(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.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 545, Sec. 2. (SB 1386) Effective January 1, 2017.)
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