Governor Signs SB 1370 to Accelerate Eligible Wildfire Risk Reduction Projects

10.01.2026
Corey Alling
Local, Regional, State, Environmental, Natural Resources

On September 29, 2026, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 1370 to among other things replace the temporary 2025 Emergency Proclamation streamlining process for critical wildfire risk reduction projects with an ongoing statutory program that will expedite an array of covered vegetation treatment projects. The statutory process includes procedural requirements, eligible project qualifications, compliance with the State Environmental Protection Plan, and an explicit exclusion of pesticide use (including herbicides). The full article summarizes key SB 1370 provisions important for all proponents, foresters, consultants, and lead agencies involved with vegetation treatment projects for wildfire risk reduction.

Emergency Projects: Navigating Regulatory Compliance

09.16.2026
Corey Alling
Natural Resources, State, Federal, Private Developer

California's recent storm seasons show how quickly severe weather can threaten infrastructure, public safety, and natural resources. Looking ahead, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) current forecast indicates a greater than 90 percent chance of a very strong El Niño this fall and winter. For infrastructure owners, managers, and other project proponents, that outlook underscores the value of assessing vulnerable assets now and understanding how emergency repairs could be authorized under accelerated regulatory pathways. Permit requirements do not disappear because of an emergency. Work may need to proceed quickly while still addressing any impacts on wetlands, waterways, special-status species, and other sensitive resources. Learn how to prepare regulatory and permitting strategies in advance, before an emergency makes them urgent.

Proposition 45 and the Future of CEQA: What the November Ballot Initiative Would Change

This November, California voters will decide on Proposition 45, a ballot initiative that would create a new, expedited CEQA compliance track for eight categories of “essential projects,” including housing, clean energy, water, and transportation. The initiative does not exempt these projects from CEQA. Instead, it introduces firm application and documentation timelines, a new tribal consultation framework, and substantial changes to how impact significance and legal challenges are evaluated. These changes touch nearly every stage of the CEQA process for essential projects, from vesting rights and comment period limits to a narrowed alternatives analysis for EIRs, with implications for public agencies and project applicants alike.

“Bee” Prepared: New CDFW Guidance for Candidate Bumble Bees

08.25.2026
Corey Alling
Local, Regional, State, Natural Resources

Four bumble bee species are candidates for listing under the California Endangered Species Act and receive the same take protections as listed species during candidacy. New non-regulatory guidance from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife summarizes the species’ ecology and life histories, and provides recommendations for habitat assessment, surveys, impact avoidance and minimization at various stages of the life cycle, and best management practices for common project activities. When suitable habitat is present, project proponents should consider whether take authorization may be needed, even if candidate bumble bees are not detected during surveys. Early evaluation of habitat and potential impacts can help project proponents and land managers incorporate feasible avoidance measures into project designs and determine whether surveys and/or take authorization may be needed.

Putting SB 79 into Practice

07.08.2026
Corey Alling
Urban Design + Planning, Local, Regional, State

Senate Bill 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, took effect on July 1, 2026, marking another significant step in California's continued effort to increase housing opportunities near transit. SB 79 makes qualifying transit-oriented housing developments an allowed use on certain residential, mixed-use, and commercial sites near specified transit stops in urban transit counties. Although the law establishes a statewide framework, how each jurisdiction administers SB 79 will depend on local transit geography, zoning, development standards, site constraints, and housing capacity goals. In the full article, learn how cities are evaluating those factors and translating SB 79 into the maps, analysis, procedures, and local implementation approaches needed to administer the law.

Local Government Streamlining of Oak Tree Permits – Los Angeles County’s Approach

05.27.2026
Corey Alling
Private Developer, Natural Resources, Local, Regional, State

In 1982, Los Angeles County adopted the Oak Tree Permit (OTP) Ordinance, establishing one of California’s first comprehensive protected tree regulations and a model for municipalities across the state. Now, the Los Angeles County Planning Department is updating the OTP Ordinance to streamline permitting, improve mitigation standards, and encourage early project planning with the goals of minimizing impacts to protected oaks and expediting the permitting process. A draft updated ordinance is expected to be released for public review in 2026. As one of California's most influential protected tree frameworks, this update has implications well beyond Los Angeles County.

ClearPath 2.0 in Practice: Lessons from Elk Grove’s Climate Compass

05.11.2026
Corey Alling
Local, Regional, Special District, Climate

How can communities move from static climate action plans to tools that actively support decision‑making, tracking, and public transparency? ICLEI USA, ClimateView, the City of Elk Grove, and Ascent are hosting a free webinar that takes a practical look at how ClearPath 2.0 is being used to bring Elk Grove’s Climate Compass to life. The City of Elk Grove is the first California jurisdiction to implement ClearPath 2.0 in support of a new climate action plan. This session draws directly from that implementation experience, including the choices made during setup, what required iteration, and how the platform was adapted to serve staff, decision-makers, and the public alike.

