The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board within the Department of Fish and Wildlife to investigate, study, and determine what areas within the state are most essential and suitable for wildlife production and preservation, among other things. Under existing law, the board administers various habitat conservation programs.

This bill would require the board to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Diablo Range Conservation Program and, pursuant to the program, to approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range, as defined, consistent with conservation strategies approved by the department. The bill would authorize the board to establish an ad hoc advisory committee, as specified. The bill would authorize the board to provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and tribes California Native American tribes to be used for various purposes, including the acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and maintenance and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources within and adjacent to the Diablo Range. The bill would establish the Diablo Range Conservation Fund in the State Treasury and would make moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of the program. The bill would authorize the board to accept moneys, grants, goods, or services contributed to it by public agencies or private entities or persons and would require those moneys to be deposited in the Donation Account, which the bill would establish in the fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the account to the board for purposes of the program, thereby making an appropriation.

Existing law generally makes it unlawful to sell, purchase, harm, take, possess, transport, or shoot a projectile at, a tortoise of the genus Gopherus. Existing law, however, does not prohibit the possession of a tortoise of the genus Gopherus if the owner can demonstrate that the tortoise was legally acquired and possessed before the effective date of this provision.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Date of Hearing: May 7, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1426

Author:(Kalra) – As Amended Ver:April 10, 2025

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill establishes the Diablo Range Conservation Program Act to protect, preserve, and restore the Diablo Range’s natural, cultural, and physical resources through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands.

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1. Requires the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), the Diablo Canyon Conservation Program (Program) with specified purposes and goals.
2. Requires WCB to approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range, consistent with conservation strategies approved by DFW, and to coordinate its activities undertaken pursuant to the Program with the resource protection activities of WCB and other state agencies.
3. Requires that the preservation and restoration of the Diablo Range landscape habitat be a primary concern of WCB and DFW, and of all state agencies whose activities impact habitat within the Diablo Range.
4. Authorizes WCB to provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and California Native American tribes for specified purposes.
5. Requires WCB, to the extent feasible, to give preference to projects that use the services of the California Conservation Corps or Community Conservation Corps, as specified.
6. Establishes the Diablo Canyon Conservation Fund (Fund) in the State Treasury to receive proceeds from bonds or other appropriations made in the annual Budget Act or other statutes for the benefit of the Diablo Range and related lands. Requires that moneys in the Fund be available, upon appropriation, for purposes of this bill. Requires that moneys received by WCB pursuant to this bill be deposited in the Fund, unless otherwise provided by the State General Obligation Bond Law. Requires WCB to administer the moneys appropriated to it for purposes of the Program and authorizes WCB to expend those moneys for capital improvements, land acquisition, support for the Program’s operations, and other purposes consistent with this bill. Provides that the Fund is continuously appropriated.
7. Authorizes WCB to accept money, grants, goods, or services contributed to it by a public agency or a private entity or person. Requires that these moneys be deposited in the Donation Account, which the bill establishes in the Fund.
8. Authorizes WCB, upon receipt of goods and services, to use those goods and services for purposes of this bill.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1) DFW estimates ongoing staffing and operational costs to WCB of approximately $500,000 annually to establish and administer the Program (General Fund, special fund, or bond funds). DFW anticipates workload to establish a new program within WCB similar in scope to WCB’s other conservation programs. Staff would be responsible for soliciting, selecting, managing, and maintaining projects that meet the requirements of the bill.

2) Ongoing cost pressures of an unknown but significant amount, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars annually (General Fund, special fund, or bond funds), for WCB to fund habitat acquisition, preservation, restoration, and enhancement projects under the Program.

While the bill creates the Diablo Canyon Conservation Fund in the State Treasury, it does not identify a source of funding for the Fund or for the Program.

