Friends old and new we have some major news to announce. Last week a lawsuit was filed challenging the decision by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to grant a Restoration Management Permit to the Catalina Island Conservancy WITHOUT mandating the process know as CEQA. This is the California Environmental Quality Act which mandates public agencies identify, disclose, and mitigate significant environmental impacts of proposed projects affecting California citizens. What does this all mean? Here's our little Q & A to help you keep informed!
Who are the parties to this lawsuit?
Plaintiffs/Petitioners are: Safari Club International, the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the California Bowman Hunters/State Archery Association, Howl for Wildlife Inc, the California Deer Association and the Coalition to Save Catalina Island Deer.
Defendants/Respondents are: California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Wildlife South Coast Region.
Real Party in Interest is: the Catalina Island Conservancy.
What is the lawsuit called?
This lawsuit is called a "VERIFIED PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDATE OR OTHER APPROPRIATE RELIEF".
What the heck does this legal language mean?
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is the state agency responsible for issuing permits that affect wildlife. Catalina Island deer are a public wildlife resource held for the benefit of the people of California—they do not belong to the Catalina Island Conservancy.
Recently, the state created a new kind of permit called a Restoration Management Permit (RMP) as part of its “Cutting the Green Tape” program. In some cases, that permit can be paired with what is called a Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP). A SERP allows a project to bypass the normal CEQA process—the California Environmental Quality Act—which is the law that usually requires careful environmental review and meaningful opportunities for public input before a major project is approved.
This lawsuit challenges the State’s decision to give the Conservancy that CEQA exemption as part of the newly approved RMP. In plain terms, the lawsuit argues that the State should not have allowed this project to move forward without full environmental review and a real public process first.
Friends, the concerns surrounding the plans the Conservancy has for Catalina Island have only continued to grow in recent months. Why won't the Conservancy use the latest technology (drone survey) offered to them FREE by Howl for Wildlife to determine an accurate deer count and instead insist that spotlight surveys are sufficient? Why is a senior Los Angeles County Fire official repeatedly testifying in public that removing the deer may INCREASE the fuel load and DECREASE the ability to fight a fire on Catalina Island. Why are not formal objections by the City of Avalon, State Senator Lena Gonzalez, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and most recently the Los Angeles County Bar Association part of the public process. We are part of this lawsuit in order to ensure that common sense prevails.
We continue to be grateful to our fellow organizations, our public officials, and YOU, our supporters, for keeping this fight alive. We will continue to keep you informed of all developments as soon as we are able!