Protected species: unarmored threespine stickleback: taking or possession.

Existing law prohibits the taking or possession of a fully protected fish, except as provided, and designates the unarmored threespine stickleback as a fully protected fish. The California Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except as specified. The Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity and the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the take of the unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) attributable to the periodic dewatering, inspection, maintenance, modification, or repair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's Foothill Feeder water supply facility from Castaic Dam to the Joseph Jensen Treatment Plant in the County of Los Angeles, as specified, if certain conditions, including the adoption of an adaptive management plan, are satisfied. The bill would require the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, if it receives a permit under the bill, to report certain information to the department within 6 months after every dewatering of the Foothill Feeder. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 5515 of the Fish and Game Code, proposed by AB 1845 and AB 2001, that would become operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.