Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Senate August 26, 2015

Amended in Senate June 16, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 559

Introduced by Assembly Member Lopez

February 23, 2015

An act to add Section 1021 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to monarch butterflies.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 559, as amended, Lopez. Monarch butterflies: conservation.

Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and sets forth the duties of that department, which include administering various programs for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife resources.

This bill would authorize the department to take begin insert feasible end insert actions to conserve monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for successful migration. The bill would authorize the department to partner with federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic programs, private landowners, and other entities that undertake actions to conserve monarch butterflies and aid their successful migration, including the Monarch Joint Venture. The bill would require the department, when undertaking actions to conserve monarch butterflies and their habitats, to use the best available science and consider taking specified actions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:

(a) Monarch butterflies are a favorite butterfly of people
throughout North America and concern for their survival brings
people together like few other wildlife species such that, in
February 2014, the United States, Mexico, and Canada joined
efforts to ensure monarch butterfly recovery.

(b) Monarch butterfly populations have declined significantly
in the past 20 years to where the eastern population has lost 90
percent of historical numbers and the western population has
shrunk to 50 percent of historical numbers. California is the only
state to host significant numbers of overwintering monarch
butterflies.

(c) While adult butterflies may obtain nectar from many different
plants, monarch caterpillars can only survive when native milkweed
plants are available for food. Of the 72 native milkweed species
in the United States, several exist in California, including six that
are endemic.

(d) Milkweed habitat and density have declined significantly
in the eastern United States, and it is suspected that they have also
declined in the West. This has negatively impacted monarch
butterflies as well as native bees, begin delete honey bees, end delete begin insert honeybees, end insert and other
beneficial insects, including insect predators of crop pests.

(e) Since nearly one-third of the most promising California
winter habitat for monarch butterflies is on privately owned land,
collaboration with landowners is critical. Fortunately, many
landowners are some of the strongest advocates for protecting and
restoring overwintering and breeding habitat for the monarch
butterfly.

(f) Current environmental protection laws, including those
concerning conservation begin delete and land use end delete planning, have not
adequately protected monarch butterflies, creating a need for
additional collaborative begin delete restoration end delete measures.

(g) While several federal agencies, including the Natural
Resource Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, the
United States Forest Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the Federal Highway Administration, are undertaking
initiatives to protect and restore monarch butterflies, California
needs to take additional initiatives to guide and support monarch
butterfly conservation.

(h) Numerous public and private research entities and
nongovernmental organizations are undertaking research and
gathering information that could significantly contribute to
California’s efforts to protect and conserve monarch butterflies.

SEC. 2.  

Section 1021 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:

1021.  

(a) The department may take begin insert feasible end insert actions to conserve
monarch butterflies and the unique habitats they depend upon for
successful migration. These actions may include, but are not limited
to, habitat restoration on department lands, education programs,
and voluntary agreements with private landowners.

(b) The department may partner with federal agencies, nonprofit
organizations, academic programs, private landowners, and other
entities that undertake actions to conserve monarch butterflies and
aid their successful migration, including the Monarch Joint
Venture.

(c) When undertaking actions to conserve monarch butterflies
and their habitats pursuant to this begin delete section or other authority, end delete begin insert section, end insert
the department shall use the best available science and consider,
as begin delete appropriate, end delete begin insert appropriate and feasible, end insert all of the following:

(1) Restoring or revegetating monarch caterpillar habitat using
regionally or locally appropriate native milkweed species.

(2) Restoring or revegetating adult monarch butterfly habitat
using regionally or locally appropriate native nectar plant species.

(3) Controlling nonnative weed species that threaten native
milkweed begin delete species end delete begin insert species, and controlling pests and disease, end insert using
current best management practices consistent with integrated pest
management principles that pose low risk to monarch butterflies
and their habitat.

(4)  Incorporating diverse tree species, structures, and
arrangements when restoring or establishing winter habitat sites
to match monarch butterfly preferences for temperature, light,
moisture, wind, and other microclimate characteristics.

begin delete

(5) Controlling pests and disease in monarch butterfly habitat
using natural biological measures and alternative nonspray weed
management strategies.

end delete begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  Increasing the number of partnerships and making the most
of partnerships to use residential and institutional landscaped areas,
agricultural noncropped lands, transportation corridors, and
conservation easements to create, restore, or enhance monarch
butterfly habitat.

begin insert

(d) The fact that a project applicant or land owner does not
enter into a voluntary agreement to protect monarch butterflies
shall not be grounds for denying a permit or agreement or
requiring additional mitigation beyond what would be required
to mitigate project impacts under other applicable laws, including,
but not limited to, the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code).

end insert