New Conservation Benefit Agreement for Bumble Bees

[Maffei, Clare J]

Hey folks,

FYSA.

This was modeled after the success of the Monarch CCAA. Here is an easy FAQ page for comparing the two agreements. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued an enhancement of survival permit (ESPER10850524-0) under the Nationwide Conservation Benefit Agreement for Bumble Bees on Energy and Transportation Lands. This agreement includes 11 bumble bee species across the lower 48 states.

This enhancement of survival permit will streamline consultation and permitting for energy and transportation projects, while also providing assurances to enrolled private and non-federal partners if any covered bumble bee species are listed under the Endangered Species Act in the future. This action furthers the Administration’s efforts to improve regulatory predictability.  

 

The University of Illinois Chicago, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other partners, proposed the agreement to conserve millions of acres of pollinator habitat across the country. The agreement covers 11 bumble bee species found across the lower 48 states, including the endangered rusty patched and Franklin’s bumble bees, along with nine at-risk species such as the American, western and yellow-banded bumble bees.

 

For additional information about this final agreement and permit please visit  UIC's Rights of Way as Habitat Working Group website or search our Questions and Answers: Proposed Nationwide Conservation Benefit Agreement for Bumble Bees on Energy and Transportation Lands webpage.

The issuance of the permit aligns with Executive Order 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” which directs federal agencies to remove regulatory barriers and improve permitting efficiency for domestic energy development. It supports the goals of Secretary’s Order 3418, which directs the Department of the Interior to remove impediments to responsible energy production and infrastructure. The agreement provides regulatory assurances to enrolled private and non-federal partners if any covered bumble bee species are listed under the Endangered Species Act in the future.

Clare Maffei 

Biologist

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Natural Resource Program Center, Inventory & Monitoring Branch

National Protocol Framework for the Inventory and Monitoring of Bees

ORCID: 0009-0008-1621-0498