Emergency Regulation to Adopt Section 749.15, Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Re: Take of Western Spadefoot
Summary
SCH Number
2026080589
Public Agency
California Fish and Game Commission
(CDFGC)
Document Title
Emergency Regulation to Adopt Section 749.15, Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Re: Take of Western Spadefoot
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/18/2026
Document Description
The Commission will authorize the conditional take of western spadefoot during the candidacy period that may result from activities incidental to certain solar energy and solar/ battery energy storage system projects. This authorization will only apply to the projects qualifying for, and registered under, the regulation.
Contact Information
Name
Melissa Miller-Henson
Agency Name
California Fish and Game Commission
Job Title
Executive Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Austin Roy
Agency Name
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Job Title
CESA Recovery Coordinator
Contact Types
Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Cities
Adelanto, Agoura Hills, Alameda, Alamo, Albany, Alhambra, Aliso Viejo, Alturas, Amador City, American Canyon, Anaheim, Anderson, Angels Camp, Antioch, Apple Valley, Arcadia, Arcata, Arroyo Grande, Artesia, Arvin, Atascadero, Atherton, Atwater, Auburn, Avalon, Avenal, Azusa, Bakersfield, Baldwin Park, Banning, Barstow, Beaumont, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Belmont, Belvedere, Benicia, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Big Bear Lake, Biggs, Bishop, Blairsden, Blue Lake, Blythe, Booneville, Bradbury, Brawley, Brea, Brentwood, Brisbane, Buellton, Buena Park, Burbank, Burlingame, Byron, Calabasas, Calexico, California City, Calimesa, Calipatria, Calistoga, Camarillo, Cambria, Campbell, Canyon Lake, Capitola, Carlsbad, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carpinteria, Carson, Cathedral City, Ceres, Cerritos, Chico, Chino, Chino Hills, Chowchilla, Chula Vista, Citrus Heights, Claremont, Clayton, Clearlake, Cloverdale, Clovis, Coachella, Coalinga, Colfax, Colma, Colton, Colusa, Commerce, Compton, Concord, Corcoran, Corning, Corona, Coronado, Corte Madera, Costa Mesa, Cotati, Covelo, Covina, Crescent City, Cudahy, Culver City, Cupertino, Cypress, Daly City, Dana Point, Danville, Davis, Del Mar, Del Rey Oaks, Delano, Desert Hot Springs, Diamond Bar, Diamond Springs, Dinuba, Dixon, Dorris, Dos Palos, Downey, Duarte, Dublin, Dunsmuir, East Palo Alto, Eastvale, Edgewood, El Cajon, El Centro, El Cerrito, El Monte, El Segundo, Elk Grove, Emeryville, Encinitas, Escalon, Escondido, Etna, Eureka, Exeter, Fairfax, Fairfield, Fallbrook, Farmersville, Ferndale, Fillmore, Firebaugh, Folsom, Fontana, Fort Bragg, Fort Jones, Fortuna, Foster City, Fountain Valley, Fowler, Fremont, Fresno, Fullerton, Galt, Garden Grove, Gardena, Gilroy, Glendale, Glendora, Goleta, Gonzales, Gorman, Grand Terrace, Grass Valley, Greenfield, Gridley, Grover Beach, Guadalupe, Gustine, Half Moon Bay, Hanford, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hayfork, Hayward, Healdsburg, Hemet, Hercules, Hermosa Beach, Hesperia, Hidden Hills, Highland, Hillsborough, Hollister, Holtville, Hughson, Huntington Beach, Huntington Park, Huron, Imperial, Imperial Beach, Indian Wells, Indio, Indio Hills, Industry, Inglewood, Ione, Irvine, Irwindale, Isleton, Ivanhoe, Jackson, Jurupa Valley, Kerman, Kettleman, King City, Kingsburg, La Cañada Flintridge, La Canada-Flintridge, La Habra, La Habra Heights, La Jolla, La Mesa, La Mirada, La Palma, La Puente, La Quinta, La Verne, Lafayette, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Elsinore, Lake Forest, Lakeport, Lakewood, Lamont, Lancaster, Larkspur, Lathrop, Lawndale, Lemon Grove, Lemoore, Lincoln, Lindsay, Live Oak, Livermore, Livingston, Lodi, Loma Linda, Lomita, Lompoc, Long Beach, Loomis, Los Alamitos, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Angeles, Los Banos, Los Gatos, Loyalton, Lynwood, Madera, Malibu, Mammoth Lakes, Manhattan, Manhattan Beach, Manteca, Maricopa, Marina, Martinez, Marysville, Maywood, McFarland, Mendota, Menifee, Menlo Park, Merced, Mill Valley, Millbrae, Milpitas, Mineral, Mission Viejo, Modesto, Mojave, Monrovia, Montague, Montclair, Monte Sereno, Montebello, Monterey, Monterey Park, Moorpark, Moraga, Moreno Valley, Morgan Hill, Morro Bay, Mount Shasta, Mountain View, Murphys, Murrieta, Napa, National City, Needles, Nevada City, Newark, Newman, Newport Beach, Nipomo, Norco, Norwalk, Novato, Oakdale, Oakland, Oakley, Oceanside, Ojai, Olympic Valley, Ontario, Orange, Orange Cove, Orinda, Orland, Oroville, Oxnard, Pacific Grove, Pacifica, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Palmdale, Palo Alto, Palos Verdes Estates, Paradise, Paramount, Parlier, Pasadena, Paso Robles, Patterson, Pauma Valley, Perris, Petaluma, Pico Rivera, Piedmont, Pinole, Pismo