BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1097|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1097
Author: Nestande (R)
Amended: 6/19/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Monning, Wolk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Fish and Game Commission: Mirage Trail
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Mirage Trail within the
Magnesia Spring Ecological Reserve (Reserve) to be open to the
public during the months of May to January, inclusive, and
closed for three months during the months of February to April,
inclusive, for recreational hiking, if the Fish and Game
Commission (Commission) makes specified findings.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides a list of threatened and endangered species under
federal and state law, and prohibits the taking of any
species so listed. Requires the Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) and other state agencies to take steps to
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conserve species listed as threatened or endangered. The
Peninsular bighorn sheep has been listed as endangered under
the federal Endangered Species Act since 1998 and under the
California Endangered Species Act as a threatened species
since 2000.
2. Authorizes DFW, with approval of the Commission, to acquire,
maintain and manage lands for ecological reserves to protect
threatened or endangered species. Makes it unlawful for any
person to enter upon any ecological reserve except in
accordance with the Commission regulations. Authorizes DFW
to designate areas within ecological reserves for trails, and
to provide for added protection for species as necessary, and
allows only such public use and entry as are compatible with
the primary purpose of the reserve and subject to the
Commission regulations.
3. Requires that the Mirage Trail within the Reserve be kept
open nine months of the year for recreational hiking, as
specified.
This bill:
1. Requires the Mirage Trail within the Reserve to be open to
the public during the nine months of May to January,
inclusive, and closed for three months during the months of
February to April, inclusive, for recreational hiking, if the
Commission makes specified findings.
2. Requires the Commission to assess whether the nine-month
schedule has any significant environmental impacts on the
Peninsular bighorn sheep.
3. Requires these provisions to remain in effect until January
1, 2017.
Background
The Mirage Trail is a very popular trail with an estimated use
by 100 to 200 people daily. It is three miles long and the last
half mile is located within the Reserve. This portion was
closed in 2006 by the DFW as mitigation for the creation of new
trails and because it encroaches on important lambing and
rearing habitat for Peninsular bighorn sheep.
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According to DFW, gates and signs were constructed at the point
of closure. The gates and signs were vandalized and the closure
ignored. In 2011, a sturdier gate and new signs were installed
along with security cameras, which were also vandalized, and the
cameras stolen. Vandalism has been on the rise in the area,
with vandals moving boulders into the road to block weekly
visits by DFW personnel to repair vandalized signs.
Local public agencies or other entities must assume complete
financial responsibility for the following as determined to be
necessary by the Commission including:
1. Fencing to dissuade hikers from traversing beyond the trail
and into sensitive Peninsular bighorn sheep habitat; and
2. Signage and educational materials to educate hikers about
Peninsular bighorn sheep.
The Commission determines seasonal openings and closures of the
trail at times that will not conflict with the use of the area
by Peninsular bighorn sheep.
Existing law designates the Reserve as an ecological reserve
established for the primary purpose of protecting threatened or
endangered species, including Peninsular bighorn sheep. It also
prohibits any person from entering the Reserve from January 1 to
September 30, with exceptions for the Mirage Trail and other
designated trails as permitted by the DFW. The management plan
states that the primary intent of the Reserve is to rehabilitate
and maintain habitat centered around Magnesia Spring so that the
bighorn sheep population in the area can be maintained.
Prior legislation . AB 880 (V. Manuel Perez, Chapter 527,
Statutes of 2012) required DFW to keep the trail open to
recreational hiking for nine months out of the year, if the
Commission found certain conditions were met, including that a
local entity had assumed financial responsibility for fencing,
signage and education of the public necessary to protect the
Peninsular bighorn sheep for which the ecological reserve was
set up.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/13)
Coachella Valley Association of Governments
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
RM:k 6/19/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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