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  ****