The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is seeking public comment on its nine draft companion plans, which will supplement the recently revised 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). The public review period began Monday, Nov. 16 and will run through Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. In addition, CDFW will hold a public meeting to present the plans and answer questions on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Natural Resources Building auditorium, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento.

The companion plans focus on specific over-arching issues that have a significant impact on the state’s fish and wildlife resources. The plan categories are agriculture, consumptive and recreational users, energy development, forests and rangeland, land-use planning, transportation planning, tribal lands, water management and marine resources.

CDFW created these supplemental plans to provide more specificity and flexibility to the overall SWAP. Because these documents focus on a single issue, they can be easily adapted as new information is obtained and new management strategies developed.

The goal of the SWAP is to examine the health of the state’s fish and wildlife resources and to prescribe actions to conserve these resources before they become endangered and more costly to protect. The plan also promotes wildlife conservation while furthering responsible development and addressing the needs of a growing human population. As mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), CDFW revises the SWAP every 10 years. This process was completed in October 2015 and the plan is currently under review by USFWS.

The draft companion plans and comment form are available online at www.wildlife.ca.gov/swap. Comments may also be emailed to swap@wildlife.ca.gov or mailed to California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Attn: SWAP, 1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1221, Sacramento, CA 95814.