SB 649: California Endangered Species Act: incidental take permits.

Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations. 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 issuance of incidental take permits. Existing law prohibits the department from issuing an incidental take permit if issuance of the permit would jeopardize the continued existence of the species. Existing law requires the department to make this determination based on the best scientific and other information that is reasonably available, and to include consideration of the species capability to survive and reproduce, and any adverse impacts of the taking on those abilities in light of (1) known population trends; (2) known threats to the species; and (3) reasonably foreseeable impacts on the species from other related projects and activities.

This bill would require the department to make that decision based on a real-time monitoring system, rather than a calendar-based schedule, and to additionally consider the proximity of the species relative to the operation of a facility subject to the permit conditions and the known location of the population relative to the facility subject to the permit. The bill would also set forth legislative declarations and findings.