Avalon will go to court to challenge the permit that allows the Catalina Island Conservancy’s restoration plan, which includes the removal of mule deer by hunters on the ground.
The Conservancy argues that the removal of the deer is required to protect native plant life and to reduce wildfire risk. Opponents of the deer removal have questioned that assertion.
Following a closed session of the Avalon City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 3, City Attorney Scott Campbell reported the following:
The council voted unanimously (3-0) to have the City Attorney’s Office to file an objection to the permit issued by the Fish and Wildlife Department for the Conservancy’s Catalina Restoration Project.
The grounds for the complaint are, according to the city of Avalon: That there was no compliance with California Environmental Quality Act noticing requirements as well as “substantive grounds” that Fish and Wildlife inappropriately issued the permit.
Avalon council meetings are broadcast live on YouTube. Campbell’s announcement came at the end of the 2 hour 8 minute video for this week’s meeting.
Last Friday, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife approved the Conservancy’s application for restoration management permit.
City Councilmember Yesenia De La Rosa and Mayor Anni Marshall were absent this week.
The three council members who voted in favor of the legal action were:
Councilmember/Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Lavelle, Councilmember Michael Ponce, and Councilmember Mary Schickling.
In related news, during the public comment part of the meeting, which took place near the start of the meeting, Lauren Dennhardt, senior director of conservation for the Catalina Island Conservancy, told the council that the permit authorizes the Conservancy’s restoration project had been approved the previous Friday.
“The permit supports operation project Catalina, which combines conservation initiatives, habitat restoration, and wildfire prevention. Part of the plan is also deer removal,” she said. Dennhardt said drop nets would not be used at all on Catalina.
She said any work that would take place within the city would occur in 2029. Dennhardt also said the Conservancy would try to avoid working within the city.
Dennhardt said there would be no firearms, no netting, and no operations on private property without permission. She said the Conservancy would work closely with the city of Avalon.
She said the Conservancy would host a community conversation event was tentatively planned for Feb. 10 at 5 p.m., at the Trailhead, the Conservancy’s center in Avalon.