RECENT STATE DECISIONS

October 2008

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Third District Court Lowers Standard to Obtain “Candidate” Species Status under State Endangered Species Act
Center for Biological Diversity v. California Fish and Game Commission, ___Cal.App.4th___

A California Court of Appeal decision has effectively lowered the standard for placing a species on the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) “candidate species” list. On September 2, 2008, the Third District Court of Appeal ruled that the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) is required to place a species on the candidate species list and give full consideration to a petition to list a species as endangered or threatened if there is “a substantial possibility that the requested listing could occur.” The decision establishes a relatively low bar for environmental groups and other petitioners to meet to have new species receive interim protection under CESA.