WCB notes, to date, it has directed over $100 million in funding to projects in the Diablo Range through existing programs, and WCB’s existing conservation programs provide opportunities to conserve habitat within the range. Further, once appropriated, funds allocated to WCB in the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (Proposition 4) may be used to address conservation priorities within the Diablo Range. Proposition 4 authorizes $870 million to WCB for grant programs to protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources and habitat and achieve the state’s biodiversity, public access, and conservation goals. Eligible activities include land acquisition and habitat enhancement and restoration – which may be aligned with the goals of this bill.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

The Diablo Mountain Range is one of California’s most precious ecological treasures, providing access to pristine natural land to hundreds of rare and culturally important species and millions of Californians that live in nearby towns and urban centers….Yet, despite its innumerable benefits, we have only afforded protections to approximately a quarter of the Range, leaving the other three quarters at risk of irreversible damage. AB 1426 will help to address this shortfall by establishing the Diablo Range Conservation Program within the Wildlife Conservation Board, giving the Board the ability to approve and provide grants for projects that preserve and enhance the Range.

2) Background. The Diablo Range spans over 200 miles from Contra Costa to Kern Counties, covering over 3.5 million acres of some of the state’s most diverse lands and landscapes. Writing in support of the bill, Save Mount Diablo notes the Diablo Range is rich in biodiversity, home to hundreds of rare and endangered species, and features a significant wildlife corridor with important wildlife migratory patterns. The organization contends that this bill will establish a program similar to the California Desert Conservation Program, established by AB 1183 (Ramos), Chapter 380, Statutes of 2021. According to Save Mount Diablo, the conservation program created by this bill is intended to “elevate the biological and recreation importance of the [Diablo Range] in meeting the goals of 30x30, “Outdoors for All,” and associated fire risk reduction efforts advancing in the state.”

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 28, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Isaac G. Bryan, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1426 (

Author:Kalra) – As Amended Ver:April 10, 2025

SUBJECT: Diablo Range Conservation Program

SUMMARY: Establishes the Diablo Range Conservation Program Act to preserve, and restore the Diablo Range’s natural, cultural, and physical resources through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the California Natural Resources Agency (NRA), which oversees six state departments, 11 conservancies, 17 boards and commissions, three councils, and one urban park in Los Angeles that consists of two museums. (Government Code 12805)
2. Establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to investigate, study, and determine what areas within the state are most essential and suitable for wildlife production and preservation, and will provide suitable recreation, and authorize the acquisition of real property, rights in real property, water, or water rights as may be necessary, among other things. (Fish and Game Code 1320 – 1357)
3. Establishes 11 conservancies under the NRA to oversee restoration projects, land acquisitions, and recreational opportunities, among other things, in their respective regional jurisdictions. (Public Resources Code (PRC) Divisions 21-23.6)
4. Establishes the Santa Clara Valley Open-Space Authority and requires remote ranchlands east of the westernmost ridgeline of the Diablo Range to be acquired as permanent open space only from willing sellers through conservation easement or fee title purchases or the granting of lands or conservation easements by owners to the authority. (PRC 35152)
5. Authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into a restoration agreement with Save Mount Diablo, a nonprofit organization, for the purpose of restoring the Mount Diablo Beacon on top of the Summit Building in Mount Diablo State Park. (PRC 5080.36.2)
6. Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Program (Proposition 12), approved by voters in 1991, authorized $250,000 Mount Diablo State Park. (PRC 5096.310 (w))

THIS BILL:

