Endangered species: incidental take: wildfire preparedness activities.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify exact details about exemptions or streamlined pathways, leaving some uncertainty.

Endangered Species Protection During Wildfire Preparedness

This law allows local agencies to submit wildfire preparedness plans for land at risk of fires, while protecting endangered species and their habitats.

What This Bill Does

• Allows cities, counties, special districts, or other local agencies to submit wildfire preparedness plans to the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW).
• Requires these plans to include details about planned activities, dates, and information on candidate, threatened, and endangered species in the area.
• Gives DFW permission to charge a fee for reviewing these plans.
• Informs local agencies within 90 days if they need an incidental take permit or other permits based on their plan's content.
• Requires DFW to publish a standard wildfire preparedness plan form online by July 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local government agencies responsible for fire hazard zones
• The Department of Fish and Wildlife

Terms To Know

Incidental take permit

A special permission from the state to allow some harm to endangered species during necessary activities, like wildfire preparedness.

Wildfire preparedness plan

A detailed plan created by local agencies to prepare for wildfires while protecting wildlife and habitats.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify the exact amount of fees that can be charged.
• It is unclear how many local agencies will submit wildfire preparedness plans.
• Details about exemptions or streamlined pathways are not fully defined in the summary.

Official Summary Text

AB 846, as amended, Connolly.
Endangered species: incidental take: wildfire preparedness activities.
The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of an endangered, threatened, or candidate species, except as specified. Under the act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (department) may authorize the take of listed species by certain entities through permits or memorandums of understanding for specified purposes. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving recommendations from the State Fire Marshal, as provided.
This bill would authorize a city,
county, city and county, special district, or other local agency to submit to the department a wildfire preparedness plan to conduct wildfire preparedness activities on land designated as a fire hazard severity zone, as defined, that minimizes impacts to wildlife and habitat for candidate, threatened, and endangered species. The bill would require the wildfire preparedness plan to include, among other things, a brief description of the planned wildfire preparedness activities, the approximate dates for the activities, and a description of the candidate, endangered, and threatened species within the plan area. The bill would
authorize
require
the department to impose a fee on a local agency for the cost of reviewing a wildfire preparedness plan submitted by that local agency, as specified. The bill would require the
department, if sufficient information is included in the wildfire preparedness plan for the department to determine if an incidental take permit is required, to notify the local agency within 90 days of receipt of the wildfire preparedness plan if an incidental take permit or other
state
permit is needed, or if there are other considerations, exemptions, or streamlined pathways that the wildfire preparedness activities qualify for, including, but not limited to, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s California Vegetation Treatment Program. The bill would require the department to provide the local agency, in its notification, with guidance that includes, among other things, a description of the candidate, endangered, and threatened species within the plan area and measures to avoid, minimize, and fully mitigate the take of the candidate, threatened, and endangered species, as provided. The
bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, to make a standard wildfire preparedness plan submission form publicly available on its internet website. The bill also would require the department, commencing January 1, 2027, to annually post on its internet website a summary of the wildfire preparedness plans submitted and include specified information in that summary.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF