BILL NUMBER: AB 1213 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2013 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom FEBRUARY 22, 2013 An act to amend Section 4000 of, and to add Section 4013 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1213, as amended, Bloom. The Bobcat Protection Act of 2013. Existing law enumerates the fur-bearing mammals that may be taken only with a trap, a firearm, a bow and arrow, or poison under a proper permit, or with the use of dogs, and requires every person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or nongame mammals designated by the Fish and Game Commission, or who sells raw furs of those mammals, to procure a trapping license. A violation of any of the provision of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under those provisions, is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified. This bill would enact the Bobcat Protection Act of 2013 that would, among other things, add the bobcat to the list of fur-bearing mammals subject to the licensing and other requirements for fur-bearing mammals specified above. This bill would authorize the Department of Fish and Game to prepare a management plan for the taking of bobcats pursuant to trappingand huntinglicenses that is based on various factors, including, among others, statewide and regional population estimates for bobcats, and an estimate of the costs to the department for implementing the management plan. The bill would require the management plan to include, among other things, a prohibition on trapping bobcats on private land without the consent of the owner. The bill would authorize the Fish and Game Commission to promulgate regulations consistent with the management plan, and would specify that if regulations are not promulgated by July 1, 2015, specified provisions would take effect, including, among others, provisions that would make it unlawful to trap or attempt to trap, or sell or export a bobcat, as specified. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2014, apply these provisions to the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, as specified. Because a violation of the provisions of the management plan and regulations adopted by the commission would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Bobcat Protection Act of 2013. SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to ensure that the bobcat (Lynx rufus) remains a fully functional component of the ecosystems it inhabits throughout its range in California. (b) The Legislature recognizes that bobcats are an irreplaceable part of California's natural habitat, and that, as predators of small mammals, bobcats play an important role in regulating the population of rodents in California's deserts, forests, and grasslands. (c) The Legislature further recognizes that millions of people visit California's national and state parks and other public and private conservation areas for the purposes of, among other things, viewing wildlife, including bobcats, and that this visitation contributes millions of dollars to California's economy. (d) The Legislature further recognizes that bobcats and other native wildlife often cross the boundaries of national parks and other protected areas into adjacent areas where the taking of bobcats is currently allowed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code and the regulations adopted pursuant to that code. (e) While bobcats are hunted and trapped primarily for their fur, rather than being classified as "fur-bearing mammals" under the Fish and Game Code, bobcats are considered "nongame mammals" under the laws of this state and consequently current California laws and regulations provide no limits on the sex, age, location, or number of bobcats that may be taken by licensed trappers on private and public lands in California where the taking of wildlife is not otherwise prohibited. (f) Current regulations provide for the commercial sale and export of bobcat pelts taken by hunters or trappers in California. (g) The Legislature further finds that a rise in the demand for bobcat pelts in China and other foreign markets has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of trappers taking bobcats as well as in the number of bobcats taken for commercial purposes in California. (h) Reliable population estimates do not exist for bobcats statewide in California and neither the Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Fish and Game Commission possesses adequate data to determine a sustainable harvest limit for bobcats. SEC. 3. Section 4000 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4000. The following are fur-bearing mammals: pine marten, fisher, mink, river otter, gray fox, red fox, kit fox, raccoon, beaver, badger, bobcat, and muskrat. SEC. 4. Section 4013 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 4013. (a) The department may prepare a plan setting forth a proposed management regime for the taking of bobcats pursuant to trappingand huntinglicenses. The management plan shall be based upon and include the following: (1) A current population estimate for bobcats at thestatewide, regional, and countystatewide and regional levels. The estimate shall be generated using modern population census techniques, such as mark and recapture studies, scat and track surveys, DNA sampling, and camera trapping. The estimate may not be based solely upon harvest data or habitat modeling. For each area included in the population estimate, the department shall rely upon recent area-specific data on bobcat abundance and population trend. Consistent with the requirements of Section 703.3 that all resource management decisions be informed by credible science, the department shall, to the maximum extent practicable, rely upon recent published, peer-reviewed studies in