CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE AND WILDLIFE SERVICES-CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCE PUBLIC SCOPING PERIOD FOR WILDLIFE DAMAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

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SACRAMENTO, September 10, 2020 – Today, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Wildlife Services-California (WS-California), a state office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, announced a 60-day public comment period as they prepare to draft a joint Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) to provide comprehensive environmental analysis of current and future wildlife damage management activities undertaken across California. 

The EIR/EIS is a crucial step as CDFA carries out its responsibility to protect California’s agricultural and natural resources and promote human health and safety. This process will allow CDFA and WS-California to conduct an environmental analysis to assess the impacts of both existing and future wildlife damage management activities. The final product will include a process to evaluate and include new developments and potential environmental impacts while providing for public participation throughout.  

The EIR/EIS will evaluate impacts associated with wildlife damage management activities performed by CDFA and California counties under CDFA’s proposed Wildlife Damage Management Program (WDMP) as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and by WS-California as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The CDFA and WS-California are initiating the public scoping period to solicit input from public agencies and members of the public regarding the development and scope of the EIR/EIS. The scoping period will begin on September 10, 2020 and conclude on November 10, 2020.

In conjunction with the public review period for the document, the CDFA and WS-California invite the public to participate by attending the public scoping meetings.  These virtual scoping meetings are an opportunity to learn about and submit feedback on the scope of the EIR/EIS and the wildlife damage management activities to be evaluated in the EIR/EIS. Due to public health and safety requirements concerning COVID-19, these public scoping meetings will be conducted virtually. Public scoping meetings are scheduled for the following dates and times:

•Tuesday,October 13 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
•Tuesday,October 27 from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

To participate via the webinar, please register here: https://dudek.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gKAL1RifTU6ZHTttnOeE0w

Comments can be submitted in the following ways:

•Via email:

info@CaliforniaWDM.org

•Via postal mail at the following address:

California WDM

2121 Broadway, PO Box 188797

Sacramento, CA 95818

•By phone at:

1-866-943-5852

To sign up for the Wildlife Damage Management Program mailing list and receive information about the proposed program and how you can participate, please visit:  www.CaliforniaWDM.org

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