On June 14, the California Fish and Game Commission elevated the greater sage grouse to a candidate species, earning it full protection under the California Endangered Species Act for the time being.

In the near future, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct a review and determine whether the birds should be permanently protected by the Act. This was a response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity last year, in which it was concluded that there was sufficient evidence to warrant protecting these birds as endangered.

The greater sage grouse is the last grouse in North America and is split into two groups: the Northern California population and the bi-state population. These birds are most known for their unique and eye-catching mating dances.

According to Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, the greater sage grouse is at risk of going extinct in California due to habitat loss and fragmentation, among other things. Ms. Anderson said in a press release that the sage grouse is “very uncommon in California” and “they’re really a barometer for the health of the Great Basin Desert.”

Advocates of the sage grouse have been praising this move by California’s Fish and Game Commission.

Ms. Anderson said it is “a relief to see California’s beautiful dancing sage grouse move a step closer to permanent protections.”

“These special birds have endured so much habitat loss and their populations are plummeting. It was the right call to grant sage grouse candidate status while the department uses the best science available to review their plight,” she said.

Over 20 years ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received three petitions to categorize the bird as endangered or threatened. The agency deemed the sage grouse undeserving of this title in 2005, but two years later, a federal court found the ruling incorrect.

In the 2008 case Center for Biological Diversity v. California Fish and Game Commission, a California appeals court designated the species as a candidate for petitioned action.

In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found the sage grouse deserving of protection but precluded by higher priority species.

On Nov. 21, 2022, the commission received a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity requesting that it list the greater sage grouse as threatened or endangered in California.

Finally, on June 14, 2023, the California Fish and Game Commission designated the sage grouse a candidate species, granting it full California Endangered Species Act Protections for at least a year.