(a) The provisions of this chapter are not intended and shall not be construed as authorizing any public agency to mandate, prescribe, or otherwise regulate agricultural operations or management practices, including the clearing of land for agricultural practices or fire control measures.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1911, timber operations in accordance with a timber harvesting plan submitted pursuant to the provisions of the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (commencing with Section 4511 of the Public Resources Code), or required mining assessment work pursuant to federal or state mining laws, or the removal of endangered or rare native plants from a canal, lateral ditch, building site, or road, or other right-of-way by the owner of the land or his agent, or the performance by a public agency or a publicly or privately owned public utility of its obligation to provide service to the public, shall not be restricted by this chapter because of the presence of rare or endangered plants, except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (a) and (b) of this section, where the owner of land has been notified by the department pursuant to Section 1903.5 that a rare or endangered native plant is growing on such land, the owner shall notify the department at least 10 days in advance of changing the land use to allow for salvage of such plant. The failure by the department to salvage such plant within 10 days of notification shall entitle the owner of the land to proceed without regard to this chapter. Submission of a timber harvesting plan pursuant to the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (commencing with Section 4511 of the Public Resources Code) shall constitute notice under this section. Converting from one type of agricultural use, as defined in Section 51201 of the Government Code, to another type of agricultural use shall not constitute a change in land use.

(Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1181.)