1. Establishes the Diablo Range Conservation Program Act.
2. Defines the following terms:
   1. “Diablo Range” as all areas extending from Carquinez Strait and Mount Diablo in the north to Orchard Peak, Polonio Pass, and State Route 46 in the south. The Diablo Range is bounded on the west by the San Francisco Bay, the Santa Clara Valley, State Route 101, and the Salinas Valley, and on the east by the San Joaquin River and Valley, and State Route 5.
   2. “Fund” as the Diablo Range Conservation Fund.
   3. “Program” as the Diablo Range Conservation Program.
   4. “California Native American Tribe” has the same definition as PRC 21073.
3. Requires WCB to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), the Program with the purpose and goal to do all of the following:
   1. Protect, preserve, and restore the Diablo Range’s natural, cultural, and physical resources through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands;
   2. Promote the protection and restoration of the biological diversity of the Diablo Range including the recovery of threatened and endangered species;
   3. Provide for resilience within the Diablo Range to climate change, including, but not limited to, reducing the risk of natural disasters such as wildfires, controlling invasive species, protecting and improving habitat connectivity, and protecting soil carbon stores by limiting ground disturbance;
   4. Protect and improve air quality and water resources within the Diablo Range; and,
   5. Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public, with an emphasis on expanding opportunities for education and access to public lands for communities that currently lack access.
4. Requires WCB to approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range, consistent with conservation strategies approved by DFW, and coordinate its activities undertaken pursuant to the program with other resource protection activities of the board and other state agencies.
5. Requires the preservation and restoration of the Diablo Range landscape habitat to be a primary concern of WCB and DFW, and of all state agencies whose activities impact habitat within the Diablo Range.
6. Authorizes WCB to provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and California Native American tribes to be used for one or more of the following purposes:
   1. The acquisition, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources, including resources impacted by wildfire, within and adjacent to the Diablo Range;
   2. The improvement and expansion of public access, recreational areas, and recreational facilities, including trails;
   3. The enhancement of interpretive and educational facilities related to the Diablo Range and its natural, cultural, and historic resources; and,
   4. The control and removal of invasive species and the propagation of native species.
7. Requires, to the extent feasible, WCB to give preference to projects that use the services of the California Conservation Corps or Community Conservation Corps.
8. Establishes the Fund in the State Treasury to receive proceeds from bonds or other appropriations made in the annual Budget Act or other statutes for the benefit of the Diablo Range and related lands. Moneys in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of this chapter. Moneys received by the board pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the Fund, unless otherwise provided by the State General Obligation Bond Law. WCB shall administer the moneys appropriated to it for purposes of the program and may expend those moneys for capital improvements, land acquisition, support for the program’s operations, and other purposes consistent with this bill.
9. Authorizes WCB to accept money, grants, goods, or services contributed to it by a public agency or a private entity or person. Moneys received shall be deposited in the Donation Account, which is established in the Fund.
10. Provides that the Fund is continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years to WCB.
11. Authorizes, upon receipt of goods and services, WCB to use those goods and services for the purposes of this bill.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement:

The Diablo Mountain Range is one of California’s most precious ecological treasures, providing access to pristine natural land to hundreds of rare and culturally important species and millions of Californians that live in nearby towns and urban centers. It also serves as a critical wildlife corridor, allowing plants and animals to safely spread and migrate into other regional ecosystems. Yet, despite its innumerable benefits, we have only afforded protections to approximately a quarter of the Range, leaving the other three quarters at risk of irreversible damage. AB 1426 will help to address this shortfall by establishing the Diablo Range Conservation Program within the Wildlife Conservation Board, giving the Board the ability to approve and provide grants for projects that preserve and enhance the Range. With a centralized hub to coordinate and sustain work in the Diablo Range, California will be in a better position than ever to meet this critical conservation need.

1. Diablo Range. The Diablo Range extends from the Carquinez Strait in the north to Orchard Peak and Polonio Pass in the south, near the point where State Route 46 crosses over the Coast Ranges at Cholame, as described by the United States Geological Survey. It is bordered on the northeast by the San Joaquin River, on the southeast by the San Joaquin Valley, on the southwest by the Salinas River, and on the northwest by the Santa Clara Valley and San Francisco Bay.

In fact, the Diablo Range spans approximately 200 miles north to south and crosses twelve counties and covers 3.5 million acres—five times larger than Yosemite National Park.

The Diablo Range attracts far more raptors than coastal forests, such as red-tailed hawks. Golden eagle nesting sites are found in the Diablo Range, reaching their highest density in southern Alameda County. The Bay checkerspot butterfly, a federally listed threatened species, has habitat in the Range, especially at Mount Diablo. The California tiger salamander, also a federally threatened species and a vulnerable species of amphibian native to Northern California, lives in ponds in the range. The northern Pacific rattlesnake is thriving, as are many ground squirrels, hares, and various species of native and nonnative rodents. Tule elk were restored to Mount Hamilton between 1978–1981 and are slowly recovering in several small herds in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties.

