California / Fish and Wildlife

Agency file

Fish and Wildlife

Source file: California — State Employee Compensation (SCO Payroll Data Warehouse, CPRA) / ingested Jul 4, 2026

The Fish and Wildlife protects natural resources and the environment — conservation, parks and wildlife, and environmental regulation.

In 2025, this agency had 3,595 employees with median total compensation of $83,440; the highest distinct record was $294,083.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $294.8M
Employees: 3,595
Median total: $83,440
Highest record: $294,083

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

-$2,040$188,303+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 3,595 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($83,440) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $76,857 (94%)
Overtime — $2,702 (3%)
Other — $2,440 (3%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$12,990

$36,938

$83,440

$114,828

$148,581

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $148,581 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $12,990. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Environmental Scientist

525 · $84,300

Fish and Wildlife Scientific Aid

522 · $16,387

Senior Environmental Scientist(Specialist)

347 · $111,305

Fish and Game Warden

294 · $110,704

Fish and Wildlife Technician

212 · $50,867

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2023	$265.7M —	3,649 —	$74,583 —
2024	$286.6M ▲ 7.9%	3,741 ▲ 2.5%	$76,434 ▲ 2.5%
2025	$294.8M ▲ 2.8%	3,595 ▼ 3.9%	$83,440 ▲ 9.2%

Record list

Employees

Page 8

Ryan Salsman

Associate Governmental Program Analyst/Fish and Wildlife

2024 total comp

$77,669

Base pay: $62,853
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $14,816
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,669
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Solano
Middle name: J

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,777
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5653115393802
Salary Total: $6,777
Total Pay: $77,669

Ryan Salsman holds the role of Associate Governmental Program Analyst at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2024, their total compensation was $77,669. Union affiliation: R01.

Ashlynn Blackshire

Staff Services Manager I/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,647

Base pay: $76,267
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,380
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,647
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: S01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,172
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650264800007
Salary Total: $6,957
Total Pay: $77,647

Ashlynn Blackshire holds the role of Staff Services Manager I at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $77,647. Their bargaining unit is S01.

John Randolph

Environmental Scientist/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,625

Base pay: $69,823
Overtime: $7,556
Other pay: $246
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,625
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R10
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: F

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,796
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650350762905
Salary Total: $6,558
Total Pay: $77,625

John Randolph holds the role of Environmental Scientist at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $77,625. They are represented by R10.

Vanessa Mora

Environmental Scientist/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,602

Base pay: $77,352
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $250
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,602
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R10
Work county: San Joaquin
Middle name: G

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,136
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5653230762018
Salary Total: $6,886
Total Pay: $77,602

At Fish and Wildlife, Vanessa Mora serves as a Environmental Scientist. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $77,602. Their bargaining unit is R10.

Mimi Matthews

Associate Governmental Program Analyst/Fish and Wildlife

2024 total comp

$77,590

Base pay: $77,390
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $200
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,590
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: Y

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,719
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650215393001
Salary Total: $6,719
Total Pay: $77,590

At Fish and Wildlife, Mimi Matthews serves as a Associate Governmental Program Analyst. They work full-time. Their 2024 pay totaled $77,590. Their bargaining unit is R01.

Darrick Baker

Fish Hatchery Manager I/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,575

Base pay: $77,575
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,575
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: S11
Work county: San Joaquin
Middle name: A

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,661
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5652430782505
Salary Total: $6,461
Total Pay: $77,575

Darrick Baker holds the role of Fish Hatchery Manager I at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $77,575. Their bargaining unit is S11.

Shannon Ferguson

Senior Personnel Specialist/Fish and Wildlife

2024 total comp

$77,568

Base pay: $69,251
Overtime: $4,117
Other pay: $4,200
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,568
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,936
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650111317016
Salary Total: $5,936
Total Pay: $77,568

Shannon Ferguson holds the role of Senior Personnel Specialist at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2024, their total compensation was $77,568. Union affiliation: R01.

Kit Lau

Associate Accounting Analyst/Fish and Wildlife

2023 total comp

$77,560

Base pay: $43,536
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $34,024
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,560
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: C

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,474
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650144588018
Salary Total: $7,474
Total Pay: $77,560

Kit Lau works as a Associate Accounting Analyst for Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. Kit earned $77,560 in 2023. Union affiliation: R01.

Juan Garcia

Fish and Wildlife Technician/Fish and Wildlife

2023 total comp

$77,519

Base pay: $60,485
Overtime: $12,470
Other pay: $4,564
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,519
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R11
Work county: Sonoma
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,898
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5653430916004
Salary Total: $5,098
Total Pay: $77,519

At Fish and Wildlife, Juan Garcia serves as a Fish and Wildlife Technician. They work full-time. Their 2023 pay totaled $77,519. Their bargaining unit is R11.

David Howard

Fish Habitat Assistant/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,499

Base pay: $65,152
Overtime: $10,629
Other pay: $1,718
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,499
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R11
Work county: Ventura
Middle name: L

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $5,644
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5656020780006
Salary Total: $5,475
Total Pay: $77,499

At Fish and Wildlife, David Howard serves as a Fish Habitat Assistant. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $77,499. Their bargaining unit is R11.

Joshua Thornton

Associate Governmental Program Analyst/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,430

Base pay: $76,880
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $550
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,430
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,547
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650355393805
Salary Total: $7,321
Total Pay: $77,430

At Fish and Wildlife, Joshua Thornton serves as a Associate Governmental Program Analyst. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $77,430. They are represented by R01.

Ziad Kawan

Associate Governmental Program Analyst/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,389

Base pay: $77,264
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $125
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,389
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R01
Work county: Yolo

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $6,980
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650335393005
Salary Total: $6,771
Total Pay: $77,389

Ziad Kawan holds the role of Associate Governmental Program Analyst at Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $77,389. They are represented by R01.

James Mcbride

Environmental Scientist/Fish and Wildlife

2025 total comp

$77,354

Base pay: $76,854
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $500
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,354
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R10
Work county: Yolo
Middle name: P

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,135
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5650350762043
Salary Total: $6,885
Total Pay: $77,354

James Mcbride is a Environmental Scientist at Fish and Wildlife. They work full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $77,354. Their bargaining unit is R10.

David Howard

Fish and Wildlife Technician/Fish and Wildlife

2023 total comp

$77,353

Base pay: $58,085
Overtime: $15,898
Other pay: $3,370
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $77,353
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R11
Work county: Ventura
Middle name: L

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $4,898
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5656020916010
Salary Total: $4,898
Total Pay: $77,353

David Howard works as a Fish and Wildlife Technician for Fish and Wildlife. Their status is full-time. David earned $77,353 in 2023. Union affiliation: R11.