Some CDFW permits such as lake or streambed alteration agreements and incidental take permits require that permittees mitigate the impacts of their projects. Mitigation often takes the form of land acquisition and permanent protection. This may be through the purchase of advance mitigation credits (e.g. conservation or mitigation bank credits), or permittee responsible mitigation lands acquired, preserved, and managed for their habitat value.
Real Property Document Analysis
CDFW ’s MRPDA team of right of way agents and land surveyors work with regional biologists and other staff to evaluate properties proposed for mitigation. CDFW’s MRPDA team conducts real property due diligence to ensure that a proposed mitigation property’s rights are analyzed and prepared legally for protection in perpetuity and that the property is accurately described in accordance with the Professional Land Surveyors' Act (Business and Professions Code § 8700-8805). Concurrently, regional biologists will analyze the property’s biological suitability as mitigation land.
CDFW may assume any of the following roles regarding mitigation lands:
- Third-party beneficiary in a conservation easement or fee title transfer
Once CDFW has approved the property is as mitigation, the permittee may grant an easement or transfer the fee title of the mitigation property to an entity such as a land trust, and CDFW is a third-party beneficiary to this agreement. This is the most common role that CDFW plays regarding mitigation lands.
- Grantee in a conservation easement or fee title transfer
If land is going to be granted to CDFW to hold the fee title or a conservation easement, it must be reviewed and accepted by the Wildlife Conservation Board. It is less common for CDFW to take this role.