Title FGC — California Fish & Game Code

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 ma…

(a) At the meeting scheduled pursuant to Section 2075, the commission shall hold a public hearing on the petition and shall receive information, written or otherwise, and oral testimony. After the conclusion of oral testimony from the commission and department staff, the petition…

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

Notwithstanding Sections 2071 to 2075.5, inclusive, the commission may adopt a regulation that adds a species to the list of endangered species or to the list of threatened species as an emergency regulation pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 399) of Division 1 if t…

(a) For the purposes of this section only, “federally listed species” means any species, subspecies, distinct population segment, or evolutionarily significant unit that is native to California, that was, as of January 1, 2025, listed or was a candidate for listing under the fede…

(a) Upon a specific appropriation of funds by the Legislature, the department shall, or if other funding is available, in the absence of a specific appropriation, may, review species listed as an endangered species or as a threatened species every five years to determine if the c…

(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…

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 post the report on the commission’s Internet Web site. This report shall inclu…

(a) Upon a specific appropriation of funds by the Legislature, or if funding is otherwise available, the department may develop and implement nonregulatory recovery plans for the conservation and survival of species listed as an endangered species or as a threatened species, unle…

No person or public agency shall import into this state, export out of this state, or take, possess, purchase, or sell within this state, any species, or any part or product thereof, that the commission determines to be an endangered species or a threatened species, or attempt an…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, or Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) or Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 1925) of Division 2, but subject to subdivision (c), if any person obtains from the United States Secretary of the Interior or the United S…

The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) The historic settlement approved by Congress in the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act (Part I of Subtitle A of Title X of Public Law 111-11) directs the federal government to reintroduce spring run Chinook salmon to…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if any person obtains from the Secretary of Commerce an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 1539(a)(1)(A) of Title 16 of the United States Code that authorizes the taking of spring run Chinook salmon (Oncorhy…

(a) If a population of spring run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River is designated as an experimental population under subsection (j) of Section 1539 of Title 16 of the United States Code, no further authorization or approval is necessary under this chapter for any person to…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if any person obtains from the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of the Interior an enhancement of survival permit pursuant to Section 1539(a)(1)(A) of Title 16 of the United States Code that authorizes the taking of a…

(a) For purposes of this chapter, “experimental population” means any population nonessential to the continued existence of an endangered, threatened, or candidate species, including any eggs, propagules, individuals, or offspring arising solely therefrom, that the Secretary of t…

It is the intent of the Legislature that, before the introduction of an experimental population, as defined in Section 2080.6, onto land or into waters of this state, the department should undertake appropriate public outreach, including public meetings, in an effort to inform th…

The department may authorize acts that are otherwise prohibited pursuant to Section 2080, as follows: (a) Through permits or memorandums of understanding, the department may authorize individuals, public agencies, universities, zoological gardens, and scientific or educational in…

Nothing in this chapter or in any other provision of law prohibits the taking or the incidental taking of any endangered, threatened, or candidate species if the taking was authorized by the department through a permit or memorandum of understanding, or in a natural communities c…

(a) The department may authorize, under this chapter, the incidental take of unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) attributable to the periodic dewatering, inspection, maintenance, modification, or repair, including emergency repair, of the Metropo…

(a) The department may authorize, under this chapter, the take or possession of the Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus and Catostomus luxatus) and shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris) resulting from impacts attributable to or otherwise related to the decommissioning and r…

(a) The department may authorize, under this chapter, by permit, the take or possession of the blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila) resulting from impacts attributable to or otherwise related to the Allensworth Community Services District’s drilling and construction of a ne…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 3511 and 4700, the department may authorize, under this chapter, the incidental take of the salt-marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris), the California Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus), the California black rail (Laterallus jamai…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515, and subject to the requirements set forth in subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive, the department may authorize under this chapter by permit the take of species listed in subdivision (b) of Section 3511, subdivision (b) of Se…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Permit” means any authorization issued by the department pursuant to this article to take a species listed by this chapter as candidate, threatened, or endangered. The term includes a consiste…