Streamlining Synopsis: Expedited Environmental Review Opportunities for Wildfire Safety Projects

03.26.2026
Corey Alling
Regional, State, Federal, Special District, Environmental, Natural Resources, Local

With two of the most destructive fires in California history occurring in January 2025, the state acted urgently to prioritize additional measures that would expedite the implementation of projects to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk. In enacting SB 131 (2025), the legislature established a new statutory CEQA exemption for four types of priority vegetation management projects that improve defensible space, increase community safety, and create strategic fuel breaks. In the March 2025 State of Emergency proclamation, Governor Newsom suspended state environmental statutes and regulations (including CEQA, CESA, and the Coastal Act) to speed up critical, near-term fuels reduction projects, and in December 2025 he extended the suspension window to May 1, 2026. New categorical exclusion procedures and emergency situation determinations at the federal level also expedite environmental review, particularly under NEPA.

Federal Compliance Deadlines for Accessible PDFs and Digital Documents Are Approaching

03.09.2026
Corey Alling
Local, Regional, State, Federal, Urban Design + Planning, Environmental, Natural Resources, Climate

For people who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers, inaccessible government documents are more than an inconvenience. They can be a barrier to essential services. A federal rule under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II is changing that, requiring state and local government websites, mobile apps, and online documents including PDFs to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards. Compliance deadlines are approaching fast, with the first arriving April 24, 2027, for agencies serving populations of 50,000 or more. Read on to learn what’s required and how Ascent can help.

Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan – Comprehensive Management Actions

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife prepared the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan to provide a set of management actions to conserve western Joshua trees in California. As a tool to conserve a species that is abundant now but is projected to lose future habitat due to climate change, the Conservation Plan was developed in collaboration with the California Fish and Game Commission, governmental agencies, California Native American Tribes, and the public. The Conservation Plan serves as a landmark commitment by CDFW to integrate co-management principles with the Tribes by incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into species conservation and providing for the relocation of western Joshua trees to Tribal lands upon a request from a Tribe.

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Corey Alling

Project Learning

01.13.2026

by Hannah Weinberger; Jessie Quinn, PhD; and Linda Leeman, CWB

Government Agencies, Tribes, and the Public Collaborate to Create the Plan

Western Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) is an iconic plant species with substantial ecological and cultural importance in California. The major threats to western Joshua tree include human activities, climate change, and wildland fire. The combined threats to western Joshua tree, coupled with the species’ biology and specific habitat requirements, are causes for substantial concern about the ability of the western Joshua tree population to persist in California long term. Without some level of direct management, the future of the species will largely depend on its ability to withstand continued habitat loss and to adapt to the hotter and drier conditions that are expected due to climate change.

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) designated the western Joshua tree as a candidate for listing as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) in September 2020. In addition, the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act (Act) was passed and signed into law in July 2023 to conserve western Joshua tree and its habitat. The Act requires multiple actions by the Commission and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), which include the development and implementation of a Western Joshua Tree Conservation Plan (Conservation Plan) in collaboration with the Commission, governmental agencies, California Native American Tribes, and the public. CDFW developed the Conservation Plan based on the best available information, consisting of “credible science” as defined in California Fish and Game Code Section 33, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Conservation Plan Vision, Purpose, and Objectives

The vision of the Conservation Plan is to prevent the extinction of western Joshua tree in the wild, preserve functioning ecosystems that support the species, and maintain sustainable populations of western Joshua tree in California over the long term, such that listing the species under CESA will not be warranted. The Conservation Plan’s purpose is to fulfill the requirements articulated in Fish and Game Code Section 1927.6 and guide the conservation of western Joshua tree in California by focusing on the most urgent and important management actions. The following objectives of the Conservation Plan are identified in the Act:

Describe management actions necessary to conserve western Joshua tree and objective, measurable criteria to assess the effectiveness of such actions
Provide guidance for the avoidance and minimization of impacts to western Joshua trees
Include protocols for the successful relocation of western Joshua trees and provide for the relocation of western Joshua trees to Tribal lands upon a request from a Tribe
Include co-management principles and incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge into the Conservation Plan
Prioritize actions and acquire and manage lands that are identified as appropriate for western Joshua tree conservation

Voluntary Actions for Western Joshua Tree Conservation

The management actions outlined in the plan are voluntary and do not establish new regulatory protections. The Conservation Plan provides guidelines for western Joshua tree conservation, criteria to help define effectiveness of management actions and monitoring of management outcomes, and a process of adaptive management to refine and improve the management actions over time. The management actions are guidelines for conservation, while the criteria help define the effectiveness of the actions. These management actions do not create new statutory or regulatory mandates. Management actions in the Conservation Plan are in five categories:

Impact avoidance and minimization to lessen negative effects of human activities
Land conservation and management to protect existing populations and restore degraded habitat
Tribal co-management that reflects California Native American Tribes’ interests and priorities and returns traditional cultural practices back to the land
Research to inform long-term conservation and improve decision-making
Education and awareness to increase support and foster public ownership in the conservation of the species

The management actions can be incorporated into project approvals by local, state, and federal governmental agencies that authorize projects or resource management programs in the western Joshua tree’s California range. Researchers can implement management actions related to research, and private citizens and other organizations can implement actions related to education and awareness. They can be voluntarily adopted and implemented by project proponents, land managers, and philanthropists to help the species or to prevent the species from being harmed. California Native American Tribes and the State can work together to co-manage conservation consistent with the Conservation Plan’s guidance.

