(a) In addition to the other provisions of this article, the department may authorize acts that are or may become otherwise prohibited pursuant to Section 2000, 2080, or 2085 through an agreement, including a programmatic agreement, if all the following conditions are met:

(1) The department receives a complete application containing all of the information described in Section 2089.8.

Terms Used In California Fish and Game Code 2089.6

  • Agreement: includes an agreement with an individual landowner and a programmatic agreement. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Baseline conditions: means the existing estimated population size, the extent and quality of habitat, or both population size and the extent and quality of habitat, for the species on the land to be enrolled in the agreement that sustain seasonal or permanent use by the covered species. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Declining or vulnerable species: include candidate species, species proposed for listing as an endangered or threatened species pursuant to this chapter, or species that the department determines may, in the near future, be candidate species or proposed for listing as an endangered or threatened species pursuant to this chapter. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Department: means the Department of Fish and Wildlife, acting through its director or his or her designee. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Landowner: means any person or nonstate or federal entity or entities that lawfully hold any interest in land or water to which they are committing to implement the requirements of this article. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Management actions: means activities on the enrolled land or water that are reasonably expected by the department to provide a net benefit to the species or their habitat, or both. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Monitoring program: means a program established or approved by the department in accordance with subdivision (f) of Section 2089. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Net: means any gear made of any kind of twine, thread, string, rope, wire, wood, or other materials used for the gilling, entangling, trapping, or impounding of fish. See California Fish and Game Code 56
  • Net conservation benefit: means the cumulative benefits of the management activities identified in the agreement that provide for an increase in a species' population or the enhancement, restoration, or maintenance of covered species' suitable habitats within the enrolled property. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Programmatic agreement: means a state safe harbor agreement issued to a governmental or nongovernmental program administrator. See California Fish and Game Code 2089.4
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Fish and Game Code 73
  • Take: means hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill. See California Fish and Game Code 86

(2) The take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity.

(3) The department finds that the implementation of the agreement is reasonably expected to provide a net conservation benefit to the species listed in the application. This finding shall be based, at a minimum, upon the determination that the agreement is of sufficient duration and has appropriate assurances to realize these benefits.

(4) The take authorized by the agreement will not jeopardize the continued existence of the species. This determination shall be made based on the provisions of subdivision (c) of Section 2081.

(5) The department finds that the landowner has agreed, to the maximum extent practicable, to avoid or minimize any incidental take authorized in the agreement, including returning to baseline.

(6) The department has established or approved a monitoring program, based upon objective scientific methodologies, to provide information for the department to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the agreement program, including whether the net conservation benefits set forth in the agreement are being achieved and whether the participating landowner is implementing the provisions of the agreement.

(7) The department has determined that sufficient funding is ensured, for it or its contractors or agents, to determine baseline conditions on the property, and that there is sufficient funding for the landowner to carry out management actions and for monitoring for the duration of the agreement.

(8) Implementation of the agreement will not be in conflict with any existing department-approved conservation or recovery programs for the species covered by the agreement.

(b) If the species covered by an agreement is a declining or vulnerable species, and the species is subsequently listed as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species pursuant to this chapter, no further authorization or approval shall be required for take of the species in accordance with the agreement, regardless of the species’ change in status.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 329, Sec. 18. (SB 473) Effective January 1, 2019.)

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