BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1973| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 1973 Author: Olsen (R), et al. Amended: 4/11/12 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM. : 9-0, 6/12/12 AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/3/12 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Protected species: take: Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoration Project SOURCE : Mariposa County DIGEST : This bill allows the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to authorize the incidental take of the endangered limestone salamander harmed as a result of the Department of Transportation's (Caltrans) implementation of the Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoration Project, if DFG determines Caltrans will adopt appropriate avoidance and mitigation measures. ANALYSIS : The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except as specified. The DFG may authorize the CONTINUED AB 1973 Page 2 take of listed species if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated. This bill: 1. Creates a new section in the Fish and Game Code that applies only to this highway project and the conditions that apply to the take of the limestone salamander. 2. Requires the DFG to determine that Caltrans will adopt avoidance and mitigation measures to protect the salamander through enforceable commitments. These include commitments to prevent ground disturbance when the salamander is active during the months of December through March, fencing of known habitat to protect entry into the construction zone, requiring the presence of a biological monitor during the active building phase of the project, and removal of any salamanders that, despite these precautions, is found in the construction site. This bill allows the DFG to authorize the incidental take of the endangered limestone salamander harmed as a result of the Caltrans' implementation of the Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoration Project, if DFG determines Caltrans will adopt appropriate avoidance and mitigation measures. Background California has provisions in CESA and natural community conservation planning act (NCCP) that authorizes the incidental take of threatened and endangered species under specified conditions. However, California has four fully protected species statutes that, respectively, prohibit the take of fully protected mammals, amphibians, birds, and reptiles. One of the fully protected reptiles in California is the rare limestone salamander. This species has a very limited range and is found only in the Merced River canyon near Briceburg and along Bear Creek, a tributary of the Merced River. It is not known to exist anywhere else in the world. In addition to its status as a fully protected species, it AB 1973 Page 3 has been listed as a threatened species under CESA since 1971. The species is threatened with extinction due to, among other things, its extremely limited range. The DFG has established a Limestone Salamander Ecological Reserve in Mariposa County that protects 120 acres of limestone salamander habitat and the Bureau of Land Management has designated 1,600 acres as the Limestone Salamander Area of Critical Environmental Concern, which includes both confirmed and potential limestone salamander habitat. Caltrans is in the process of re-building State Route 140, an important east-west highway in Mariposa County that was closed because of two major rockslides at a place called Ferguson Ridge. The highway is a gateway to Yosemite National Park. In its environmental review for the project, Caltrans has been unable to develop an alternative that would not affect the limestone salamander. Last year, the Legislature enacted SB 618 (Wolk), Chapter 596, Statutes of 2011, which allowed a permit to be issued for incidental take of a fully protected species as part of an NCCP if the species is a covered species whose conservation and management is provided for under the NCCP. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/12) Mariposa County (source) Regional Council of Rural Counties ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author and the bill's supporters are committed to the restoration of this highway and believe that the compromise reached in the Assembly will allow the project to proceed with appropriate safeguards for the limestone salamander. Many state and federal agencies communicated to the author their support for the restoration of the highway for various economic and public safety purposes but without specifically endorsing the legislation. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/3/12 AB 1973 Page 4 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Fletcher, Furutani, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones, Smyth, Williams CTW:k 6/26/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****