Clark.Blanchard@resources.ca.gov

DRAFT INTERIM STRATEGIC VISION RELEASED

Public Review Meetings to be Held

11/22/11

SACRAMENTO – The California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Executive Committee today released the draft interim strategic vision for public review. This document is the first draft of potential recommendations for a strategic vision for the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the California Fish and Game Commission (F&GC) that will be presented to the Governor and California State Legislature in February 2012 as required by AB 2376 (Huffman, 2010).

“The draft interim strategic vision is the first step toward developing a stronger Department of Fish and Game, and Fish and Game Commission. The thoughtful ideas in this document are a testament to the hard work of the stakeholder advisory group and the blue ribbon citizen commission members,” said John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources and chair of the California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Executive Committee. “I look forward to hearing from the public to help create a more effective and functional department and commission through an open, transparent and collaborative public process.”

The draft interim strategic vision contains a description of the strategic vision process, a summary of past plans, a study to evaluate barriers to their implementation, and suggestions for potential recommendations. The document is based on the work performed by the California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) and the California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Blue Ribbon Citizen Commission (BRCC) over the past several months. The diverse 52-member SAG conducted much of its initial work in six working groups that concentrated on specific issue areas. Members of the BRCC were assigned to these working groups to work closely with SAG members and provide guidance. The result of this initial process is a comprehensive look at DFG and F&GC, and what steps might be taken to help these organizations more effectively fulfill their public trust missions in the future.

The first draft of the strategic vision contains two important elements that give the public a chance to further engage in a dialogue about the future of DFG and F&GC:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Chapter 3 is a draft interim framework for a strategic vision, where potential core values, underlying principles, goals and objectives are identified and intended to initiate a public conversation. Reviewers of the draft interim strategic vision are encouraged to focus on chapter 3 as it will form the foundation for a future strategic vision and such review will best inform the reader’s understanding of the direction of the visioning process.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Appendix B presents diverse preliminary ideas about improving the function and structure of DFG and F&GC. The numerous and sometimes conflicting ideas in the tables emphasizes the draft nature of the product intended to initiate public dialogue.

The ideas in the draft document have not been finalized in any way and are meant for discussion purposes only.

There are several ways the public can get involved in the dialogue about the draft interim strategic vision, including providing public comment via an online form beginning Nov. 29, or via email to StrategicVision@resources.ca.gov, contacting members of the SAG that represent an interest area, attending virtual office hours with staff (Nov. 29, Dec. 2 and Dec. 13), and attending one of four public meetings throughout California to discuss and provide input on the ideas introduced in the draft interim strategic vision. Scheduled for Dec. 5-8, the public meetings are designed with a roundtable format that allows the public to attend at any time during the two hours and directly engage in discussion with SAG and BRCC members and staff.

Schedule of public meetings:

San Diego

Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Port of San Diego

Administration Building Training Room

3165 Pacific Highway

San Diego, CA 92101

Ontario

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ontario Police Department

Community Room

2500 S. Archibald Avenue

Ontario, CA 91761

Fresno

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

CalTrans Manchester Center

2015 E. Shields Avenue, Suite100

Yosemite Room 145

Fresno, CA 93726

Redding

Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Turtle Bay Museum

840 Sundial Bridge (Auditorium) Drive

Redding, California 96001

In September 2010, Assembly Bill 2376 was signed into law, requiring the California Natural Resources Agency to convene a committee to develop and submit to the Governor and California State Legislature, by July 1, 2012, a strategic vision for DFG and F&GC. The California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision (CFWSV) Project is intended to establish a strategic vision for DFG and F&GC that addresses, among other things, improving and enhancing their capacity and effectiveness in fulfilling their public trust responsibilities for protecting and managing the state's fish and wildlife.

The California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Executive Committee, with assistance from BRCC and SAG, are developing three deliverables: The draft interim strategic vision in November 2011, an interim strategic vision in February 2012, and a strategic vision by July 1, 2012.

For more information about the California Fish and Wildlife Strategic Vision Project, the public meetings, or how you can get involved, please visit www.vision.ca.gov.

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