Despite the ecological richness of the Diablo Range and the threats from energy development, suburban sprawl, and proposed dams and reservoirs, it has received remarkably little protection. In fact, only about 25% (875,000 acres) of the Range’s land currently possesses any level of protection, and that has been through piece-meal efforts. Mount Diablo State Park covers about 20,000 acres, and other parks, including Alum Rock Park, Grant Ranch Park, Henry W. Coe State Park, Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, and the federal Clear Creek Management Area, cover smaller swaths of the Diablo Range. Some private land is held in conservation easements by the California Rangeland Trust, and around 100,000 acres have been protected by The Nature Conservancy. Save Mount Diablo, a nonprofit conservation group in the San Francisco Bay area, has worked to preserve space with local partners, like the East Bay Regional Park District, and plant native trees and plants.

The Coyote Valley Conservation Program is a comprehensive planning project for restoration of the Coyote Valley, which provides a critical corridor for wildlife migrating between the Santa Cruz Mountains and Diablo Range. The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (Proposition 4) authorizes $25 million for the State Coastal Conservancy to protect and restore watersheds through the Coyote Valley Conservation Program in the County of Santa Clara. Funding to the Coyote Valley Conservation Program will help support the Diablo Range, but is emblematic of the patchwork conservation efforts for the Diablo Range.

1. This bill. This bill requires WCB to establish and administer the Diablo Range Conservation Program and approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range. Under the Program, WCB would provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and California Native American tribes to be used for acquisition, restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources within and adjacent to the Diablo Range.
2. Double referral. This bill was heard in the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee on April 8 and approved by a vote of 10-2.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Association of Local Conservation Corps
Save Mount Diablo

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Paige Brokaw / NAT. RES. /

Date of Hearing: April 8, 2025

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE

Diane Papan, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1426 (

Author:Kalra) – As Amended Ver:March 10, 2025

SUBJECT: Diablo Range Conservation Program

SUMMARY: Requires the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to establish the Diablo Range Conservation Program (Program). Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires WCB to establish the Program to:
   1. Protect, preserve, and restore the Diablo Range’s natural, cultural, and physical resources through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands;
   2. Promote the protection and restoration of the biological diversity of the Diablo Range including the recovery of threatened and endangered species;
   3. Provide for resilience within the Diablo Range to climate change, including, but not limited to, reducing the risk of natural disasters such as wildfires, controlling invasive species, protecting and improving habitat connectivity, and protecting soil carbon stores by limiting ground disturbance;
   4. Protect and improve air quality and water resources within the Diablo Range; and
   5. Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public, with an emphasis on expanding opportunities for education and access to public lands for communities that currently lack access.
2. Requires WCB to approve projects to acquire, preserve, restore, and enhance habitat within the Diablo Range consistent Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) approved conservation strategies and in coordination with other resource protection activities of the state.
3. Determines that preservation and restoration of the Diablo Range landscape habitat should be the primary concern of WCB and CDFW.
4. Allows WCB to provide grants for:
   1. The acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources, including resources impacted by wildfire, within and adjacent to the Diablo Range;
   2. The improvement and expansion of public access, recreational areas, and recreational facilities, including trails;
   3. The enhancement of interpretive and educational facilities related to the Diablo Range and its natural, cultural, and historic resources; and
   4. The control and removal of invasive species and the propagation of native species.
5. Requires WCB to give preference to projects that use the services of the California Conservation Corp or Community Conservation Corps.
6. Prevents WCB from funding or implementing projects on lands without the written consent of the landowner, controlling the use of another entities land except as provided pursuant to a written agreement, levy any tax or special assessment or own or acquire land.
7. Allows for the establishment of an ad hoc advisory committee, as specified.
8. Creates the Diablo Range Conservation Fund.
9. Defines terms for the purposes of the Program.
10. Makes findings and declarations regarding the value of conserving the Diablo Range.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes WCB in CDFW and describes board membership [Fish and Game Code (FGC) § 1320].
2. Authorizes the WCB to acquire property, water, or water rights as deemed necessary to carry out WCB’s program objectives (FGC § 1348).
3. Permits CDFW to apply for and accept federal grants, receive gifts, donations, and other financial support from private sources to be deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Fund or the Fish and Game Preservation Fund for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement (FGC § 1348).
4. Specifies that upon acquisition of property, WCB shall notify all owners of adjacent parcels of land of the intent to purchase (FGC § 1348.1).
5. Permits CDFW to enter into agreements with any other department, agency, or nonprofit for construction, management, or maintenance of the facilities (FGC § 1350.1).

