BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1973|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1973
Author: Olsen (R), et al.
Amended: 4/11/12 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM. : 9-0, 6/12/12
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe,
Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/3/12 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Protected species: take: Ferguson Slide
Permanent Restoration Project
SOURCE : Mariposa County
DIGEST : This bill allows the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) to authorize the incidental take of the endangered
limestone salamander harmed as a result of the Department
of Transportation's (Caltrans) implementation of the
Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoration Project, if DFG
determines Caltrans will adopt appropriate avoidance and
mitigation measures.
ANALYSIS : The California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened
species, except as specified. The DFG may authorize the
CONTINUED
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take of listed species if the take is incidental to an
otherwise lawful activity and the impacts are minimized and
fully mitigated.
This bill:
1. Creates a new section in the Fish and Game Code that
applies only to this highway project and the conditions
that apply to the take of the limestone salamander.
2. Requires the DFG to determine that Caltrans will adopt
avoidance and mitigation measures to protect the
salamander through enforceable commitments. These
include commitments to prevent ground disturbance when
the salamander is active during the months of December
through March, fencing of known habitat to protect entry
into the construction zone, requiring the presence of a
biological monitor during the active building phase of
the project, and removal of any salamanders that,
despite these precautions, is found in the construction
site.
This bill allows the DFG to authorize the incidental take
of the endangered limestone salamander harmed as a result
of the Caltrans' implementation of the Ferguson Slide
Permanent Restoration Project, if DFG determines Caltrans
will adopt appropriate avoidance and mitigation measures.
Background
California has provisions in CESA and natural community
conservation planning act (NCCP) that authorizes the
incidental take of threatened and endangered species under
specified conditions. However, California has four fully
protected species statutes that, respectively, prohibit the
take of fully protected mammals, amphibians, birds, and
reptiles. One of the fully protected reptiles in
California is the rare limestone salamander. This species
has a very limited range and is found only in the Merced
River canyon near Briceburg and along Bear Creek, a
tributary of the Merced River. It is not known to exist
anywhere else in the world.
In addition to its status as a fully protected species, it
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has been listed as a threatened species under CESA since
1971. The species is threatened with extinction due to,
among other things, its extremely limited range. The DFG
has established a Limestone Salamander Ecological Reserve
in Mariposa County that protects 120 acres of limestone
salamander habitat and the Bureau of Land Management has
designated 1,600 acres as the Limestone Salamander Area of
Critical Environmental Concern, which includes both
confirmed and potential limestone salamander habitat.
Caltrans is in the process of re-building State Route 140,
an important east-west highway in Mariposa County that was
closed because of two major rockslides at a place called
Ferguson Ridge. The highway is a gateway to Yosemite
National Park. In its environmental review for the
project, Caltrans has been unable to develop an alternative
that would not affect the limestone salamander.
Last year, the Legislature enacted SB 618 (Wolk), Chapter
596, Statutes of 2011, which allowed a permit to be issued
for incidental take of a fully protected species as part of
an NCCP if the species is a covered species whose
conservation and management is provided for under the NCCP.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/12)
Mariposa County (source)
Regional Council of Rural Counties
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author and the bill's
supporters are committed to the restoration of this highway
and believe that the compromise reached in the Assembly
will allow the project to proceed with appropriate
safeguards for the limestone salamander. Many state and
federal agencies communicated to the author their support
for the restoration of the highway for various economic and
public safety purposes but without specifically endorsing
the legislation.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/3/12
AB 1973
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Fletcher, Furutani, Hall, Roger
Hern�ndez, Jones, Smyth, Williams
CTW:k 6/26/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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