Amended in Assembly May 6, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1213

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 4000 of, and to add Section 4013 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1213, as amended, Bloom. The Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.

Existing law enumerates the fur-bearing mammals that may be taken only with a trap, a firearm, a bow and arrow, or poison under a proper permit, or with the use of dogs, and requires every person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or nongame mammals designated by the Fish and Game Commission, or who sells raw furs of those mammals, to procure a trapping license. A violation of any of the provision of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under those provisions, is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified.

This bill would enact the Bobcat Protection Act of 2013 that would, among other things, add the bobcat to the list of fur-bearing mammals subject to the licensing and other requirements for fur-bearing mammals specified above.

This bill would authorize the Department of Fish and Game to prepare a management plan for the taking of bobcats pursuant to trapping begin delete and hunting end delete licenses that is based on various factors, including, among others, begin insert end insert begin insert statewide and regional end insert population estimates for bobcats, and an estimate of begin insert the end insert costs to the department for implementing the management plan. The bill would require the management plan to include, among other things, a prohibition on trapping bobcats on private land without the consent of the owner. The bill would authorize the Fish and Game Commission to promulgate regulations consistent with the management plan, and would specify that if regulations are not promulgated by July 1, 2015, specified provisions would take effect, including, among others, provisions that would make it unlawful to trap or attempt to trap, or sell or export a bobcat, as specified. begin insert This bill would, beginning January 1, 2014, apply these provisions to the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, as specified. end insert Because a violation of the provisions of the management plan and regulations adopted by the commission would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to ensure
that the bobcat (Lynx rufus) remains a fully functional component
of the ecosystems it inhabits throughout its range in California.

(b) The Legislature recognizes that bobcats are an irreplaceable
part of California’s natural habitat, and that, as predators of small
mammals, bobcats play an important role in regulating the
population of rodents in California’s deserts, forests, and
grasslands.

(c) The Legislature further recognizes that millions of people
visit California’s national and state parks and other public and
private conservation areas for the purposes of, among other things,
viewing wildlife, including bobcats, and that this visitation
contributes millions of dollars to California’s economy.

(d) The Legislature further recognizes that bobcats and other
native wildlife often cross the boundaries of national parks and
other protected areas into adjacent areas where the taking of
bobcats is currently allowed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code
and the regulations adopted pursuant to that code.

(e) While bobcats are hunted and trapped primarily for their
fur, rather than being classified as “fur-bearing mammals” under
the Fish and Game Code, bobcats are considered “nongame
mammals” under the laws of this state and consequently current
California laws and regulations provide no limits on the sex, age,
location, or number of bobcats that may be taken by licensed
trappers on private and public lands in California where the taking
of wildlife is not otherwise prohibited.

(f) Current regulations provide for the commercial sale and
export of bobcat pelts taken by hunters or trappers in California.

(g) The Legislature further finds that a rise in the demand for
bobcat pelts in China and other foreign markets has resulted in a
substantial increase in the number of trappers taking bobcats as
well as in the number of bobcats taken for commercial purposes
in California.

(h) Reliable population estimates do not exist for bobcats
statewide in California and neither the Department of Fish and
Wildlife or the Fish and Game Commission possesses adequate
data to determine a sustainable harvest limit for bobcats.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4000 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
to read:

4000.  

The following are fur-bearing mammals: pine marten,
fisher, mink, river otter, gray fox, red fox, kit fox, raccoon, beaver,
badger, bobcat, and muskrat.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4013 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:

4013.  

(a) The department may prepare a plan setting forth a
proposed management regime for the taking of bobcats pursuant
to trapping begin delete and hunting end delete licenses. The management plan shall be
based upon and include the following:

(1) A current population estimate for bobcats at the begin delete statewide,
regional, and county end delete begin insert statewide and regional end insert levels. The estimate
shall be generated using modern population census techniques,
such as mark and recapture studies, scat and track surveys, DNA
sampling, and camera trapping. The estimate may not be based
solely upon harvest data or habitat modeling. For each area
included in the population estimate, the department shall rely upon
recent area-specific data on bobcat abundance and population
trend. Consistent with the requirements of Section 703.3 that all
resource management decisions be informed by credible science,
the department shall, to the maximum extent practicable, rely upon
recent published, peer-reviewed studies in generating the
population estimate.

