Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service: Protect the rusty patched bumblebee!
Hi,
Honey bees are not the only pollinator in trouble. Many of our wild bee species are also suffering alarming declines. In fact, more than a quarter of all bumblebees are on the brink of extinction.
Thankfully, the U.S. government is very close to finally granting Endangered Species Act protection to one of these species: the rusty patched bumblebee. Just weeks ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) responded to a petition from the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and proposed listing the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species.
Right now, the FWS is accepting comments about this decision and the docket closes in just one week. That’s why we’re partnering with our colleagues at Friends of the Earth to help support this important decision. Tell FWS to finalize the petition and protect the rusty patched bumblebee before it’s too late!
The rusty patched bumblebee bee pollinates everything from cranberries and blueberries to alfalfa and apples, but it’s disappearing fast. In fact, the FWS estimates that the abundance and distribution of rusty patched bumble bee populations have declined by 91 percent since the mid to late 1990s. This bee needs protection NOW!
Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the rusty-patch bumblebee as an endangered species.
While there are numerous threats facing the rusty patched bumble, ranging from disease to habitat loss and climate change, the rapid spike in uses of bee-toxic pesticides (like neonicotinoids) has made matters exponentially worse. That’s why we need the FWS to immediately grant the rusty patched bumblebee the strong protections it so urgently needs.
Urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to grant the rusty patched bumblebee protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Thanks for everything you do,
The Center for Food Safety team
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