BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1097|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1097
Author: Nestande (R)
Amended: 9/6/13 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
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/30/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Fish and Game Commission: Mirage Trail
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill specifies that the Mirage Trail within the
Magnesia Spring Ecological Reserve must be open to recreational
hiking between the months of May to January if specified
conditions are met.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/6/13 clarify financial obligation
for bighorn sheep monitoring near the Mirage Trail.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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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
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 Fish and Game Commission
(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. Specifies that the Mirage Trail within the Magnesia Spring
Ecological Reserve must be open to recreational hiking
between the months of May to January if specified conditions
are met, and that the Mirage Trail will close during the
months of February and April.
2. Specifies that at least $100,000 be devoted to monitoring
Peninsular bighorn sheep consistent with the Coachella Valley
Multiple Species Conservation Plan. The funds shall be
expended by January 1, 2018.
3. Requires these provisions to remain in effect until January
1, 2018.
Background
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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.
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
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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.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, annual costs
of $100,000 to $500,000 from the General Fund from 2014 to 2019
for an assessment of the impact of the open period on the
Peninsular bighorn sheep.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/9/13)
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, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
RM:k 9/9/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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