Beach, Pittsburg, Placentia, Placerville, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Plymouth, Point Arena, Pomona, Port Hueneme, Porterville, Portola, Portola Valley, Poway, Quincy, Rancho Cordova, Rancho Cucamonga, Rancho Mirage, Rancho Murieta, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rancho Santa Margarita, Red Bluff, Redding, Redlands, Redondo Beach, Redwood City, Reedley, Rialto, Richmond, Ridgecrest, Rio Dell, Rio Vista, Ripon, Riverbank, Riverside, Rocklin, Rohnert Park, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead, Roseville, Ross, Sacramento, Salinas, San Anselmo, San Bernardino, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Clemente, San Diego, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Jacinto, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Juan Bautista, San Juan Capistrano, San Leandro, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos, San Marino, San Mateo, San Pablo, San Rafael, San Ramon, Sand City, Sanger, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Clarita, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Maria, Santa Monica, Santa Paula, Santa Rosa, Santee, Saratoga, Sausalito, Scotts Valley, Seal Beach, Seaside, Sebastopol, Selma, Shafter, Shasta Lake, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, Simi Valley, Solana Beach, Soledad, Solvang, Sonoma, Sonora, South El Monte, South Gate, South Lake Tahoe, South Pasadena, South San Francisco, St. Helena, Stanton, Stockton, Suisun City, Sunnyvale, Susanville, Sutter Creek, Taft, Tehachapi, Tehama, Temecula, Temple City, Thousand Oaks, Tiburon, Torrance, Tracy, Trinidad, Truckee, Tulare, Tulelake, Turlock, Tustin, Twentynine Palms, Ukiah, Union City, Upland, Vacaville, Vallejo, Van Nuys, Ventura, Vernon, Victorville, Villa Park, Visalia, Vista, Walnut, Walnut Creek, Wasco, Waterford, Watsonville, Weed, West Covina, West Hollywood, West Sacramento, Westlake Village, Westminster, Westmorland, Wheatland, Whittier, Wildomar, Williams, Willits, Willows, Windsor, Winters, Woodlake, Woodland, Woodside, Yorba Linda, Yountville, Yreka, Yuba City, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley
Counties
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba
Regions
Statewide
Other Location Info
All areas statewide where conditional take of western spadefoot during the candidacy period that may result from activities incidental to certain solar energy and solar/ battery energy storage system projects
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 7 and 8, Sections 15307 and 15308, Title 14, California Code of Regulations
Reasons for Exemption
Climate change impacts in California pose a clear threat to biodiversity in the State and are identified in the Petition for listing as a primary threat to the western spadefoot. Climate change is likely to have impacts on both breeding and upland habitat, with shifts in hydroperiod and increased temperatures (Montrone et al., 2019; C. R. Pyke, 2004; Thomson et al., 2016). Climate change is one of the greatest threats to amphibians worldwide (Luedtke et al., 2023), and climate change-driven changes in temperature and precipitation may impact reproduction, development, feeding, dispersal, ecological interactions, and immune function (Blaustein et al., 2010; Corn, 2005). The regulation is necessary to allow qualifying renewable energy projects to proceed with groundbreaking activities during western spadefoot candidacy under CESA. The projects are integral components in California’s strategy to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals and mitigate the State’s contribution to global climate change. Moreover, western spadefoot on the San Joaquin Valley floor are prevalent on managed and cultivated agricultural lands, and current agricultural practices, including plowing and tilling, can be disruptive to western spadefoot habitat. In addition, the species is highly adaptable, facilitating on-site mitigation efforts. Accordingly, solar and solar/BESS projects have the potential to provide superior habitat for western spadefoot, subject to the terms and conditions of the regulation, and therefore to provide a net conservation benefit for western spadefoot during the candidacy period for the species.
For the reasons already stated, the regulation will contribute to the “maintenance” and “protection” of the environment by enabling the timely development of renewable energy resources in the San Joaquin Valley; this, in turn, will serve California’s greenhouse gas reduction and clean energy goals. Additionally, renewable energy projects subject to the terms and conditions of the regulation will be less ecologically disruptive than current agricultural practices and, therefore, have the potential to provide superior habitat for western spadefoot.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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