From the Department of Fish and Wildlife:
Staff from CDFW’s Cutting the Green Tape program have been working hard to implement new permitting and CEQA tools for restoration projects across the state. The program’s latest legislative report for fiscal year 23-24 was recently approved and is now available on our web page and at the bottom of this post. Check out a press release from the Governor’s office and a video from the CDFW Director for more program highlights.
Below you will find further updates on the program and some notable restoration projects.
A New and Improved Restoration Management Permit (RMP)
On September 27, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 1581 to add Chapter 6.7 to the Fish and Game Code. AB 1581 consolidates five of the most common CDFW authorizations typically needed for restoration projects into a single, streamlined permit called the Restoration Management Permit (RMP). The RMP is able to provide up to five separate CDFW authorizations in a single permit designed for beneficial management and restoration activities: 1) take of CESA threatened, endangered, or candidate species; 2) take of Fully Protected Species; 3) take of plant species designated as “rare” pursuant to the Native Plant Protection Act; 4) take of other species including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, or reptiles; and 5) authorization of impacts to rivers, lakes, and streams that would otherwise be subject to a Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreement (LSAA).
The new RMP, which does not have a permit application fee, is now available to qualifying restoration projects on a limited/pilot basis. Contact your CGT Regional Support Staff Person or restorationpermitting@wildlife.ca.gov to learn more.
New RMP Project Focus – Little Butano Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement
CDFW has issued the first new Restoration Management Permit (RMP) for the Little Butano Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Project.
This project is located along Little Butano Creek, a tributary to Butano Creek in the Pescadero Creek watershed, in San Mateo County. The goal of the project is to restore fish passage at an existing 15-foot-tall chute that currently limits anadromy and aquatic species access to the Little Butano Creek watershed. Passage will be achieved through realigning part of the Little Butano Creek channel and installing large wood structures to improve habitat complexity, sediment sorting and large wood loading, which will help form deep pools providing refuge for aquatic species. Newly created floodplain benches will further trap sediments and create conditions for aquatic habitat to move and evolve with changes in flow. The Project is expected to enhance approximately 1,000 linear feet of aquatic habitat and 3.52 acres of riparian and wetland habitat for the benefit of coho salmon, steelhead trout, Pacific lamprey, California red-legged frog, southwestern pond turtle, San Francisco garter snake, California giant salamander, Santa Cruz black salamander, and San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat.
The Little Butano project also received a $3,743,263 implementation grant from CDFW’s Watershed Restoration Grants Branch – Protecting Salmon funding.
“Little Butano Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Project is currently funded through CDFW’s Watershed Restoration Grant Program, which makes the Restoration Management Permit (RMP) the perfect tool to fit the Project’s needs for expedited and all-encompassing permitting. The RMP will help the Project by providing several CDFW authorizations under one permit. This makes permitting coordination faster and easier for the applicant and increases compliance and reporting efficiencies for the Project,” said Desiree Dela Vega, Environmental Scientist with CDFW’s Bay Delta Region.
“The Restoration Management Permit is a game changer, enabling us to complete high-priority habitat restoration, like the project on Little Butano Creek, much more quickly and cost effectively in partnership with CDFW,” said Kellyx Nelson, San Mateo RCD Executive Director.
SERP Project Focus – Skey-wok Kee’ We Mech (It Needs Fire)
As we reflect on the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, scaling the use of efficient permitting to advance resilience and ecosystem health has been on our minds. CDFW recently issued a Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP) Concurrence for the Skey-wok Kee’ We Mech (It Needs Fire) Phase 1 Project, located on the Yurok Reservation in Humboldt County along the Klamath River. The project goal is to improve forest health conditions and restore habitat for native species. Project activities include cultural/prescribed fire as well as pre-and-post burning treatments to optimize the ecological benefits of landscape-level broadcast burning. The Project is expected to enhance approximately 1,173 acres for the benefit of native species, including coho salmon, Chinook salmon, green sturgeon, Del Norte salamander, foothill yellow-legged frog, northern red-legged frog, coastal giant salamander, and southern torrent salamander.
Since its inception in late 2021, CDFW’s Cutting the Green Tape program has issued 7 permits and 14 SERP Concurrences for projects related to fire resilience and forest health, with an expected 148,511 acres of habitat enhancement. For more information on these exciting projects and more, see the Cutting the Green Tape Project StoryMap.
Also check out our SERP Web page to learn more about the SERP CEQA exemption.
Restoration Workshop – Regulatory Strategies to Advance Restoration: CEQA Pathways
On January 22, 2025, the California Landscape Stewardship Network, in partnership with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), hosted a webinar as the part of the Cutting the Green Tape Webinar series. Representatives from CNRA, CDFW, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and CalFIRE came together to discuss key pathways for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.
Check out the recording to learn more!
Cutting the Green Tape_Report October 2024 Final
