In January, before President Barack Obama left office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scheduled the rusty patched bumblebee to be listed on the endangered species list on Feb. 10--and with good reason.
The population of rusty patched bumblebees, which used to be abundant in 28 states, has suffered a devastating decline of nearly 90 percent over two decades. At the current rate of decline, it is expected to be extinct within a few years.
There's no underestimating the importance of bumblebees to the natural order. While their busyness doesn't yield honey for your tea and toast, the nest-dwelling fuzzy pollinators are vital to the process that produces fruit, seeds and nuts. The rusty patched bumblebees are the first of continental America's domestic bee population to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Seven species of bees in Hawaii are also on the endangered list.
On Feb. 9, the day before they were to be officially listed as endangered, the Trump administration temporarily froze all new federal regulations. The rusty patched bumblebee's status was suddenly thrown into limbo at a time when protections are needed most.
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed that he would freeze all new regulations and order a thorough review of environmental regulations. He insisted that regulations put American business at a competitive disadvantage.
The Natural Resources Defense Council sued the Trump administration in federal court for delaying the bumblebees' listing as an endangered species, arguing that it was a violation of the law.
Fortunately, the Trump administration reversed its position and is allowing the rusty patched bumblebee to be listed. This will mean that bee habitats and the dwindling number of places they can be found can be protected from companies and individuals that would harm them.
This could not have been an easy call for an administration taking a skeptical look at environmental regulations, but it is the right call. Besides, it wouldn't have only been a species of bumblebee that felt the sting of extinction. It would've been everyone dependent on the fruits of the bees' labor, as well.
Editorial on 03/29/2017