By Roibin Miller | August 24, 2026 | The Reporter
Opponents of delisting are challenging the interpretation of the population data.
A coalition of wildlife advocates and environmental groups, including the Environmental Council of Sacramento, has launched a campaign urging the Fish and Game Commission to reject the building industry petition and retain the hawk’s threatened status.
A Change.org petition organized by the opponents argues that the 18,000-plus breeding-pair estimate is based on a 2018 survey that counted 265 pairs and then used modeling to extrapolate a statewide population. The organizers contend the result is highly speculative and point instead to a 2019 study that estimated roughly 3,800 nesting pairs.
That difference — roughly 18,000 pairs versus roughly 3,800 — has become one of the central points of the dispute.
The opposition campaign argues that a dramatic population increase does not necessarily mean the species has recovered enough to withstand the loss of protections, particularly in the Central Valley, where development continues to consume agricultural and open lands.
The concern is not simply whether hawks can be found in California, advocates say, but whether enough suitable nesting and foraging habitat will remain
