Rancho Cordova office at (916) 358-2900 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. Applications may be submitted via email to
For the A Zone, Arno Unit hunts, applications must be received by 1:00 p.m. on September 6, 2022. For the D-5 Zone, Dillard Unit hunts, applications must be received by 1:00