generating the population estimate. (2) An estimate of maximum sustainable harvest limits for bobcats at thestatewide, regional, and countystatewide and regional levels. The estimate shall be based upon California-specific studies on bobcat fecundity, survivorship, and habitat use, accounting for the differences among ecosystems within the state. The estimate shall take into account other sources of human-caused mortality to bobcats such as road mortality, rodenticide poisoning, and habitat loss. In determining a sustainable harvest level, the department shall, consistent with the requirements of Section 1755, consider not just the continued viability of bobcats, but also the goal of maintaining bobcat abundance so as to not appreciably diminish either their role in ecosystem maintenance or the likelihood and opportunity of bobcat encounters for nonconsumptive uses such as wildlife viewing. (3) An estimate of the full costs to the department of implementing the management plan, including the costs of administering, monitoring, and enforcing a harvest regime. (4) An estimate of the full economic and ecosystem values of bobcats in California, including their role in regulating rodent populations, and the economic contributions of nonconsumptive uses such as tourism, wildlife viewing, photography, and property values. (5) A full consideration of restrictions on harvest, including no-harvest zones in and around state and national parks and other protected areas, prohibitions within residential areas and other areas where conflicts with nonconsumptive uses may be reasonably anticipated to occur, area-specific limits, bag limits, and restrictions of age and gender of animals taken. (6) The management plan shall include, but is not limited to, the following provisions: (A) A prohibition on trapping within two miles from the boundaries of national and state parks and preserves, national wildlife refuges, and any other public or private conservation area identified by the department or commission following consultation with the public. (B) A prohibition on trapping in anycounty or other subareabiologically significant region of the state where the department lacks a reliable population estimate generated from data gathered within the previous five years. (C) A prohibition on trapping on private land without the express written consent of the owner. (D) Area and individual harvest limits sufficient to prevent depletion of bobcat populations at the local scale. (E)License and taggingTrapping license and shipping tag fees sufficient to fully offset on an annual basis the costs estimated by the department pursuant to paragraph (3) and as otherwise required by subdivision (c) of Section 4006. (7) Any proposed management plan shall be prepared in conformance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) and other applicable laws, and be subject to public review and comment. During the preparation of the management plan, the department shall hold a minimum of six public hearings, including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other representative areas of the state. (b) Upon completion of any proposed management plan prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) by the department, the commission may promulgate regulations consistent with that plan. (c) If no final regulations are promulgated by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b) by July 1, 2015, the following provisions shall take effect and shall remain in effect unless repealed by statute. (1) Notwithstanding Sections 4002, 4003, 4005, and 4006, and Article 2 (commencing with Section 4030), or any provision of the regulations adopted pursuant to this code, it is unlawful to trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any bobcat taken in California, or to receive, transport, or possess any bobcat or any part or product of any bobcat taken in violation of this code or regulations adopted pursuant to this code. (2) The prohibition on the trapping of bobcats pursuant to paragraph (1) does not apply to the taking of any bobcat by employees of the department acting in an official capacity or to a taking in accordance with the conditions of a scientific or propagation permit by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking of bobcats found to be injuring crops or propertythat are taken under depredation permits issuedpursuant to Section 4180 or other provisions of this code, or the regulations adopted pursuant to this code. (3) The prohibition on the sale or export of bobcats or any part of a bobcat pursuant to paragraph (1) does not apply to any bobcat or any part or product of any bobcat lawfully possessed before July 1, 2015. (d) Beginning January 1, 2014, it is unlawful to trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, defined as follows: East and South of State Highway 62 from the intersection of Interstate 10 to the intersection of State Highway 177; West of State Highway 177 from the intersection of State Highway 62 to the intersection with Interstate 10; North of Interstate 10 from State Highway 177 to State Highway 62. The prohibition shall remain in effect irrespective of whether the management plan and regulations contemplated in subdivisions (a) and (b) are adopted. This prohibition on the trapping of bobcats does not apply to the taking of any bobcat by employees of the department acting in an official capacity or to a taking in accordance with the conditions of a scientific or propagation permit by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking of bobcats found to be injuring crops or propertythat are taken under depredation permits issuedpursuant to Section 4180 or other provisions of this code, or the regulations adopted pursuant to this code. SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.