Tribal Engagement and Co-Management

Collaboration with Tribes and inclusion of Tribal co-management principles are critical aspects of the Conservation Plan. The Conservation Plan contains an overview of traditional uses of western Joshua tree, as well as collective experiences and knowledge, known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), related to western Joshua tree. TEK shared by Tribes influenced management actions in the Conservation Plan and informed specific standards for co-management of the species. The management actions in the Conservation Plan establish the framework needed to guide the ongoing development, incorporation, and implementation of co‑management functions and responsibilities. Meaningful co‑management requires time beyond the initial publication and approval of the Conservation Plan. CDFW is committed to maintaining a high level of collaboration with the Tribes during the implementation and subsequent updates of the Conservation Plan.

Desired Conservation Outcomes

Desired outcomes of the Conservation Plan include the following, which are some of the effectiveness criteria of the plan in Chapter 5:

By 2033, when the Commission must reconsider whether listing western Joshua tree is warranted, a large and genetically representative distribution of western Joshua tree is permanently protected and managed to maximize ecological function for the species and its co‑occurring native species.
A program to monitor and assess western Joshua tree population status based on science has been developed and adopted.
Cooperative multiagency strategies are in place to reduce fire risk, aggressively fight wildland fires that threaten western Joshua trees, and fully fund restoration plans that will be implemented in response to wildland fires that kill a demographically significant number of western Joshua trees.
Ninety percent of land within predicted climate refugia for western Joshua tree that is identified as ecologically core, ecologically intact, or moderately degraded is permanently protected and managed to maximize ecological function for the species and its co‑occurring native species [concepts in this bullet are reviewed in Chapter 4].

Adaptive Management Approach

To be effective, the Conservation Plan must be able to address near-term threats to the species and preserve existing western Joshua trees and their habitat on a site-specific scale while gathering the additional information needed to enact range-wide conservation in the long term. To achieve this goal, the Conservation Plan is designed to be implemented in an adaptive management framework within the broader context of the Act. An adaptive management framework provides a structured process that allows implementing management actions, closely monitoring and evaluating outcomes, and reevaluating and adjusting decisions as more information is learned. The framework for western Joshua tree conservation has five conceptual phases:

Prepare the Draft Plan – completed December 2024
Public Review and Plan Approval – completed August 2025
Implement the Conservation Plan – current phase
Evaluate the Plan Results – starting in 2026
Share the Results and Adjust Plan Components – starting in 2026

In accordance with the Act, starting in 2026 and at least every two years thereafter, the Commission will review the effectiveness of the Conservation Plan in conserving the species. CDFW will make recommendations to the Commission concurrent with the Commission’s review of the status of western Joshua tree. As part of this review, CDFW will recommend proposed amendments to the Conservation Plan, if needed. Any Conservation Plan amendments must be reviewed and adopted by the Commission. New information from ongoing research, monitoring, and other sources will become available over time, and adjustments will be required to keep the Conservation Plan up to date. Data will be collected at various scales, from site-specific to range-wide in California. The Conservation Plan anticipates that CDFW, in collaboration with Tribes, governmental agencies, and other entities, will continue to monitor the outcomes of management actions and will adjust future actions accordingly. CDFW will also continue to seek input from the general public regarding implementation of the Conservation Plan and its effectiveness in conserving western Joshua tree.

Western Joshua Tree Take Permitting

While the Conservation Plan does not establish new regulatory requirements, the Act established two permitting processes for take of western Joshua tree: incidental take permits and hazard management permits. Permits authorizing take of western Joshua trees may also be sought under previously established laws (e.g., CESA or Natural Community Conservation Planning Act).

In addition, the Act requires CDFW to adopt guidelines and relocation protocols, based on the best available science, to relocate western Joshua trees successfully. During development of these guidelines and protocols, CDFW was required to consult with desert native plant specialists. The Western Joshua Tree Relocation Guidelines and Protocols document is reviewed by CDFW and will be periodically updated separately from the Conservation Plan.

Conclusion

The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act represents an innovative and comprehensive approach in protecting one of California’s most iconic and imperiled desert species. The Act has multiple requirements, including development of the Conservation Plan and Relocation Guidelines and Protocols, and implementation of the western Joshua tree permitting system. For more information, please see CDFW’s Frequently Asked Questions, or contact CDFW at vog.ac.efildliw@TJW.

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