Room to Roam Act (California)
A.B. 1889
This bill would help protect California wildlife and prioritize climate resilience by establishing a statewide policy requiring local governments to consider and implement measures to protect and improve wildlife connectivity through land-use planning.
Status
The Animal Legal Defense Fund supports this bill.
Sponsors: Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-44)
Introduction Date: January 22, 2024
The Room to Roam Act (A.B. 1889) would help protect California wildlife and prioritize climate resilience by establishing a statewide policy requiring local governments to consider and implement measures to protect and improve wildlife connectivity through land-use planning. The bill would require local governments to prepare a wildlife connectivity element as part of their general plans, in consultation with state and local agencies, to avoid or minimize impacts and barriers to wildlife movement. A wildlife connectivity element is a land-use component that identifies connectivity areas, permeability, and natural landscape areas within a local city or county so that planners are informed of the effect of development within the jurisdiction on fish, terrestrial wildlife, and habitat connectivity.
Wildlife connectivity planning will help ensure that wildlife can move across the landscape and find food, shelter, and unrelated mates, while also adapting to increasing extremes due to climate change, such as increases in wildfires, flooding, extreme heat, and drought. Preserving wildlife connectivity and restoring degraded habitat and open space also helps ensure that all Californians have equitable opportunities to experience the physical and mental health benefits of nature.
Why is this law important?
Land development can cause habitat degradation and fragmentation, the leading cause of species imperilment. Animals need room to roam between different habitats to find food, shelter, and unrelated mates. Continued development without consideration of connected landscapes could jeopardize California’s biodiversity.
For example, infrastructure and development in Southern California and the Central Coast isolate mountain lion populations, leading to inbreeding. If connectivity is not improved in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains in the next 50 years, scientists warn that these mountain lion populations could become extinct.
While existing policies such as the Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act and the California Environmental Quality Act address wildlife connectivity in different ways, current California law does not provide clear guidance on how local jurisdictions should address connectivity in their planning processes.
Many cities and counties have authorized the expansion of development in connectivity areas without adequate mitigation or consideration of alternatives. This impedes wildlife from reaching essential resources, leading to a cumulative effect known as “death by a thousand cuts.”
Coalition Support: Center for Biological Diversity; Wildlands Network
For more information about animal protection legislation in California and opportunities to take action for animals, visit aldf.org/california.
