Agency or authority
What this permitting pathway covers
The Restoration Management Permit (RMP) can authorize state-defined take (hunt, pursue, capture, catch, or kill, or attempt to do so) of endangered, threatened, and candidate species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) as well as fully protected species (FPS) pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515.
NOTE: AB-1581 was signed into law, and as of January 1, 2025, the RMP can consolidate take authorization for CESA listed species, candidate species, Species of Special Concern/common species, Fully Protected species, and rare plants; as well as Lake and Streambed Alteration into a single permit with no application fee.
Benefits of using the RMP compared to standard CESA and FPS authorizations
- The RMP consolidates “take” authorizations that voluntary habitat restoration projects may need to obtain into a single streamlined permit.
- There is no requirement for full mitigation or financial assurance/security when using the RMP.
- The RMP’s CESA and FPS take authorizations do not require submittal of an application fee.
- The RMP can be used for multiple projects in an area and larger projects than permitting pathways for small restoration projects. There is no pre-determined limit for how large a project using the RMP can be.
- General and species protection measures for avoidance and minimization are aligned with other efficient permitting authorizations and may be incorporated by reference into a Restoration Management Permit. See these coordinated authorizations for species protection measures and work windows that may be applicable to your project: USFWS Statewide Restoration Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO), NMFS PBOs, and Water Board Statewide Restoration General Order (SRGO) and accompanying PEIR (see Attachment A for general measures and Appendix F for species measures) whenever possible.
- You can use the Protection Measures Selection Tool to filter measures from the authorizations listed above for applicability to your project.
Applicable locations
Statewide
How to apply
There is no application form for the RMP. To discuss how the RMP can assist your restoration project, please contact the Cutting the Green Tape team.
May be used with:
- CEQA Program EIR for the State Water Resources Control Board Statewide Restoration General Order (SRGO PEIR)
- CEQA Statutory Exemption for Restoration Projects (SERP) – CDFW
- Water Board Statewide Restoration General Order (SRGO)
- USFWS Statewide Restoration Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO)
- USACE Nationwide Permit 27 – Aquatic Habitat Restoration
- CDFW Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP)
- North Coast NMFS Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO)
- Central Coast NMFS Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO)
- Central Valley NMFS Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO)
- South Coast NMFS Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO)
Example projects
See more example projects on the CDFW Cutting the Green Tape StoryMap.
Species covered
Species listed as endangered, threatened, or candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act and fully protected species can be covered under an RMP. Up-to-date lists of State listed animal and plant species are kept on CDFW’s website. The RMP is especially useful if your project site has the potential to impact fully protected species.