2720-2729
FISH AND GAME CODE
SECTION 2720-2729
2720. Moneys available for the purposes of this chapter pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 5930) of Division 5.8 of the Public Resources Code shall be deposited in the Wildlife and Natural Areas Conservation Fund, which is hereby created. Money deposited in the fund shall be available for appropriation by the Legislature to the Wildlife Conservation Board, for expenditure pursuant to the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947, for the following programs: (a) Forty-one million dollars ($41,000,000) for the preservation of highly rare examples of the state's natural diversity through the acquisition, enhancement, restoration, or protection, or a combination thereof, of lands supporting California's unique, fragile, threatened, or endangered plants, animals, and natural communities. (b) Six million dollars ($6,000,000) for the acquisition, enhancement, restoration, or protection, or a combination thereof, of critical habitat areas for fish, game mammals, and game birds, including, but not limited to, the following types: (1) Winter deer ranges. (2) Wild trout or steelhead nursery and spawning areas. (3) Significant routes of migration for wildlife. (4) Breeding, nesting, and forage areas for sage grouse and other upland game birds. For purposes of this subdivision, "enhancement" includes the construction or development of facilities for furnishing public access to lands or waters open to the public for fishing, hunting, or shooting. (c) Three million dollars ($3,000,000) for the acquisition, enhancement, restoration, or protection, or any combination thereof, of lands providing habitat for threatened, endangered, or fully protected species, such as the bald eagle, San Joaquin kit fox, desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, peregrine falcon, and California condor. 2721. Funds available pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2720 shall be expended to acquire, enhance, restore, or protect lands in California on which any of the following naturally exists: (a) A unique species or natural community, whose existence at a single location in California is the only known occurrence in the world of that particular species or natural community. (b) A species that occurs in only 20 or fewer locations in the world, at least one of which is in California. (c) A natural community that occurs in only 50 or fewer locations in the world, at least one of which is in California. (d) An assemblage of three or more highly rare species or natural communities, or any combination thereof, of which at least one of the species or natural communities is found only in 20 or fewer locations in the world. 2722. (a) Whenever the application of the criteria specified in Section 2721 results in the identification of two or more parcels of land that are essentially indistinguishable as to their quality, preference shall be given to the parcel on which exists the species that is more threatened or more endangered. (b) Whenever the application of the criteria specified in Section 2721 results in the identification of two or more parcels of land that are essentially indistinguishable as to their quality and the degree of threat to, or endangerment of, the species existing on them, preference shall be given to the parcel on which exists the best example of the species. As used in this subdivision, "best example" means the parcel of land and the wildlife inhabiting it which, in balancing all the factors present, represents, as determined by the board, the stronger combination of all of the following: the better condition, higher quality, easier defensibility, greater likelihood of long-term viability, and the lesser costs to be incurred by the department in operating and maintaining the parcel. 2723. (a) Of the total amount available pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 2720, not more than five million dollars ($5,000,000) may be encumbered for any single acquisition project. In enacting this limitation, the people of California recognize that there are a number of important projects meeting the criteria of this chapter but whose acquisition cost would most likely exceed this limitation. Therefore, in these instances any acquisition cost in excess of this limitation may be met by a donation by the owner, donations of funds from private sources, or other funds from state or nonstate sources. (b) The qualification for or allocation of a grant or grants to a local agency under Section 2720 shall not preclude eligibility for an additional allocation of grant funds to the same local agency pursuant to Section 2720 of this code or Section 5907 of the Public Resources Code. 2724. (a) In choosing among two or more parcels of land to be acquired, enhanced, restored, or protected with funds available pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 2720, preference shall be given to acquiring, enhancing, restoring, or protecting the parcel that will result in the least cost to the department for operating and maintaining the land. (b) Funds available pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 2720 may be encumbered only for lands which constitute habitat that is subject to destruction, drastic modification, or significant curtailment of habitat values. 2725. No funds available pursuant to this chapter shall be encumbered for any lands that, due to their degraded character, will not sustain plants or wildlife or will not afford protection to a natural community on a long-term basis. 2726. With respect to any lands which may be acquired, enhanced, restored, or protected with funds under this chapter and which could also be eligible for funds under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2600), funds under this chapter shall not be encumbered for those lands until it is determined by the Wildlife Conservation Board that funds are not likely to be available for those lands under that Chapter 7. 2727. No funds available for appropriation under this chapter may be encumbered for any purpose described in Section 1353 of the Fish and Game Code. 2728. An annual amount, not to exceed three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) may be appropriated from the fund in the 1988-89 through 1998-99 fiscal years, in an amount to be determined in each annual appropriation, to the Wildlife Conservation Board for expenditure for costs incurred by the board and the department in administering this chapter, including, but not limited to, preacquisition studies, planning, appraisals, surveys, and closing costs. The Wildlife Conservation Board and the department may augment, as needed, any amount thus appropriated with any funds appropriated to it from any other source. 2729. (a) For the purpose of administering this chapter, the Wildlife Conservation Board and the Department of Fish and Game shall augment its existing staff, whenever possible, by contracting for those services necessary for the administration of this chapter. Any contract shall, however, be entered into only pursuant to Sections 19130 to 19132, inclusive, of the Government Code and shall be only for the minimum period necessary for completion of the particular project or projects for which the contract was entered into. (b) Due to the limited duration of the program authorized by this chapter, in the event some services cannot be provided by contract, any personnel directly hired by the Wildlife Conservation Board for the administration of this chapter shall be hired, to the extent permitted by Article 2 (commencing with Section 19080) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, as limited-term appointments.