Unbeelieveable: Stung By Lawsuit, Trump Administration Lists Bumble Bee As Endangered

WASHINGTON — The rusty patched bumble bee, one of America’s most important pollinators, has finally landed on the endangered species list. It becomes the first bumble bee — and the first of any bee species in the contiguous United States — to receive federal protections. “The Trump administration reversed course and listed the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species just in the nick of time,” Rebecca Riley, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement Tuesday. “Federal protections may be the only thing standing between the bumble bee and extinction.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January listed the bee as endangered, citing population declines caused by the loss of habitat, disease, pesticide use and climate change. But before the protections took effect, the listing was frozen until March 21 as part of a sweeping executive order by President Donald Trump that imposed a 60-day waiting period on new regulations.  The NRDC responded by suing the Trump administration, arguing that it failed to give proper public notice of the delay, or safeguard “a species currently facing an imminent risk of extinction.” Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift said in an email Tuesday that the Fish and Wildlife Service delayed the effective date of the endangered species listing to “allow for standard review.” She said government scient...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news