Tag Archives: Endangered Species Act

Scientists decry ‘ignorance’ of rolling back species protections in the midst of a mass extinction

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Map of the United States.

(Washington Post) In North America alone, at least 277 plant and animal species have gone extinct. In the past 500 years, humans have wiped out nearly 2 1/2 percent of amphibian species, 2 percent of mammals and birds, and about 1 percent of reptiles and fish. At a geological scale that’s a stunning rate of extinction in a vanishingly brief period of time. However, the full list of the fallen is composed primarily of mollusks, insects and other more obscure organisms – and it is egregiously incomplete. “We’re obliterating landscapes before we’ve even had a chance to catalogue the species that lived there.”

This has been a bad week for bees

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Image of rusty patch bumble bee.

(The Bee Report) The Trump administration weakened the Endangered Species Act. Franklin’s bumble bee is being considered for the Endangered Species List – but under the newly-weakened law. And the yellow-banded bumble bee won’t be considered for protection as an endangered or threatened species (despite the fact that it’s now found in only 14 of the 25 states it used to inhabit).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes Endangered Species Act protection for Franklin’s bumble bee

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Image of Franklin's bumble bee on yellow flower.

(Xerces Society) Responding to a petition from the Xerces Society and the late Dr. Robbin Thorp, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service will propose to list Franklin’s bumble bee as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, making it the first bee in the western U.S. to be officially recognized under the ESA. The proposed rule by FWS can be found in the Federal Register.

Trump administration weakens protections for endangered species

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Image of bald eagle perched on tree.

(New York Times) The Endangered Species Act has been the most essential piece of United States legislation for protecting fish, plants and wildlife, and has acted as a safety net for species on the brink of extinction – including the rusty patched bumble bee. The changes could clear the way for new mining, oil and gas drilling, and development in areas where protected species live. The new rules will make it harder to consider the effects of climate change on wildlife when deciding whether a given species warrants protection. The new rules would also, for the first time, allow economic factors to be taken into account when making determinations.

Proposed pipeline dealt another setback by federal court to protect rusty patched bumble bee

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Image of pipeline construction from above.

(CBS19) The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday tossed out a key permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline that deals with the project’s effects on threatened or endangered species – including the rusty patched bumble bee. The court wrote that, in fast-tracking the Biological Opinion in connection to the proposed pipeline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “appears to have lost sight of its mandate under the [Endangered Species Act]: ‘to protect and conserve endangered and threatened species and their habitats.'” The full decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can be found here.