BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 559
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
559 (Lopez)
As Introduced February 23, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+---------------------|
|Water |10-4 |Levine, Dahle, Dodd, |Bigelow, Beth |
| | |Cristina Garcia, |Gaines, Harper, |
| | |Gomez, Lopez, Medina, |Mathis |
| | |Rendon, | |
| | |Ridley-Thomas, | |
| | |Williams | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Jones, Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Weber, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to
take actions to conserve Monarch butterflies and their habitats.
Specifically, this bill:
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1)Authorizes the DFW to take actions to conserve Monarch
butterflies and the unique habitats they depend on for
successful migration. Specifies that such actions may include,
but are not limited to habitat restoration on department lands,
education programs, and voluntary agreements with private
landowners.
2)Authorizes DFW to partner with federal agencies, nonprofit
organizations, academic programs, private landowners, and others
that undertake actions to conserve Monarch butterflies and aid
their migration, including the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV).
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the DFW and sets forth the duties of the DFW which
include administering various programs for protection and
conservation of fish and wildlife, including restoration and
conservation of habitat. Defines wildlife to include all wild
animals, birds, plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and related
ecological communities, including the habitat upon which the
wildlife depends.
2)Provides a process for the listing of threatened and endangered
species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the
California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The federal ESA
covers insect species whereas CESA does not.
3)Establishes a policy of the state that the DFW and Fish and Game
Commission (FGC) use ecosystem-based management informed by
credible science in all resource management decisions to the
extent feasible. Establishes a policy of the state that the DFW
and FGC seek to actively participate in effective partnerships.
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4)As part of the California Wildlife, Coastal and Park Land
Conservation Fund of 1988 (Proposition 70), authorized
expenditure of $2 million in bond funds by the Wildlife
Conservation Board (WCB) for acquisition of Monarch butterfly
habitat.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minimal state costs. DFW currently has broad authority for
activities including those listed in this bill.
2)Potential unknown cost pressures. DFW estimates the costs of a
full-scale restoration project to be approximately $4,000 per
acre or higher depending on site conditions. Partnering with
other entities would result in smaller costs per project or
acre. It is unknown how many acres or projects would be
attempted under the provisions of this bill. However, this bill
authorizes but does not require DFW to participate in any
projects. It is assumed DFW would not initiate a project
without adequate funding.
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COMMENTS: The author has introduced this bill to clarify that the
DFW has authority to take action to conserve Monarch butterflies
and their special habitats for successful migration. This bill
also encourages the DFW to partner with other organizations that
undertake actions to protect monarchs, including the MJV.
Background information provided to the policy committee indicates
that there has been a rapid decrease in the Monarch butterfly
population, which is particularly troubling because monarchs have
long been considered both an indicator of ecological health and a
representative of pollinator populations, according to National
Geographic. The main food source of the caterpillars is milkweed.
Conversion of prairies to cropland and increased use of
herbicides has significantly reduced the amount of milkweed. The
California drought has also contributed to the lack of food
sources for the caterpillars and butterflies.
The MJV is a partnership of federal and state agencies,
non-governmental organizations and academic programs that are
working together to support and coordinate efforts to protect the
monarch migration across the lower 48 states. The MJV reports
that the largest factors impacting monarch populations in North
America are loss of habitat for breeding, migrating and
overwintering, in addition to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,
and climate change. The MJV notes that ensuring the availability
of quality habitat is critical for the conservation of any species
and that today monarchs in the United States are particularly
vulnerable due to reduced abundance of milkweed and nectar plants
in the landscape, and diminishing overwintering habitat in
California. The report notes that monarchs to the west of the
Rocky Mountains overwinter along the Pacific coastline of
California and move inland in the spring to reproduce, and that
research, monitoring and land management planning in this area are
needed to sustain both breeding and overwintering habitats for the
western monarch population.
According to the annual census taken at the monarch's wintering
grounds in Mexico in 2013, the population dropped by 59% compared
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to the prior year's census, bringing the monarch's numbers to the
smallest registered population in almost two decades. While
monarch populations made some modest gains in 2014, the population
continues to be at significant risk. A petition to list the
Monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the ESA is
currently under review at the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
This bill clarifies the state DFW's authority to take actions and
participate in partnerships to conserve Monarch butterflies.
Currently, the Fish and Game Code does not expressly address
butterflies or other insects, although the DFW has broad authority
to take actions to conserve all wildlife. The definition of
wildlife in the code includes all wild animals and related
ecological communities including the habitat upon which they
depend. Since butterflies and other insects are part of the
animal kingdom, and are part of the ecological communities of
other wildlife, a good argument can be made that the DFW has
existing authority to take actions to conserve them. This bill
removes any ambiguity or uncertainty by expressly granting DFW
such authority.
Prior legislation related to this bill includes: AB 1671, Chapter
540, Statutes of 1987, which required DFW to inventory areas of
critical habitat for winter roosting sites for Monarch butterflies
on or before July 1, 1988, and appropriated $12,000 from the
Environmental License Plate Fund to DFW for purposes of preparing
the inventory; and SCR 66 (McPherson), Resolution Chapter 54,
Statutes of 2004, which declared February 5, 2004, as California
Western Monarch Day.
Supporters of this bill assert that Monarch butterflies hold an
important position in the ecosystem as pollinators and depend on
their habitats to complete a successful migration through
California. Monarch butterflies have experienced a population
decline of more than 80% since the 1990s and without the ability
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to protect these habitats there is a risk of these butterflies
suffering further population loss. This bill would help to
protect these essential habitats through restoration, education
programs, and voluntary agreements with private landowners.
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN:
0000202