WASHINGTON - The beleaguered rusty patched bumblebee has received official federal protection after all, thanks to a change of heart by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday officially listed the effective date of federal protection as March 21. The listing was originally set to occur on Feb. 10.
The Trump administration had put the listing on hold, pending a review, drawing jeers from environmental activists and scientists who say the bee needs Endangered Species Act protection.
"The Trump administration reversed course and listed the rusty patched bumblebee as an endangered species just in the nick of time. Federal protections may be the only thing standing between the bumble bee and extinction," said Rebecca Riley, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
NRDC filed a lawsuit in federal court on February 14, four days after the freeze took effect, asking the court to stop the Department of Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from violating the law by freezing the bumblebee's listing. It's expected that suit will now be dropped.
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It is the first bumblebee ever listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The chubby bee with a rusty patch on its back once thrived in 28 states across the Upper Midwest and East Coast as well as large parts of Canada. But in the past two decades the bee has disappeared from nearly 90 percent of its historic range - seen in the past 15 years in only 13 states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario.
Experts believe the bee is falling prey to habitat loss, climate change, diseases and, especially, neonicotinoid pesticides - some of the same problems believed to be hurting butterfly populations. Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides used widely on farms and in urban landscapes for flowers and gardens. They are absorbed by plants and can be present in pollen and nectar, making them toxic to wild bees.
The decision to use the Endangered Species Act to try to recover the bee's population comes after years of calls from conservation groups and scientists to protect the native species. Bumblebees are important pollinators for berries, vegetables, clover and native flowering plants.
