Friday, Governor Brown signed into law AB 1213, the Bobcat Protection Bill. This legislation establishes a no-trapping buffer zone around Joshua Tree National Park as well as other national parks and refuges in California. The bill also requires trappers to have written permission from a landowner before trapping a bobcat on private property. The bill is a result of protests by Morongo Basin residents who discovered that trappers were operating on private property without permission and targeting bobcats crisscrossing the boundaries of Joshua Tree National Park. An estimated 1,813 bobcats were taken during the 2011-12 license year, an increase of about 51% over the previous season, according to state wildlife authorities. The increase is due to the rise in the price of bobcat pelts, from $78 to about $700 since 2009 in China, Russia, Greece and other foreign markets. The new law takes effect January 1, 2014.
