2070-2079

FISH AND GAME CODE
SECTION 2070-2079




2070.  The commission shall establish a list of endangered species
and a list of threatened species. The commission shall add or remove
species from either list if it finds, upon the receipt of sufficient
scientific information pursuant to this article, that the action is
warranted.


2071.  The commission shall adopt guidelines by which an interested
person may petition the commission to add a species to, or to remove
a species from either the list of endangered or the list of
threatened species.


2071.5.  The department shall recommend, and the commission shall
adopt, criteria for determining if a species is endangered or
threatened.


2072.  The petition shall be written, shall be clearly identified as
a petition, and shall clearly indicate the administrative measure
recommended.


2072.3.  To be accepted, a petition shall, at a minimum, include
sufficient scientific information that a petitioned action may be
warranted. Petitions shall include information regarding the
population trend, range, distribution, abundance, and life history of
a species, the factors affecting the ability of the population to
survive and reproduce, the degree and immediacy of the threat, the
impact of existing management efforts, suggestions for future
management, and the availability and sources of information. The
petition shall also include information regarding the kind of habitat
necessary for species survival, a detailed distribution map, and any
other factors that the petitioner deems relevant.



2072.7.  The department may, in the absence of a petition from an
interested party, recommend to the commission that it add a species
to, or remove a species from, either the list of endangered species
or the list of threatened species. If it makes a recommendation under
this section, the department shall include the information specified
in Section 2072.3. A department recommendation under this section
shall be considered by the commission as a petition with a
departmental recommendation to accept and consider as described in
subdivision (b) of Section 2073.5, and is subject to Sections 2074 to
2079, inclusive.


2073.  Within 10 days of the receipt of a petition from an
interested person under Section 2072.3, the commission shall refer
the petition to the department.


2073.3.  (a) The commission shall publish a notice in the California
Regulatory Notice Register of the receipt of a petition prepared
pursuant to Section 2072.3 by the department, or by an interested
party and referred to the department, pursuant to Section 2073, or
the commencement of an evaluation, to add a species to, remove a
species from, or change the status of a species on, the list of
endangered species or the list of threatened species pursuant to
Section 2072.7. At a minimum, the notice shall include all of the
following:
   (1) The scientific and common name of the species.
   (2) Habitat type, if that information is available in the
petition.
   (3) The location where interested persons can submit information
to the department relating to the petitioned species.
   (b) The commission shall notify interested persons pursuant to
Section 2078, by mail, of the notices prepared pursuant to
subdivision (a), and shall mail a copy of the notice to those
persons.



2073.4.  (a) A person may submit information to the department
relating to the petitioned species during the evaluation of the
petition pursuant to Section 2073.5. The information shall relate to
the matters identified in Section 2072.3.
   (b) Within 10 days after receiving information pursuant to
subdivision (a), the department shall notify the petitioner regarding
its content.


2073.5.  (a) Within 90 days of receipt of the petition, the
department shall evaluate the petition on its face and in relation to
other relevant information the department possesses or receives, and
submit to the commission its written evaluation report with one of
the following recommendations to the commission:
   (1) Based upon the information contained in the petition, there is
not sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action
may be warranted, and the petition should be rejected.
   (2) Based upon the information contained in the petition, there is
sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be
warranted, and the petition should be accepted and considered.
   (b) Upon the request of the director, the commission may grant the
department an extension of time, not to exceed 30 days, to allow the
department additional time to further analyze and evaluate the
petition and complete its evaluation report.
   (c) The department's evaluation report shall include copies of, or
a list of, all information submitted to the department pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 2073.4 during its evaluation of the
petition. If copies are not included, the report shall state where
the listed information is available for review.



2073.7.  A petitioner may amend a petition at any time prior to the
beginning of the meeting held by the commission pursuant to Section
2074.2. However, if the commission determines that the amendment is
substantive, the commission shall resubmit the petition to the
department for review pursuant to Section 2073.5, publish notice of
the amendment pursuant to Section 2073.3, and renotice or continue
any hearing scheduled pursuant to Section 2074 in order to provide
adequate opportunity for public comment.



2074.  The commission shall schedule the petition for consideration
at its next available meeting, but not sooner than 30 days after
receipt of the petition and public release of the evaluation report,
and distribute its pending agenda to interested persons pursuant to
Section 2078. The commission also shall make the petition, evaluation
report, and other materials received available for review.



2074.2.  (a) At the scheduled meeting, the commission shall consider
the petition, the department's written report, and comments
received, and the commission shall make and enter in its public
record one of the following findings:
   (1) If the commission finds that the petition does not provide
sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be
warranted, the commission shall publish a notice of finding that the
petition is rejected, including the reasons why the petition is not
sufficient.
   (2) If the commission finds that the petition provides sufficient
information to indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted,
the commission shall publish a notice of finding that the petition is
accepted for consideration. If the accepted petition recommends the
addition of a species to either the list of endangered species or the
list of threatened species, the commission shall include in the
notice that the petitioned species is a candidate species. The
commission shall maintain a list of species which are candidate
species.
   (b) The commission shall publish and distribute the findings
relating to the petition pursuant to Section 2078.



