Petition for listing a species is filed by any person with the Fish and Game Commission. The commission has 10 days to review the petition for form completeness. If complete, the petition is sent to DFG, which has 90 days to review the petition and decide whether enough information is present to determine a species' status.
If rejected, a notice of rejection is published. If complete, the petition is sent back to the Fish and Game Commission.
The Fish and Game Commission then considers the species for candidate status. Public input is included during this process. If approved, the species becomes a candidate species, which is similar to a federal proposed species. The commission publishes a public notice on the decision within a certain time frame.
DFG has up to one year after the public notice to review the petition (and required documents) and to prepare a report to the commission. If the report supports listing the species, DFG is required to request that the commission take regulatory action.
The commission then makes a finding about the candidate species. If the commission supports listing, it submits a memo to the Office of Administrative Law. Included in this memo is a required statement about how DFG has or will notify all interested and affected parties about the species' new status.
Recovery Plan (State) - If DFG recommends a species for listing as threatened or endangered, it also recommends management activities for recovery of that species.
Critical Habitat (State) - If DFG recommends a species for listing as threatened or endangered, it identifies critical habitat that may be essential to the continued survival of that species.
The commission can add a species to the threatened or endangered lists as an emergency regulation if the situation is critical.
DFG is required to review each species every five years to determine whether a change of status is necessary. The removing a species from the threatened or endangered lists follows the same process as listing.
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