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose of this bill. According to the author, “The Diablo Mountain Range is one of California’s most precious ecological treasures, providing access to pristine natural land to hundreds of rare and culturally important species and millions of Californians that live in nearby towns and urban centers. It also serves as a critical wildlife corridor, allowing plants and animals to safely spread and migrate into other regional ecosystems. Yet, despite its innumerable benefits, we have only afforded protections to approximately a quarter of the Range, leaving the other three quarters at risk of irreversible damage. [This bill] will help to address this shortfall by establishing the [Program] within the [WCB], giving the [WCB] the ability to approve and provide grants for projects that preserve and enhance the Range. With a centralized hub to coordinate and sustain work in the Diablo Range, California will be in a better position than ever before to meet this critical conservation need.”
2. Background. California’s Diablo Mountain Range sits within the Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains ecoregion, which has a Mediterranean climate and associated vegetation communities of grassland, chaparral, and oak woodlands. The Diablo Range stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area to State Route 46, passing through Contra Costa, Alameda, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Merced, San Benito, Fresno, Monterey, Kings, San Luis Obispo, and Kern counties. The range is named after Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County. According to the Save Mount Diablo (SMD) website, the Diablo Range covers 5,400 square miles and has many peaks, some of which are taller than Mount Diablo with the tallest peak being San Benito Mountain at 5,241 feet.

The SMD website states that the range is extremely important for wildlife and it is crossed only by two major highways at Altamont and Pacheco Passes. It is core habitat for wildlife in California is responsible for providing California with a stable golden eagle population, despite that species’ decline in the rest of western North America. Tule elk, nearly hunted to extinction in the 1970s, have recovered quickly in the Diablo Range. Bay checkerspot butterflies have their last stronghold along Coyote Ridge just above San Jose. SMD also indicates that the Diablo Range offers great habitat for California condors to expand into as they recover from the brink of extinction and could also be the source for replenishing the genetic diversity of mountain lion populations in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Boundary of the Diablo Range from SMD. This range includes Pinnacles National Park, Mount Diablo State Park, Henry W. Coe State Park, and Pacheco State Park. A more detailed map of land holdings is available in SMD’s 2023–2024 annual report.

SMD also indicates that the Diablo Range is threatened by energy development (both alternative and fossil fuel-based energy), suburban sprawl, and proposed dams and reservoirs. Wind turbines endanger golden eagles and other birds. The Panoche Valley, part of the Diablo Range, now has a 4,800-acre solar farm.

WCB. Created by the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947, WCB is a state grant-making agency dedicated to safeguarding California's spectacular biological diversity and wild spaces by working in partnership with tribes, conservation organizations, and government agencies to acquire lands and design and implement habitat restoration and public access projects statewide. The Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Program (HERP) was WCB's first program. HERP encompassed all restoration projects until other WCB programs were initiated in 1990. Today WCB administers 17 programs that support projects in every corner of the state and in each one of California’s terrestrial ecosystems. These programs may be based on geography or habitat type and include Riparian Habitat Conservation Program, Oak Woodlands Conservation Program, San Joaquin River Conservancy Program, and the Lower American River Conservancy Program, to name a few. HERP continues to support a wide variety of restoration projects that do not fall within WCB’s other mandated programs, as these projects are distributed throughout California and across all habitat types.

As a result of numerous programs, budget lines, and propositions, WCB is currently tracking 76 unique funds, each with its own prescriptive use. This number will increase to 82 after voters approved Proposition 4. Funds received through Proposition 4 are mostly for existing programs within WCB except for $22 million for the southern Ballona Creek Watershed and $180 million for projects to improve habitat connectivity and establish wildlife crossings and corridors, which includes $80 million for establishing a San Andreas Corridor Program (SACP). There may be significant geographic overlap between SACP and the program established in this bill, however, according to the sponsors, the goal of establishing this Diablo Range Conservation program is to better support conservation on the Mount Diablo Range and be competitive for non-earmarked WCB funds.

