This digest is #6 in a series of posts highlighting states that are leading the way in corridor and connectivity policies (see Colorado, Wyoming, Florida, Vermont, and New Mexico).
States that have connectivity policies enacted or introduced. More information can be found in the Corridor Policy Library. Credit: Center for Large Landscape Conservation. (Click to enlarge)
California, often at the forefront of progressive environmental policies, has demonstrated a strong commitment to maintaining and enhancing ecological connectivity within the state. As a region characterized by diverse ecosystems, abundant wildlife, and burgeoning urban development, California recognizes the critical importance of preserving wildlife corridors, habitat connectivity, and biodiversity.
California’s thriving population and urban expansion underscore the need to balance development with wildlife conservation. Ecological connectivity policies aim to mitigate the impact of infrastructure on wildlife populations. California recognizes the economic benefits of healthy ecosystems and thriving wildlife, including tourism, ecosystem services, and natural resource preservation.
For decades, California’s legislative actions have aimed to protect ecological connectivity, spanning from measures to protect wildlife corridors and habitat linkages to the approval of compensatory mitigation credits for wildlife connectivity actions.
Policy Actions
2008
- AB 2785. Wildlife Conservation: Habitat Connectivity (September 2008): directs the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to “investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages…[and] to develop and maintain a spatial data system that identifies those areas in the state that are most essential for maintaining habitat connectivity, including wildlife corridors and habitat linkages”; requires datasets and associated analytical products to be made available to the public and other government entities. AB 2785 is one of two directives leading to the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project, a joint effort of the California Department of Transportation and DFG aimed at identifying large blocks of intact habitat and modeling linkages between them to maintain as corridors for wildlife.
2015
- AB 498. Wildlife Conservation: Wildlife Corridors (October 2015): declares “the Wildlife Conservation Board use various funds… to complete a statewide analysis of wildlife corridors and connectivity to support conservation planning and climate change adaptation activities.” Moreover, “[I]t is the policy of the state to promote the voluntary protection of wildlife corridors and habitat strongholds in order to enhance the resiliency of wildlife and their habitats to climate change, protect biodiversity, and allow for the migration and movement of species by providing connectivity between habitat lands… through various means:
- Acquisition or protection of wildlife corridors as open space through conservation easements;
- Installing of wildlife-friendly or directional fencing;
- Siting of mitigation and conservation banks in areas that provide habitat connectivity for affected fish and wildlife resources;
- Provision of roadway undercrossings, overpasses, oversized culverts, or bridges to allow for fish passage and the movement of wildlife between habitat areas.”
2016
- AB 2087. Regional Conservation Investment Strategies (September 2016): creates the state’s Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) Program “to inform science-based nonbinding and voluntary conservation actions and habitat enhancement actions that would advance the conservation of focal species, including the ecological processes, natural communities, and habitat connectivity upon which those focal species depend.” A RCIS assessment can be created by any public agency to establish species-level biological goals, objectives and actions, such as land protection, habitat restoration, installation of wildlife crossings, or fish passage barrier removal. Once approved, a RCIS can serve as the basis for a Mitigation Credit Agreement, under which additional entities can gain transferrable mitigation credits based on implementation of conservation or habitat enhancement actions.
2019
- Ventura County Ordinance No. 4537 and Ventura County Ordinance No. 4539 (March 2019): amended Ventura County’s Non-Coastal Zoning Code in order to “regulate development within the habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors and the critical wildlife passage areas overlay zones” in order to “preserve functional connectivity for wildlife and vegetation throughout the overlay zone by minimizing direct and indirect barriers, minimizing loss of vegetation and habitat fragmentation and minimizing impacts to those areas that are narrow, impacted or otherwise tenuous with respect to wildlife movement.” The Ordinances regulate outdoor lighting, require setbacks from surface water and known wildlife crossings, limit installation of wildlife impermeable fencing, and prohibit planting of invasive species.
2021
- AB 149. Transportation (July 2021): authorizes the Wildlife Conservation Board to “name a nonvehicular wildlife crossing if at least 25 percent of the funding to construct the crossing derives from a state source.” In doing so, “[t]he Wildlife Conservation Board shall consult with the Department of Transportation or other appropriate entities on the design of lettering and placement of any sign that displays the name of a nonvehicular wildlife crossing.”
- SB 790. Wildlife Connectivity Actions; Compensatory Mitigation Credits (October 2021): states that the Department of Fish and Wildlife is authorized to “approve compensatory mitigation credits for wildlife connectivity actions… [that provide] permanent protection of the real property…[or] where, and to the extent permanent protection is infeasible, the wildlife connectivity action has long-term durability.”
2022
- AB 2344 Wildlife connectivity: transportation projects (September 2022): mandates the state transportation department (Caltrans) collaborate with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to pinpoint ecological “connectivity areas” in the highway system where wildlife crossing structures would minimize animal-vehicle collisions or boost habitat connectivity. Zones and a list of related transportation projects must be identified by July 2024 and updated biennially. Caltrans and CDFW will work together to uphold or rejuvenate habitat connectivity, potentially using compensatory mitigation credits. Caltrans is tasked with organizing public workshops to outline connectivity projects and implementation guidelines, under the new Transportation Wildlife Connectivity Remediation Program. Caltrans must revise the Highway Design Manual by July 2025 to encompass wildlife crossing designs and standardized plans.
Please note: This digest is intended to provide up-to-date information on policy development from a neutral, unaffiliated position as it relates to connectivity and corridor science and management.
Related Posts
State-by-state connectivity policy guide: Utah
Utah's recent initiatives solidify the state’s status as a national leader on habitat connectivity and wildlife crossings policy, particularly for migratory animals.
State-by-state connectivity policy guide: Virginia
In 2023, Virginia finalized its Wildlife Corridor Action Plan, building on years of legislation that supported landscape connectivity in a state with high biodiversity.
State-by-state connectivity policy guide: California
California has spent over a decade demonstrating a strong commitment to connectivity across a large region characterized by diverse ecosystems, abundant wildlife, and burgeoning urban development.
