About the EIR/EIS

Program Description

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Wildlife Services (WS-California), a state office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), are preparing a joint Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) to provide comprehensive environmental analysis of current and proposed future wildlife damage management activities undertaken across California. 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 California Wildlife Damage Management EIR/EIS is intended to:

• Provide comprehensive statewide CEQA review of the current and proposed future wildlife damage management activities conducted throughout California by CDFA and Counties under the WDMP framework. This EIR/EIS will serve as the basis for additional environmental analysis, if any is needed, at the County level.
• Provide comprehensive NEPA review of the current and future wildlife damage management activities WS-California conducts throughout California, including activities performed pursuant to agreements with Counties, other public agencies, and private landowners.
• Promote broader understanding and awareness about wildlife identification, biology, life history, damage impacts, and management activities through the statewide environmental review process.
• Support the development and implementation of measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate unintended impacts to California’s important natural resources, including watercourses, protected species, and natural habitats from wildlife control materials, technologies, and methods.