Trump’s assault on biodiversity begins with a bumblebee

Just one day before the rusty patched bumblebee was to receive federal protections under the Endangered Species Act, the Trump administration put the listing on hold, risking the pollinator’s ultimate survival. The move was part of the president’s regulatory freeze of all pending rules passed by the Obama administration. Bees are the “lynchpin of the American food system” for the critical role they play in pollinating American commercial crops, with an annual economic benefit of about $15 billion annually. But having lost nearly 90 percent of their range in just the past 20 years, bees are on the edge of extinction, and the rusty patched bumblebee is among the most critically endangered species in the country. While the pollinator was on track to be saved, its delayed and potentially denied protective status keeps it on the path to extinction