(2) An estimate of maximum sustainable harvest limits for
bobcats at the begin delete statewide, regional, and county end delete begin insert statewide and
regional end insert levels. The estimate shall be based upon
California-specific studies on bobcat fecundity, survivorship, and
habitat use, accounting for the differences among ecosystems
within the state. The estimate shall take into account other sources
of human-caused mortality to bobcats such as road mortality,
rodenticide poisoning, and habitat loss. In determining a sustainable
harvest level, the department shall, consistent with the requirements
of Section 1755, consider not just the continued viability of
bobcats, but also the goal of maintaining bobcat abundance so as
to not appreciably diminish either their role in ecosystem
maintenance or the likelihood and opportunity of bobcat encounters
for nonconsumptive uses such as wildlife viewing.

(3) An estimate of the full costs to the department of
implementing the management plan, including the costs of
administering, monitoring, and enforcing a harvest regime.

(4) An estimate of the full economic and ecosystem values of
bobcats in California, including their role in regulating rodent
populations, and the economic contributions of nonconsumptive
uses such as tourism, wildlife viewing, photography, and property
values.

(5) A full consideration of restrictions on harvest, including
no-harvest zones in and around state and national parks and other
protected areas, prohibitions within residential areas and other
areas where conflicts with nonconsumptive uses may be reasonably
anticipated to occur, area-specific limits, bag limits, and restrictions
of age and gender of animals taken.

(6) The management plan shall include, but is not limited to,
the following provisions:

(A) A prohibition on trapping within two miles from the
boundaries of national and state parks and preserves, national
wildlife refuges, and any other public or private conservation area
identified by the department or commission following consultation
with the public.

(B) A prohibition on trapping in any begin delete county or other subarea end delete
begin insert biologically significant region end insert of the state where the department
lacks a reliable population estimate generated from data gathered
within the previous five years.

(C) A prohibition on trapping on private land without the express
written consent of the owner.

(D) Area and individual harvest limits sufficient to prevent
depletion of bobcat populations at the local scale.

(E)  begin delete License and tagging end delete begin insert Trapping license and shipping tag end insert fees
sufficient to fully offset on an annual basis the costs estimated by
the department pursuant to paragraph (3) and as otherwise required
by subdivision (c) of Section 4006.

(7) Any proposed management plan shall be prepared in
conformance with the requirements of the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of
the Public Resources Code) and other applicable laws, and be
subject to public review and comment. During the preparation of
the management plan, the department shall hold a minimum of six
public hearings, including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and
other representative areas of the state.

(b) Upon completion of any proposed management plan prepared
pursuant to subdivision (a) by the department, the commission
may promulgate regulations consistent with that plan.

(c) If no final regulations are promulgated by the commission
pursuant to subdivision (b) by July 1, 2015, the following
provisions shall take effect and shall remain in effect unless
repealed by statute.

(1) Notwithstanding Sections 4002, 4003, 4005, and 4006, and
Article 2 (commencing with Section 4030), or any provision of
the regulations adopted pursuant to this code, it is unlawful to trap
any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or
part of any bobcat taken in California, or to receive, transport, or
possess any bobcat or any part or product of any bobcat taken in
violation of this code or regulations adopted pursuant to this code.

(2) The prohibition on the trapping of bobcats pursuant to
paragraph (1) does not apply to the taking of any bobcat by
employees of the department acting in an official capacity or to a
taking in accordance with the conditions of a scientific or
propagation permit by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful
taking of bobcats found to be injuring crops or property begin delete that are
taken under depredation permits issued end delete pursuant to Section 4180
or other provisions of this code, or the regulations adopted pursuant
to this code.

(3) The prohibition on the sale or export of bobcats or any part
of a bobcat pursuant to paragraph (1) does not apply to any bobcat
or any part or product of any bobcat lawfully possessed before
July 1, 2015.

(d) Beginning January 1, 2014, it is unlawful to trap any bobcat,
or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any
bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park,
defined as follows: East and South of State Highway 62 from the
intersection of Interstate 10 to the intersection of State Highway
177; West of State Highway 177 from the intersection of State
Highway 62 to the intersection with Interstate 10; North of
Interstate 10 from State Highway 177 to State Highway 62. The
prohibition shall remain in effect irrespective of whether the
management plan and regulations contemplated in subdivisions
(a) and (b) are adopted. This prohibition on the trapping of bobcats
does not apply to the taking of any bobcat by employees of the
department acting in an official capacity or to a taking in
accordance with the conditions of a scientific or propagation permit
by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking of bobcats
found to be injuring crops or property begin delete that are taken under
depredation permits issued end delete pursuant to Section 4180 or other
provisions of this code, or the regulations adopted pursuant to this
code.

SEC. 5.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.