Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or candidate species, except as provided. Under the act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species pursuant to an incidental take permit if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity, the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated, and the issuance of the permit would not jeopardize the continued existence of the species. The act requires the department to adopt regulations for the issuance of incidental take permits. Existing law also generally provides that a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime.
The act also provides, until January 1, 2024, that the accidental take of a candidate, threatened, or endangered species resulting from an act that occurs on a farm or a ranch in the course of otherwise lawful routine and ongoing agricultural activities is not prohibited by the act, as provided, and would require a person, when an accidental take is known to occur under these provisions, to report the take to the department within 10 days.
This bill would extend indefinitely the above-mentioned exception to the act and the related reporting requirements.