2074.4.  If a petition is accepted by the commission for
consideration, all reasonable attempts shall be made to notify
affected and interested parties and to solicit data and comments on
the petitioned action from as many persons as is practicable. In
addition to commission efforts to provide notification through
distribution of the commission agenda and minutes pursuant to Section
2078, the department shall immediately undertake efforts to notify
affected and interested parties. Methods of notification may include,
but are not limited to, correspondence, newspaper notices, and press
releases, and notification shall include notice to owners of that
land which may provide habitat essential to the continued existence
of the species, unless the director determines that ownership is so
widespread, fragmented, or complex as to make individual notice
impractical.


2074.6.  The department shall promptly commence a review of the
status of the species concerned in the petition. Within 12 months of
the date of publication of a notice of acceptance of a petition for
consideration by the commission pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 2074.2, the department shall provide a
written report to the commission, based upon the best scientific
information available to the department, which indicates whether the
petitioned action is warranted, which includes a preliminary
identification of the habitat that may be essential to the continued
existence of the species, and which recommends management activities
and other recommendations for recovery of the species.



2074.8.  Nothing in this article imposes any duty or obligation for,
or otherwise requires, the commission or the department to undertake
independent studies or other assessments of any species when
reviewing a petition and its attendant documents and comments.




2075.  The commission shall schedule the petition for final
consideration at its next available meeting after receipt of the
departmental report provided pursuant to Section 2074.6 and shall
distribute the pending agenda for that meeting pursuant to Section
2078. The commission shall make the department's report, or copies
thereof, which was provided, pursuant to Section 2074.6, available
for review upon request.



2075.5.  At the meeting scheduled pursuant to Section 2075, the
commission shall make one of the following findings:
   (1) The petitioned action is not warranted, in which case the
finding shall be entered in the public records of the commission and
the petitioned species shall be removed from the list of candidate
species maintained pursuant to Section 2074.2.
   (2) The petitioned action is warranted, in which case the
commission shall publish a notice of that finding and a notice of
proposed rulemaking pursuant to Section 11346.4 of the Government
Code to add the species to, or remove the species from, the list of
endangered species or the list of threatened species. Further
proceedings of the commission on the petitioned action shall be made
in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



2076.  Any finding pursuant to this section is subject to judicial
review under Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure.



2076.5.  Notwithstanding Sections 2071 to 2075.5, inclusive, the
commission may adopt a regulation which adds a species to the list of
endangered species or to the list of threatened species as an
emergency regulation pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
240) to Chapter 2 of Division 1 if the commission finds that there
is any emergency posing a significant threat to the continued
existence of the species. The commission shall notify affected or
interested persons of the adoption of such an emergency regulation
pursuant to the methods described in Section 2074.4.



2077.  (a) The department shall review species listed as an
endangered species or as a threatened species every five years to
determine if the conditions that led to the original listing are
still present. The review shall be conducted based on information
which is consistent with the information specified in Section 2072.3
and which is the best scientific information available to the
department. The review shall include a review of the identification
of the habitat that may be essential to the continued existence of
the species and the department's recommendations for management
activities and other recommendations for recovery of the species. The
department shall notify any person who has notified the commission,
in writing with their address, of their interest, and the department
may notify any other person.
   (b) Review of species that are listed by both the commission and
the United States Department of Interior will be conducted in
conjunction with the five-year review process of the United States
Department of Interior.
   (c) Initial review of those species listed by the commission
before January 1, 1982, that are not listed by the federal government
shall be undertaken and completed by July 1, 1987. Initial review of
those species listed by the commission after January 1, 1982, that
are not listed by the federal government shall be undertaken and
completed within five years of the date the species was originally
listed by the commission.
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
commission or the department may review a species at any time based
upon a petition or upon other data available to the department and
the commission.
   (e) The department shall report in writing to the commission the
results of its five-year review for each listed species. The
commission shall treat any report of the department under this
subdivision which contains a recommendation to add a species to, or
remove a species from, the list of endangered species or the list of
threatened species as a department recommendation submitted pursuant
to Section 2072.7.



2078.  (a) To provide all interested persons access to information
and notification of pending listing or delisting actions, the
commission shall distribute the related agenda of pending actions and
those portions of its minutes of actions taken under this article to
any individuals who have notified the commission, in writing with
their address, of their interest. This notification shall be
published in the California Regulatory Notice Register and shall meet
the requirements of public notice as required for commission action
under Section 2073.3, 2074, 2074.2, 2075, or 2077.
   (b) The commission may impose an annual fee on those persons who
request inclusion on the list to be notified in order to offset the
cost of establishing and maintaining the list, and preparing and
mailing the notices. Fees received pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.



2079.  The department shall, by January 30 of every third year,
beginning January 30, 1986, prepare a report summarizing the status
of all state listed endangered, threatened, and candidate species,
and shall submit the report to the commission, the Legislature, the
Governor, and all individuals who have notified the commission, in
writing with their address, of their interest. This report shall
include, but not be limited to, a listing of those species designated
as endangered, threatened, and candidate species, a discussion of
the current status of endangered, threatened, or candidate species,
and the timeframes for the review of listed species pursuant to this
article.