Policy Of State - General Provisions - Public Resources - CA

Section § 9001

This law emphasizes the importance of resource conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience for California's prosperity. The state aims to lead in protecting soil, water, and biodiversity, planning around climate change impacts like wildfires and drought. Resource conservation districts are key to achieving these goals.

The law's purpose includes collaboration with federal agencies and local districts, promoting practices that conserve essential resources, and organizing conservation districts focused on climate resilience and carbon emission reduction. Districts can support projects on public or private lands for resource enhancement but cannot conserve water for power purposes or produce power.

(a) The Legislature hereby declares all of the following:

(1) Resource conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience are of fundamental importance to the prosperity and welfare of the people of this state. The Legislature believes that the state must assume leadership in formulating and putting into effect a statewide program of soil, water, and biodiversity conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience and related natural resource conservation.

(2) The climate crisis is happening now, impacting California in unprecedented ways, including intensifying wildfires, mudslides, floods, and drought, sea level rise, and extreme heat, that threaten our economy, communities, public safety, and cultural and natural resources.

(3) Resource conservation districts are important partners to the state in achieving the state’s ever-evolving goals to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance natural resources and to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

(4) This division is enacted to accomplish the following purposes:

(A) To provide the means by which the state may cooperate with the United States and with resource conservation districts organized pursuant to this division in securing the adoption in this state of conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience practices, including, but not limited to, farm, range, open space, urban development, wildlife, recreation, watershed, water quality, and woodland, best adapted to save the basic resources, soil, water, and air of the state from unreasonable and economically preventable waste and destruction.

(B) To provide for the organization and operation of resource conservation districts for the purposes of the protection, conservation, restoration, or enhancement of natural resources, the improvement or enhancement of adaptation or resilience to climate change, the mitigation or sequestration of carbon emissions on natural lands and working lands, soil and water conservation, the control of runoff, the prevention and control of soil erosion, and erosion stabilization, including, but not limited to, these purposes in open areas, agricultural areas, urban development, wildlife areas, recreational developments, watershed management, the protection of water quality and water reclamation, the development of storage and distribution of water, and the treatment of each acre of land according to its needs.

(b) The districts, in addition to any other authority provided by law, may do all of the following:

(1) Ensure consistency with the authorities and policies of the United States, this state, counties, cities, public districts, other resource conservation districts, persons, associations, and corporations.

(2) With the consent of the owner, construct on privately or publicly owned lands any necessary works for the protection, conservation, restoration, or enhancement of natural resources, the improvement or enhancement of adaptation or resilience to climate change, the mitigation or sequestration of carbon emissions, or the prevention and control of soil erosion and erosion stabilization.

(3) Facilitate coordinated resource management efforts for watershed restoration and enhancement.

(4) Develop and implement projects and programs for the conservation, enhancement, restoration, adaptation, and resilience of soil, water, and biodiversity and related natural resource conservation.

(c) The districts shall not conserve water for power purposes or produce or distribute power for their own use or for the use of others.

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Section § 9001.5

The state of California recognizes the importance of protecting and managing natural and working lands as a key approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts help in removing carbon from the air and storing it in the ecosystem.

Beyond carbon benefits, managing these lands offers other public advantages like climate change adaptation, better water quality, flood protection, biodiversity conservation, and recreational and economic benefits.

State agencies must consider these policies when making decisions related to these lands and work together with landowners to align with greenhouse gas reduction goals.

'Working lands' include areas used for farming and forestry, while 'natural lands' cover forests, wetlands, parks, and more. This section doesn't alter existing local or state authorities over these lands.

(a) It is the policy of the state that the protection and management of natural and working lands is an important strategy in meeting the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The protection and management of those lands can result in the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the sequestration of carbon in, above, and below the ground.

(b) The protection and management of natural and working lands provides multiple public benefits, including, but not limited to, assisting with adaptation to the impacts of climate change, improving water quality and quantity, flood protection, ensuring healthy fish and wildlife populations, and providing recreational and economic benefits.

(c) All state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California Environmental Protection Agency, and their respective departments, boards, and commissions, shall consider the policy set forth in this section when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, expenditures, or grant criteria relating to the protection and management of natural and working lands. State agencies shall implement this requirement in conjunction with the state’s other strategies to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and with the intent to, among other things, promote the cooperation of owners of natural and working lands.

(d) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Working lands” means lands used for farming, grazing, or the production of forest products.

(2) “Natural lands” means lands consisting of forests, grasslands, deserts, freshwater and riparian systems, wetlands, coastal and estuarine areas, watersheds, wildlands, or wildlife habitat, or lands used for recreational purposes such as parks, urban and community forests, trails, greenbelts, and other similar open-space land. For purposes of this paragraph, “parks” includes, but is not limited to, areas that provide public green space.

(e) Nothing in this section shall affect the existing authority of a city, county, city and county, state agency, department, commission, or board relating to natural and working lands.

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Section § 9002

This law declares that building and maintaining projects for resource conservation, whether on private or public land, benefits everyone. The government can use public funds for planning, designing, and carrying out these projects, seeing this as a way to serve the general public interest.

It is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination:

(a) That the construction and maintenance on privately or publicly owned land of works for resource conservation is in the general public interest and for the general public benefit.

(b) That the expenditure of state, county, city, district, or other public funds that are available or may become available for planning, designing, or implementing the above and for the construction or maintenance of such control or preventive works on privately or publicly owned land constitutes expenditure for the general public benefit.

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Section § 9003

This section explains that resource conservation districts in California are officially recognized as not-for-profit parts of the state's legal framework. Specifically, when dealing with contracts involving state agencies, these districts are to be treated as state agencies themselves.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that resource conservation districts are legal subdivisions of the state and, as such, are not-for-profit entities. For the purpose of contracting with state agencies only, resource conservation districts shall be considered agencies of the state.

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