Key Legislation for a Keystone Species

SB 427 aims to conserve California wildlife habitats indefinitely

In 1990, voters passed Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act. This legislation established the Habitat Conservation Fund, which is set to expire in 2030. SB 427 aims to expand the funding for wildlife conservation indefinitely.

Prop. 117 established a steady flow of $30 million dollars in funding to be transferred from the state’s General Fund to the Habitat Conservation Fund until 2020, in order to obtain, restore, and enhance wildlife habitats throughout California. In 2019, the Legislature and the Governor agreed to extend the fund’s lifespan until 2030.

Last year, however, state budgetary pressures led to the Governor’s recommendation to end the funding six years early. Sen. Blakespear helped to keep the funding for wildlife habitats intact with hopes of preserving this funding indefinitely.

SB 427 was introduced by Sen. Catherine Blakespear and Sen. Henry Stern on Feb. 18, 2025.

This uncollared adult female mountain lion was photographed with a motion sensor camera in the Verdugos Mountains in August 2016. LA city lights in the background. Courtesy/Photo Credit: National Park Service

Progress Made Possible by Prop. 117

Significant environmental progress has been made possible by Prop. 117 and the Habitat Conservation Fund over its more than 30-year legacy.

In a press release on Sen. Blakespear’s website, Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Beth Pratt said, “California voters in 1990 had no way of knowing just how prescient their support for creation of the Habitat Conservation Fund was when they voted yes on Prop 117.”

“Since that time, more than a billion dollars has been invested to protect more than 1.2 million acres of wildlife habitat, restoring critical ecosystems, open spaces, wildlife corridors, as well as improving public access to more than 350 local and regional parks projects across California. The Habitat Conservation Fund has a proven track record and should be made permanent,” Pratt continued.

A prime example is the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing– the world’s largest wildlife crossing over Highway 101 in Agoura Hills– one of the hundreds of other projects brought to fruition largely because of Prop. 117. The wildlife crossing, which broke ground in 2022 and is set to open in 2026, is covered in vegetation, spans across a 10-lane freeway, and will reconnect fragmented habitats.

It will be particularly beneficial to mountain lions, coyotes, and bobcats, bridging the gap between the Santa Monica mountains and the Simi hills, allowing animals to travel safely through their home where freeways and urban development have severed their paths.

Death Tolls Due to Development

Maps created by the UC Davis Road Ecology Center show that between 2015 and 2022, one to two mountain lions were killed on roadways every week– a pace that scientists suggest could be exceeding their reproduction rate, furthering the decline of an already threatened species.

Mountain lions are a keystone species, meaning they are critical moderators of the environment. Without them, we could experience catastrophic changes in the ecosystem, such as overpopulation of deer which could exacerbate droughts, decimation of biodiversity, and soil erosion. In turn, this would affect all the other species in the ecosystem, including humans.

Similarly, vehicle collisions are also a leading cause of death for coyotes.

Support and Opposition

When The Mountain Lion Foundation shared support for SB 427 in a post on Instagram recently, an opponent in the comments section, Mike Costello wrote “Sadly, a small % of the funding from 117 does anything for mountain lions– except bring them into close proximity to human settled areas. These funds are not about lions, they’re about parks and trails for wealthy suburbs.”

Costello is a contributing writer for the Howl for Wildlife blog, which aims to educate the public on the “sustenance sides of hunting.”

While the Habitat Conservation Fund certainly provides funding for trail development in state parks, a significant percentage of the funds go to improving and preserving land for wildlife. Funding trails also serves an important function that isn’t just providing access to nature in wealthy neighborhoods. Keeping humans on designated paths in natural spaces has a positive impact on wildlife in many ways, particularly by creating corridors for wildlife and protecting sensitive ecosystems from human disturbance.

But mountain lion management remains contentious.

The National Parks Service recognizes the polarization of predator management, noting that people directly coexisting with mountain lions in rural areas are less likely to view the animal favorably, despite the science behind mountain lions’ significant contribution to environmental health.

In 1996, Prop. 197 was proposed to amend Prop. 117 with the goal of eliminating the designation of mountain lions as a specially protected mammal in Calif. Ultimately, Prop. 197 aimed to legalize hunting of mountain lions.

The proposition lost by 58 percent in the 1996 election.

More Projects Fueled by the Fund

The Habitat Conservation Fund also provides grants for environmental education activities, which helps to inspire the public’s awareness and foster a commitment to protecting the health of our natural world– the only home we know.

Other recent projects funded in part by Prop. 117 include an ancestral land-return project in San Bernardino County, and a new trails gateway into Redwood National and State Parks, set to take place in 2026. It will include expanded trails and restoration efforts initiated by the Yurok Tribe.

SB 427 would make it possible to continue prioritizing the biodiversity of California’s incredible natural landscape far into the future. The bill is co-sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation and Audubon California.