BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1520
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Nancy Skinner, Chair
AB 1513 (Evans) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : State lands: wilderness areas
SUMMARY : Requires the Secretary of Resources (Secretary) and
State Lands Commission (SLC) to review state-owned roadless
areas under their respective jurisdictions and report to the
Legislature on their suitability for preservation as wilderness.
EXISTING LAW : The California Wilderness Act (Chapter 1196,
Statutes of 1974),
1)Establishes a California wilderness preservation system
composed of: 1) state-owned areas designated by the
Legislature as "wilderness areas" and; 2) units of the state
park system classified as "state wilderness" by the State Park
and Recreation Commission. These areas are to be administered
for the use and enjoyment of the people in such manner as will
leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as
wilderness.
2)Defines a "wilderness area" as a 5000 acre area of land of
relatively undeveloped state-owned land which has retained its
primeval character and influence or has been substantially
restored to a near natural appearance, without permanent
improvements or human habitation, other than semi-improved
campgrounds and primitive latrines, and which is protected and
managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.
3)Designates areas such as Santa Rosa Mountains State
Wilderness, Mount San Jacinto State Wilderness, Sinkyone
Wilderness State Park, and portions of state lands in federal
wilderness areas such as Ventana Wilderness and Marble
Mountain Wilderness as state wilderness or wilderness areas.
4)Requires the Secretary and SLC to review state-owned roadless
areas under his or her jurisdiction and to recommend to the
Legislature the suitability of each area for preservation as
state wilderness.
5)Requires the Secretary, on or before December 1 of each year,
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to report to the Governor and Legislature on the status of the
wilderness system, including a list and descriptions of the
wilderness areas in the system, guidelines and regulations in
effect, and recommendations for additions to the system.
THIS BILL :
1)Requires the Secretary and SLC to review state-owned roadless
areas under their respective jurisdictions as of January 1,
2010 and report to the Legislature on their suitability for
preservation as wilderness. SLC must review roadless surface
areas that it holds as trustee pursuant to the School Land
Bank Act.
2)Requires the Secretary and SLC to prioritize the following
areas for review as to their suitability or nonsuitability for
preservation as wilderness:
a) Henry W. Coe State Park, Armstrong Redwoods State
Natural Reserve, Austin Creek Redwoods State Park, Robert
Luis Stevenson State Park, Knoxville Wildlife Area, and
Cedar Roughs Wildlife Area;
b) Lands under Department of Fish and Game's (DFG)
jurisdiction within or adjacent to the following federal
wilderness areas: Cache Creek Wilderness, South Fork Eel
Wilderness, and Sanhedrin Wilderness;
c) Lands under SLC jurisdiction within or adjacent to the
following federal wilderness areas and state parks: Yolla
Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, Cache Creek Wilderness; Yuki
Wilderness, and Robert Stevenson State Park.
d) State-owned roadless areas within or contiguous to
federal wilderness areas designated by Congress after
January 1, 2010 or state-owned roadless areas acquired
after January 1, 2010.
3)Authorizes SLC to enter into agreements with federal land
managers to implement the provisions of the California
Wilderness Act.
4)Includes the following conditions that must not preclude the
review of state-owned areas:
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a) The presence of privately owned areas within or
contiguous to state-owned lands;
b) Sights and sounds from activities occurring outside of
state-owned lands;
c) The existence of non-native plants and animals;
d) Ongoing or planned wildlife and vegetation management
activities that make use of motorized equipment; and
e) Evidence of past human use.
5)Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the SLC and DFG,
to develop a schedule for the review of state-owned roadless
areas identified in #2 above on or before December 1, 2010.
This schedule must be included in an annual status report
required (by existing law) to be submitted to the Legislature
each December.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The 1974 California Wilderness Act requires the
Secretary and SLC to review newly acquired state-owned roadless
areas for wilderness potential within three years of acquisition
and if these areas lie within or contiguous to federal
wilderness areas, within one year after Congress designates such
wilderness. According to the author, since 1975, the state has
acquired thousands of acres of potential state wilderness lands
that have not been evaluated for wilderness suitability.
Additionally, Congress has designated nearly 12 million acres of
new federal wilderness in California since 1975. The author
states that many of these recently designated federal wilderness
areas contain state-owned roadless lands that have not been
assessed for wilderness suitability.
According to the author, this bill is necessary in order to
focus agency attention on specific state-owned lands for
"wilderness area" consideration. The author believes that each
identified state area has unique characteristics that make it a
viable candidate for wilderness designation, and the bill would
simply require that those areas be prioritized for wilderness
review.
1)Reviewing suitability of wilderness areas. Existing law
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stipulates that the presence of privately-owned areas within
or contiguous to state-owned areas does not preclude the
review of such areas as wilderness. This bill adds other
factors, such as sights and sounds from activities occurring
outside of state-owned areas, ongoing or planned wildlife
management activities that use motorized equipment, and
evidence of past human use, that must not preclude such
review.
2)Wilderness recommendations to the Legislature are long
overdue. Existing law requires the Secretary, on or before
December 1 of each year, to report to the Governor and
Legislature on the status of the wilderness system, including
a list and descriptions of the wilderness areas in the system,
guidelines and regulations in effect, and recommendations for
additions to the system. According to the Resources Agency,
the last report submitted to the Legislature was in 1980. At
that time, the Department of Parks and Recreation was in the
process of conducting resource inventories on 3 of 35 roadless
areas identified within the state parks system and recommended
for designation as wilderness. The Resources Agency could not
explain why subsequent reports have not been prepared or
submitted to the Legislature.
In response to a nearly identical bill last year (see below),
SLC conducted a cursory review of roadless areas under its
jurisdiction and identified three parcels (surrounded by
Marble Mountain, Yolla Bolly Middle Eel, and Yuki Wilderness)
that may be suitable as wilderness areas. However, due to
budget constraints, SLC was unable to conduct the appropriate
level of review to formalize its recommendation.
3)Governor's veto message : This bill is substantially similar
to last year's AB 2923 (Evans), which the Governor vetoed
based on the following:
This bill reiterates existing law, which already
requires the Secretary of Resources Agency
(Secretary) and State Lands Commission (SLC) to
review certain state-owned lands for suitability or
non-suitability as wilderness areas and to report to
the Governor and the Legislature. Additionally, this
bill statutorily prioritizes specific state-owned
lands for review as wilderness. These specific
designations appear arbitrary and could result in the
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redirection of scarce resources from within the
agency and its departments. I prefer to let the
Secretary manage the reviews his agency and
departments are required to conduct under existing
law.
4)Proposed amendments
Existing law requires the Secretary and SLC to review wilderness
designated by Congress and roadless areas acquired by the state
after January 1, 1975. This date should be preserved in order
to retain the state's authority to review such areas, especially
if they have not been reviewed or if they need to be re-reviewed
for their suitability to remain wilderness areas.
Page 5, lines 39-40, and page 6, lines 1-5 should be amended to
read:
(1) State-owned roadless areas within or contiguous to federal
wilderness areas designated by the Congress after January 1,
1975 2010 , within one year after the designation.
(2) State-owned roadless areas under their respective
jurisdictions that are acquired after January 1, 1975 2010,
within three years of the acquisition.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Sierra Club California
Opposition
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Analysis Prepared by : Dan Chia / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092