WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today finalized the designation of 1.57 million acres of critical habitat for rusty patched bumblebees, securing protections for places essential to the survival of one of America’s most imperiled pollinators.

The final rule is the result of a lawsuit filed by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, which successfully challenged the Fish and Wildlife Service’s earlier decision to deny critical habitat for the species. The critical habitat finalized in today’s action is less than the 1.65 million acres of critical habitat the Service proposed in November 2024.

Once common across the eastern and midwestern United States, the rusty patched bumblebee has already disappeared from nearly 90% of the places it once lived.

“This determination is the result of over a decade of fighting to secure protections for the rusty patched bumble bee and the areas it depends on to survive,” said Lucas Rhoads, senior attorney at NRDC. “Many of its native grasslands have been wiped out, so protecting its last remaining habitat from further destruction is just common sense. These legal protections will help give us the best chance of recovering this once-common pollinator.”

“We thank the Fish and Wildlife Service for establishing critical habitat for the rusty patched bumblebee. Minnesota is one of the bee’s last strongholds,” said Tom Casey, board chair of Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas. “The bee is not only endangered under federal law; it is designated as Minnesota’s state bee. Furthermore, the Minnesota legislature has also directed the DNR to list this bee as endangered under Minnesota state law. To avoid extinction, critical habitat is essential for the bee’s recovery.”

“Protecting some of the last remaining places where this gravely imperiled native bumblebee lives is an important step toward preventing its extinction,” said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “But until we use this designation and other tools to rein in the escalating use of dangerous pesticides, our native bees and many other insects that are the foundation of life on Earth as we know it will remain at tremendous risk.”

Background

Critical habitat designation requires federal agencies to ensure their actions are not likely to destroy or damage areas essential for a species’ survival and recovery. The rusty patched bumblebee, once common across the eastern and midwestern United States, now survives in isolated populations concentrated largely in the upper Midwest. The bee faces threats from habitat loss, pesticide contamination, parasites, climate change and disease.

The Fish and Wildlife Service listed the rusty patched bumblebee as endangered in 2017 following a pair of lawsuits. In 2020 the agency decided not to designate critical habitat, claiming the protection would provide no benefit. NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas challenged that decision, and a federal court in Washington, D.C. ruled in their favor, setting aside the agency’s decision. The parties then reached an agreement requiring the Fish and Wildlife Service to propose a revised determination by November 2024.

Today’s final rule completes that process and awards long-overdue habitat protections.