AB 2001,
as amended, Mathis. begin deleteFish: fully end deletebegin insertFully end insertprotectedbegin delete species:end deletebegin insert fish: Owens River pupfish:end insert California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act.
Existing law prohibits the taking or possession of a fully protected fish, except asbegin delete provided.end deletebegin insert provided, and designates the Owens River pupfish as a fully protected fish.end insert Under existing law, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is authorized to permit the taking of a fully protected fish for necessary scientific research, including efforts to recover fully protected, threatened, or endangered species.
Existing law, the California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act, establishes a program to encourage landowners to manage their lands voluntarily, by means of state safe harbor agreements approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to benefit endangered, threatened, or candidate species without being subject to additional regulatory restrictions as a result of their conservation efforts. The act authorizes the department to authorize specified acts that are otherwise prohibited pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act by entering into a safe harbor agreement. Under existing law, the act remains in effect until January 1, 2020.
This bill would authorize the department to permit the taking ofbegin delete fully protected fishend deletebegin insert the Owens River pupfishend insert in the Owens River and Mojave River watersheds if the take is authorized under a safe harbor agreement.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2089.7 is added to the Fish and Game
2Code, to read:
The department may authorize the taking ofbegin delete fully begin insert the Owens River pupfishend insert in the Owens River and
4protected fishend delete
5Mojave River watersheds if the take is authorized under an
6agreement pursuant to this article.
Section 5515 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
8to read:
(a) (1) Except as provided in this section, or Section
102081.6, 2081.7, 2089.7, or 2835, a fully protected fish may not be
11taken or possessed at any time. No provision of this code or any
12other law shall be construed to authorize the issuance of a permit
13or license to take a fully protected fish, and no permit or license
14previously issued shall have force or effect for that purpose.
15However, the department may authorize the taking of a fully
16protected fish for necessary scientific
research, including efforts
17to recover fully protected, threatened, or endangered species.
18Before authorizing the take of a fully protected fish, the department
19shall make an effort to notify all affected and interested parties to
20solicit information and comments on the proposed authorization.
21The notification shall be published in the California Regulatory
22Notice Register and be made available to each person who has
23notified the department, in writing, of his or her interest in fully
24protected species and who has provided an email address, if
25available, or postal address to the department. Affected and
26interested parties shall have 30 days after notification is published
27in the California Regulatory Notice Register to provide relevant
28information and comments on the proposed authorization.
P3 1(2) As used in this subdivision,
“scientific research” does not
2include an action taken as part of specified mitigation for a project,
3as defined in Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.
4(3) A legally imported fully protected fish may be possessed
5under a permit issued by the department.
6(b) The following are fully protected fish:
7(1) Colorado River squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius).
8(2) Thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda).
9(3) Mohave chub (Gila mohavensis).
10(4) Lost River sucker (Catostomus luxatus).
11(5) Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps).
12(6) Shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris).
13(7) Humpback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus).
14(8) Owens River pupfish (Cyprinoden radiosus).
15(9) Unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus
16williamsoni).
17(10) Rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus).
O
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