As noted above, some programs support certain habitat types, while HERP supports projects distributed throughout the state. Within the boundary described, WCB has funded 75 projects. Most recently, WCB funded a property acquisition by Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency in Santa Clara near Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve, and a property acquisition in Contra Costa County by SMD near Mount Diablo State Park.

1. Proposed committee amendments. To reduce redundancy with existing statute, simplify the program, and make other conforming changes, the Committee may wish the author to consider the following amendments:

Amendment 1 – clarify boundary and definitions

1462. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Advisory committee” means the ad hoc advisory committee authorized to be established pursuant to Section 1467.

(b) “Board” means the Wildlife Conservation Board established pursuant to Section 1320.

(c) “Diablo Range” means all areas extending from Carquinez Strait and Mount Diablo in the north to Orchard Peak, Polonio Pass, and Antelope Valley and State Route 46 in the south. The Diablo Range is bounded on the west by the San Francisco Bay, the Santa Clara Valley, State Route 101, and the Salinas Valley, and on the east by the San Joaquin River and Valley, and State Route 5.

(d) “Fund” means the Diablo Range Conservation Fund established pursuant to Section 1468.

(e) “Program” means the Diablo Range Conservation Program established pursuant to Section 1463.

(f) “California Native American Tribe” has the same definition as Section 21073 of the Public Resources Code.means any federally recognized Native American tribe or a nonfederally recognized Native American tribe listed on the California Tribal Consultation List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission.

Amendment 2 – make clarifying and technical changes

1465. (a) In order to accomplish the purposes of this chapter the program, the board may provide grants to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and California Native American Tribes tribes to be used for one or more of the following purposes:

(1) The acquisition, restoration, and enhancement, and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources, including resources impacted by wildfire, within and adjacent to the Diablo Range.

Amendment 3 – remove redundancy with existing statute

1466.  In administering the program, the board shall not do any of the following:

(a) Fund or implement projects on lands without the written consent of the landowner.

(b) Manage, regulate, or control the use of any land owned or leased by another public agency or private party, except as provided pursuant to a written agreement between that public agency or private party.

(c) Levy any tax or special assessment.

(d) Own or acquire land.

Amendment 4 – remove ad hoc advisory committee

1467.  (a) The board may establish an ad hoc advisory committee that may consist of the following members:

(1) Members from boards of supervisors or their representatives representing counties located within the boundaries of the Diablo Range.

(2) Members from city councils or their representatives representing incorporated jurisdictions located within the boundaries of the Diablo Range.

(3) Representatives from the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Finance, and the State Lands Commission.

(4) Members of the public at large who have a demonstrated knowledge of, and expertise in, the landscape within the Diablo Range.

(b) A person shall not continue as a member of the advisory committee if that person ceases to hold the office that qualifies that person for membership. In that event, the person’s membership on the advisory committee shall automatically terminate.

(c) Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation.

(d) Meetings of the advisory committee shall be open to the public and subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

1. Arguments in support. SMD (sponsors) write in support of this bill and claim that the Diablo Range will be key for the state to achieve its 30x30 goals. They note that only 25% of the lands within the range are currently protected and the Diablo Range has rich biodiversity and recreational opportunities. SMD shares that creating the program is an important runway for creating a Diablo Range National Monument.
2. Double referral. This bill is also referred to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
3. Related legislation. AB 1183 (Ramos), Chapter 380, Statutes of 2021, establishes the California Desert Conservation Program in WCB.

AB 2421 (Stone), Chapter 760, Statutes of 2018, establishes the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Rescue Pollinator Rescue Program in WCB.

AB 109 (Ting), Chapter 249, Statutes of 2017, establishes the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program in WCB.

AB 1716 (McCarty, Cooley), Chapter 375, Statutes of 2016, establishes the Lower American River Conservancy Program in WCB.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Save Mount Diablo

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Stephanie Mitchell / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096