Western burrowing owls are closer to receiving permanent protection in California as the California Fish and Game Commission has voted to give the species “candidate” status for the state’s endangered species list.
The commission unanimously voted on Oct. 10 to consider the western burrowing owl an endangered species to be protected under state law, following a petition filed by several conservation groups in March.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will now conduct a status review of the species before the commission can decide whether to protect burrowing owls as endangered or threatened under state law.
The species will be protected during the review period, which will take between 12 and 18 months to complete, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that filed the petition….