Cities and counties may soon consider the impact of development on wildlife connectivity in their land-use plans after a law was passed aimed at promoting safe travel in habitat fragmented by urban sprawl and freeways.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it last week. AB 1889Which instructs local leaders to identify connectivity areas and then “avoid, mitigate or minimize” impacts on them so that animals can move about unhindered to find food, shelter and mates. Although not essential, this may include building crossings, erecting wildlife-safe fencing and setting aside land.
The legislation, called the Room to Roam Act, “helps local officials plan for safe development so that California’s resilient wildlife has the chance to survive and thrive,” said JP Rose, urban wildland policy director. Center for Biological DiversityWho sponsored the bill.
By front-loading consideration of wildlife connectivity, he said, “planners, builders and communities have a clearer picture of which areas are safe to build on, for both people and wildlife.” This issue has not been resolved by the end of the planning process.
Another top objective of the law is to involve cities and counties in a statewide effort to protect wildlife movement. another successful law A bill passed two years ago required the California Department of Transportation to prioritize wildlife crossings when planning new road projects. But advocates fear local governments could greenlight developments that would disrupt protections supported by taxpayers.
The latest legislation is “an effort to get everyone moving in the same direction,” said Mary Galloway, California program director. Wildlands NetworkCo-sponsor of the bill, told the times After the bill gets approval from the Legislature. Room to Roam requires local jurisdictions to identify existing and planned routes so as not to undermine them.
Supporters say that if successful, the legislation will help protect California’s biodiversity. For some animals, such as the genetically isolated mountain lions in Southern California’s Santa Monica and Santa Ana Mountains, safe passage between fast-moving freeways and concrete landscapes may prevent a risk. extinction vortex,
Supporters of a wildlife crossing being built over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills hope it will provide a lifeline for isolated cougars suffering from inbreeding. The Room to Roam Act, as envisioned, would prevent local jurisdictions from site development that could hinder such an effort.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Winston Vickers, former director of California Mountain Lion Project At the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, he said he sees the new law as a “natural extension” of the law focused on roadways.
“Because roads not only hinder animal movement, but also hinder growth,” said Vickers, who is an associate research veterinarian at the center.
Vickers believes these efforts can help solve inbreeding Among the pumas in Santa Ana which is traversed by I-15. Curled tails and low semen quality suggest that these mounts suffer from a restricted gene pool.
“Apparently, it doesn’t take much to help prevent inbreeding from getting worse,” he said. It takes about one breeding animal per generation – every two to four years – to cross I-15. But this is not happening.
Regarding providing routes, “We expect that some improvements will certainly be better than no improvements at all,” he said. (there are Initial phase efforts underway to increase connectivity for lions,
Cities and counties decide where development will go based on long-term planning documents, called general plans. But Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), author of AB 1889, said state law does not provide clear guidance on how to address connectivity in their planning process.
Supporters of the new law say it will help close that gap.
“Without the Room to Roam Act, local governments are not required to designate essential areas to preserve landscapes for wildlife connectivity,” said Beth Pratt, California’s regional executive director, in a statement. National Wildlife Federation and is a major force behind wildlife contact efforts.
In a statement, Friedman highlighted the bill’s potential benefits to people as well as animals.
“It is important that migratory animals can pass through California without being struck and killed on our roads or posing a threat to humans,” he said. He described it as a common sense planning bill, which will protect as well as save human and animal life. Our ecosystems.”
Under the new law, local governments are required to address connectivity in their general plans the next time they update an element of their plan on or after Jan. 1, 2028.
The implementation date was pushed back three years in response to concerns raised by stakeholders, including the California chapter of the American Planning Association. Following amendments to the bill, the association took a neutral stance but expressed concern about the resources required to carry out state orders affecting local planning.
“Planners are attempting to keep pace with the level and scale of new planning-related legislation being passed year after year, however many jurisdictions lack the resources in terms of both funding and staff capacity to cope with the challenges imposed by “These are the new mandates,” Eric De Kock, vice president of policy and legislation for the association’s California chapter, said in a letter to Friedman.
According to the state Senate Appropriations Committee, there are anticipated significant but unknown costs for cities and counties undertaking the updates. These costs are not reimbursed by the state.
Efforts to promote wildlife connectivity in the Golden State have gained momentum in recent years. It is considered to be the largest wildlife crossing in the world Moving on a 10-lane freeway Seen near Los Angeles while this summer launch an initiative Efforts are being made to leverage public and private resources to create safer routes for animals across the state. Federal legislation to support housing connectivity was also introduced,
California lawmakers recently took aim at another top threat to wildlife: rat poison. Last week, Newsom signed a bill Ban all use of rat blood-thinning poisons, which move up the food chain when hunters eat dead or sick rats.
