California Senate Moves to Improve Wildlife Connectivity With Room to Roam Act
August 27, 2024 - PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT
Mari Galloway, Wildlands Network, (209) 373-9973,
Email: mari@wildlandsnetwork.org
J.P. Rose, Center for Biological Diversity, (408) 497-7675, Email: rose@biologicaldiversity.org
SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The California Senate passed a bill today that would require cities and counties to protect wildlife connectivity in their land-use plans. The Room to Roam Act, Assembly Bill 1889, directs local officials to minimize harm to wildlife movement as part of their long-term planning and offers development guidelines such as incorporating wildlife-friendly fencing and lighting.
The bill, which received state Assembly support in May, now awaits the governor’s approval.
“Decades of reckless development decisions have fragmented California landscapes, and wildlife are paying the price,” said J.P. Rose, Urban Wildlands policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If we plan development with care for the natural world, our wild neighbors can have a chance to roam and ultimately thrive.”
Many animals across California are imperiled because poorly planned development has cut into their habitat, leaving them trapped and struggling to survive. Mountain lions, California red-legged frogs, mule deer, and many other animals struggle to find food and shelter, and some suffer from harmful inbreeding due to habitat fragmentation.
“California has more threatened and endangered species than any other state,” said Mari Galloway, California director at Wildlands Network. “AB 1889 is a critical tool to help our biodiversity through bridging the gap between local land-use and wildlife habitat needs.”
The bill, which is co-sponsored by the Center and Wildlands Network, complements the Safe Roads and Wildlife Protection Act, which requires the California Department of Transportation to prioritize wildlife crossing structures when improving or building roads. It also compliments the Center-sponsored California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2023 which makes landscapes safer for wildlife by limiting toxic rodenticides. The Room to Roam Act also helps California meet its 30x30 goal to conserve 30% of the state’s lands and waters by 2030.
Photo credit: California Department of Transportation. Image is available for media use.
Since 1991, Wildlands Network has been reconnecting, restoring, and rewilding North America so that life in all of its diversity can thrive.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
