California has strong regulations in place to protect natural resources from impacts of development and resource extraction. Unfortunately, beneficial habitat restoration can be slowed by these regulations. Historically, the pace and scale of environmental restoration has been insufficient to address threats to California’s biodiversity from anthropogenic stressors such as habitat loss and climate change. Complex and overlapping permitting processes can result in fewer and smaller restoration actions at a slower pace and greater expense. In response, the state of California has identified “Cutting the Green Tape” as a priority initiative to increase the pace and scale of environmental restoration. Many are familiar with the concept of “red tape,” and in this context, “green tape” represents the extra time, money, and effort required to implement restoration projects because of inefficiencies in environmental review, permitting, and granting processes. Cutting the Green Tape means improving regulatory processes and policies so that habitat restoration can occur more quickly, simply, and cost-effectively. This presentation provides an overview of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Cutting the Green Tape Program, and the specific permitting and regulatory tools that are in use or under development for increasing the pace and scale of restoration in California.