U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Advances Critical Habitat Protection for Endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebees
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee under the Endangered Species Act, awarding long overdue protections to places the critically endangered bee calls home.
Today’s designation is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2021 by NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, which successfully challenged the Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 decision denying critical habitat for the species.
Critical habitat designation is a crucial tool under the Endangered Species Act, requiring federal agencies to ensure their actions do not destroy or damage areas essential for species’ survival. The bee, once common throughout the northeastern and midwestern United States, now survives largely in isolated populations mostly in the upper Midwest, threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, parasites, and disease.
“This decision represents a vital step forward for one of America’s most endangered pollinators,” said Lucas Rhoads, senior attorney for pollinators and pesticides at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “The rusty patched bumblebee has already vanished from nearly 90% of its historical range, and we can not afford further delays in protecting high-quality habitat that can save the bee from extinction. We look forward to this proposal being finalized as soon as possible.”
“Rusty patched bumblebees will disappear unless the places they live are protected, so this critical habitat proposal is an important step toward ensuring they survive and hopefully recover,” said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These once common bumblebees are now increasingly rare. They deserve the full scope of protections they’re entitled to under the Endangered Species Act, which says extinction is not an option. We’re going to fight to make sure this is what they get.”
“On behalf of Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, I thank the Fish and Wildlife Service for deciding to establish critical habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee. Minnesota is one of the bee’s last strongholds,” said Tom Casey, Board Chair at Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas. “It is not only endangered under federal law; the bee is designated as Minnesota’s ‘state bee’ - and is endangered under Minnesota state law. To avoid extinction, critical habitat is essential for the bee’s recovery.”
Background:
Today’s decision marks the latest development in a long-running legal effort to protect the rusty patched bumblebee and its habitat, beginning with a pair of lawsuits to secure the bee’s 2017 listing as endangered. In 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to designate critical habitat for the bee, claiming such protection would provide no benefit to the bee. NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas challenged this decision, and a federal court in Washington, D.C. ruled in their favor, rejecting the Fish and Wildlife Service's reasoning and setting aside its unlawful decision. The parties in the lawsuit then reached an agreement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to revise its determination by November 20, 2024.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas (FMSNA) is a Minnesota non-profit, tax-exempt corporation whose mission is to advocate for the protection, management, and perpetuation of Minnesota’s 168+ Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs), the “crown jewels” of Minnesota’s state land base. Please visit us at www.snafriends.org
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).