{"id":6034,"date":"2026-08-01T19:06:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6034"},"modified":"2026-08-01T19:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:06:46","slug":"homebuilders-in-solano-county-petition-state-to-drop-endangered-species-protection-for-hawk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6034","title":{"rendered":"Homebuilders in Solano County petition state to drop endangered species protection for hawk"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By Griffin Jones | Bay City News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A homebuilders association is seeking to roll back protections for a hawk under California\u2019s Endangered Species Act \u2014 the first delisting in 17 years, according to the state\u2019s Fish and Game Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6032\">High temperatures forecast for Bay Area weekend<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Swainson\u2019s hawk nests in Solano County and the Central Valley from March through September, traveling thousands of miles to spend winters in Mexico and Argentina. It is considered threatened under state law.<\/p>\n<p>A petition to remove the hawk from environmental safeguards was filed with the commission on June 10 by Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Association, which advocates for deregulation of housing development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe homebuilding industry is uniquely positioned to submit this delisting petition \u2014 an action we do not take lightly,\u201d Dunmoyer wrote in the petition.<\/p>\n<p>The document cites a 2018 report partially funded by Fish and Game that found the bird\u2019s population had increased to about 18,810 pairs \u2014 Swainson\u2019s hawks tend toward monogamy. Authors of the report called it \u201cstrong evidence that the species has rebounded overall in California.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the 1950s, an estimated 17,000 Swainson\u2019s hawk pairs nested around the state. By the 1980s, only 375 pairs were counted, prompting the state to place the bird in protected status in 1983, citing habitat loss to housing development and agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaintaining species listings that are no longer scientifically justified unnecessarily constrains residential development and undermines the state\u2019s efforts to address its ongoing housing affordability and supply crisis,\u201d Dunmoyer wrote.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The count of 18,810 pairs was an unexpected jump from Fish and Game\u2019s own 2016 report, which found just 1,800 breeding pairs, prompting officials to recommend keeping the species protected. The 2018 study said it couldn\u2019t explain the increase.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe key with the Swainson\u2019s hawk is they breed here,\u201d said Adrian Philip Johnson, administrator of the West Coast HawkWatch Group. A Vallejo resident, he guides raptor tours around the region. Johnson is a vocal critic of calls to delist the bird.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson said a portion of the bird\u2019s nesting habitat in Solano County is an area where a venture-capital-funded, labor-backed \u201cwalkable city\u201d known as California Forever has been proposed for development.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6031\">Taylor Swift will no longer be godmother to Blake Lively\u2019s three daughters: report<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just dead farmland,\u201d Johnson said, referring to a rural area eyed by developers. \u201cSome call it home year-round, some come from the Arctic, some from Argentina.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Dunmoyer\u2019s is the first petition to delist an animal since the peregrine falcon, which was removed in 2009, said Melissa Miller-Henson, executive director of the Fish and Game Commission.<\/p>\n<p>The commission reviews all petitions for California\u2019s plants and animals to be added to or removed from protected species under the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we see groups petition to do this, whether it\u2019s at the state or federal level, it\u2019s oftentimes someone in the industry,\u201d said Miller-Henson, referring to builders.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioners have until Sept. 8 to evaluate the petition. If they agree with the argument, the hawk gets a year and a half of status review, and then the commission makes its final decision to delist or not.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, Swainson\u2019s hawk nesting sites delayed approvals for a micro-winery in Napa County. After county planning officials issued a report stating construction wouldn\u2019t impact the environment, Fish and Game countered, saying the report wasn\u2019t thorough, and a qualified biologist will have to survey the site.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe project has the potential to impact nesting Swainson\u2019s hawk through auditory or visual disturbances,\u201d wrote Fish and Game in July. \u201cProject activities may result in Swainson\u2019s hawk nest abandonment and loss of eggs or reduced health and vigor and loss of young.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following the report, county planners moved the project\u2019s approval date to after the bird\u2019s nesting season.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6029\">Vehicle set on fire in Stockton\u2019s Bearcreek district; suspect arrested at scene<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A homebuilders association is seeking to roll back protections for a hawk under California\u2019s Endangered Species Act \u2014 the first delisting in 17 years, the state says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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