Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to publish an evaluation of the possibility of the reintroduction of grizzly bears.

Highlights:

• Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a roadmap that evaluates whether the reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable and the extent to which the ecological functions once provided by the grizzly bear may be restored through human-mediated landscape restoration (Sec. 3).

• Requires the roadmap to include the following (Sec. 3):

• A scientific assessment of the grizzly bear’s historical distribution in California, its historical ecology and ecological roles across the state’s ecosystems, the principal causes and processes that contributed to its extirpation from the state, and the genetic relationship between California’s historical grizzly bear population and extant grizzly populations that may serve as a potential source population for reintroduction;

• An assessment of the native species, ecological communities, ecosystem functions, and ecological processes that may have been affected, directly or indirectly, by the grizzly bear’s extirpation from California, and that may benefit from restoration of the ecological functions once provided by the grizzly bear, including through reintroduction of the species;

• An evaluation and comparative assessment of potential reintroduction areas based on ecological criteria, land ownership, habitat connectivity, landscape permeability, conflict risk, existing and needed coexistence infrastructure, community support, and any other factors the department determines relevant to long-term grizzly bear reintroduction; and

• An evaluation of potential source populations and founder population composition, including genetic diversity, sex and age structure, disease screening, animal welfare considerations, and any other considerations necessary to maintain demographic or genetic viability.

Full Bill Text