As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) “California natural landmark” means property designated by the director as being of state significance to California because it is an outstanding example of major biological and geological features found within the boundaries of the state.

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(b) “California Registry of Natural Landmarks” means the official listing of all designated California natural landmarks.

(c) “Department” means the Department of Parks and Recreation.

(d) “Director” means the Director of Parks and Recreation.

(e) “Natural region” means a distinct physiographic province having similar geologic history, structures, and land forms. The basic physiographic characteristics of a natural region influence its vegetation, climate, soils, and animal life.

(f) (1) “Owner” means the person, corporation, or partnership that holds fee simple title to real property, or its agent, or the head of the public agency or subordinate employee of the public agency to whom that authority is delegated, who is responsible for administering publicly owned land and who has presented satisfactory evidence of his or her legal right to represent the interests of the subject land.

(2) “Owner” does not include a person, partnership, corporation, or public agency that holds, in any form, an easement or less than a fee interest, including any leasehold that is not tantamount to fee ownership, or does not have authority to act on behalf of the property.

(3) (A) A Native American tribe that is the beneficial fee simple owner of real property, with the United States as trustee, is an owner of real property for the purposes of this chapter.

(B) A member of a Native American tribe who is the beneficial owner of real property, held in trust by the United States, is an owner of real property for the purposes of this chapter.

(g) “Potential California natural landmark” means property that, based on a recommendation or initial comparison with other properties within the state or in the same natural region, could merit further study of its qualifications for possible California natural landmark designation.

(h) “Prejudicial procedural error” means a procedural error that reasonably may be considered to have affected the outcome of the designation process.

(i) “Real property” for the purposes of this chapter shall not include land owned by the federal government, unless the agency owning the land requests its inclusion, and the director determines that its inclusion is feasible and in the best interests of the program.

(j) “Representative” means a public or private individual, agency, or organization that is performing actions related to the identification, evaluation, designation, or monitoring of a California natural landmark, on behalf of or in cooperation with the department, either under a contractual agreement or in a volunteer capacity.

(k) “Scientist” means a person whose combination of academic training and professional field experience in the natural region qualifies him or her to identify and comparatively evaluate a natural area at the regional or state level.

(l) “State significance” means property that is one of the best examples of a biological community or geological feature within a natural region of the state, including a terrestrial community, land form, geological feature and process, habitat of native plant and animal species, or fossil evidence of the development of life.

(Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 827, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.)