HB 14-1267 Summary

• Authorizes political subdivisions of the state to reintroduce black-footed ferrets on their land without additional legislative approval if done with a programmatic safe harbor agreement and enhancement-of-survival permit under federal law.

• Limits the authorization to a maximum of three political subdivisions until July 1, 2019, with the Division of Parks and Wildlife required to track and certify eligible subdivisions to prevent exceeding this cap.

• Requires safe harbor agreements in place on potentially affected land and mandates stakeholder meetings with lessees and adjacent landowners before any reintroduction occurs.

• Exempts political subdivisions from imposing higher water and mineral utilization standards on account of black-footed ferret reintroduction and requires prairie dog population control within reintroduction sites to prevent expansion onto adjacent private land.

• Takes effect August 6, 2014, unless subject to a referendum petition, in which case approval by voters in the November 2014 general election is required.