(a) The department may authorize, under this chapter, the take of the rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus) resulting from impacts attributable to replacing the Spring Creek Bridge in the County of Shasta, if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The requirements of subd…

(a) The department may authorize under this chapter, by permit, the take of the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) resulting from impacts attributable to the construction along the State Route 156 corridor through Moro Cojo Slough in the County of M…

(a) The department may authorize, under this chapter, the take of the unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni) resulting from impacts attributable to the habitat restoration project to restore, maintain, and improve riparian habitat on public lands in…

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515, and contingent upon the fulfillment of the conditions listed in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), the department may authorize, under Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) or Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800), th…

The Resources Agency shall undertake the necessary activities to assess the protection of recreational opportunities, including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, boating, and birdwatching, and the creation of opportunities for improved local economic conditions, surrounding …

(a) Notwithstanding Section 5050, the department may authorize, under this chapter, the incidental take of limestone salamander (Hydromantes brunus) resulting from impacts attributable to the Department of Transportation’s implementation of the Ferguson Slide Permanent Restoratio…

This chapter does not prohibit the sale of any endangered species or threatened species, or any part or product thereof, when the owner can demonstrate that the species, or part or product thereof, was in the person’s possession before the date upon which the commission listed th…

This chapter does not apply to the taking of fish otherwise authorized pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 6 or to the possession of individual animals which were lawfully possessed before the commission listed the species as an endangered species or as …

(a) The commission may authorize, subject to terms and conditions it prescribes, and based on the best available scientific information, (1) the taking of any candidate species, or (2) the taking of any fish by hook and line for sport that is listed as an endangered, threatened, …

The provisions of this article shall apply to any species designated as a candidate species under Section 2074.2 if notice has been given pursuant to Section 2074.4.

(a) The department, in cooperation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, agricultural commissioners, extension agents, farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural experts, shall adopt regulations that authorize locally designed voluntary programs for routine and ongoing agri…

(a) An accidental take of a candidate, threatened, or endangered species resulting from an act by a person acting as a farmer or rancher, a bona fide employee of a farmer or rancher, or an individual otherwise contracted by a farmer or rancher that occurs on a farm or a ranch in …

This article does not authorize the take of fish species and does not apply to timber harvesting governed by the State Board of Forestry. “Fish species” as used in this section means a member of the class Osteichthyes.

Routine and ongoing agricultural activities shall be defined by the department by regulation and shall not include the conversion of agricultural land to a nonagricultural use.

If an agreement has been approved and the department finds that the agreement is being properly implemented, the department shall allow the landowner to alter or modify the enrolled property, even if that alteration or modification will result in the incidental take of a listed s…

(a) Unless the department determines that it is inappropriate to do so based on the nature of the management actions being proposed, the species listed in the permit, or other factors, the agreement shall require that the landowner provide the department with at least 60 days’ ad…

An agreement may be amended with the mutual consent of the landowner and the department.

If a landowner seeks to sell, transfer, or otherwise alienate the land or water enrolled in the agreement during the term of the agreement, the person or entity assuming that interest in the property shall (a) assume the existing landowner’s duties under the agreement, (b) enter …

The suspension and revocation of the agreement shall be governed by suspension and revocation regulations adopted by the department.

(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act. (b) The Legislature finds that a key to the goals set forth in this article of conserving, protecting, restoring, and enhancing endangered, threatened, and candidate specie…

(a) This section does not provide the public a right of entry onto the enrolled land or water. The landowner shall provide the department, its contractors, or agents with access to the land or water proposed to be enrolled in the agreement to develop the agreement, determine the …

(a) If any of the following agreements have been approved pursuant to applicable provisions of federal law and the federal agreement contains species that are endangered, threatened, candidate, or declining or vulnerable species pursuant to this chapter, no further authorization …

(a) A landowner that owns land that abuts a property enrolled in a state safe harbor agreement shall not be required, for purposes of an incidental take permit, to undertake the management activities set forth in the state safe harbor agreement, if all of the following conditions…

The department, for informational purposes, shall maintain a list of qualified persons who have worked with the department on an approved agreement, and persons, entities, and organizations serving as program administrators for approved agreements.

The department may promulgate regulations to implement this article.