[Pollinator] Conservationists and California Fish and Game Commission Pursue Appeal to Ensure Legal Protections for Imperiled Bumble Bees

Mon Feb 8 08:50:40 PST 2021

Good morning:

The Xerces Society and our conservation partners at Defenders of Wildlife
and Center for Food Safety, represented by the Stanford Environmental Law
Clinic, appealed a recent court decision that determined that the
California Fish and Game Commission lacks authority to list four bumble bee
species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The Fish and
Game Commission also filed an appeal to challenge the court’s ruling.

This case follows a petition that Xerces and partners submitted in 2018 to
protect the western, Crotch’s, Suckley cuckoo and Franklin’s bumble bees
under CESA. These bumble bees are at risk of extinction in the state. When
the Fish and Game Commission granted these four bumble bee species
candidate status, several large agricultural groups in California sued and
the Xerces Society intervened in the lawsuit to support the Commission. The
language of the California Endangered Species Act clearly allows insects to
be protected—but the bigger issue is that California cannot maintain its
biodiversity without being able to protect three quarters of the species in
the state. If this Superior Court ruling is upheld it will hurt both
agriculture *and* the native ecosystems that make California unique.

Insects make up more than 75 percent of species on the planet and excluding
them from protection under CESA will prevent California from sustaining its
wildlife. In addition to providing pollination and pest control for
important food crops, insects are vital for the functioning of California’s
native ecosystems. They pollinate plants in wild areas, which in turn
produce fruits and seeds eaten by birds, small mammals and other animals.
Insects themselves are important food sources for many other animals—from
fish to reptiles, amphibians to songbirds. Without protecting a diversity
of native insects, we will not have healthy food to eat, songbirds in our
yards, or fish in our streams.

The joint media release is below or can be read at
https://xerces.org/press/conservationists-and-california-fish-and-game-commission-pursue-appeal-to-ensure-legal

Thank you!

Matthew

**************************

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Expert Contacts*:

Sarina Jepsen, endangered species program director, Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation;
971-244-3727, sarina.jepsen at xerces.org

Victoria “Tori” Yundt, staff attorney, Center for Food Safety;
541-419-2344, tyundt at centerforfoodsafety.org

Jake Bleich, communications associate, Defenders of Wildlife;
202-772-3208, jbleich at defenders.org

*Conservationists and California Fish and Game Commission Pursue Appeal to
Ensure Legal Protections for Imperiled Bumble Bees*

SACRAMENTO, Calif.; February 2, 2021---Today, the Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation, Center for Food Safety, and Defenders of
Wildlife, represented by Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, announced they
are appealing a November 2020 decision
<https://xerces.org/press/court-rules-state-of-california-lacks-authority-to-protect-imperiled-bumble-bee-species-under>
by the Sacramento County Superior Court that determined that the California
Fish and Game Commission lacks authority to list four threatened bumble bee
species as candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act
(CESA). The California Fish and Game Commission has also filed notice of
intent to appeal, challenging the court's ruling.

“The California Endangered Species Act was enacted to protect the state’s
biodiversity and should not exclude insects, which make up more than three
quarters of all life on earth and play essential roles in maintaining
native ecosystems and pollinating our crops,” said *Sarina Jepsen,
endangered species program director and petition coauthor at the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation*. “These four bumble bees are among
many of California’s imperiled wild pollinators that urgently need the
protection provided by this law.”

“We believe an appeal is warranted as the lower court discounted key
provisions of the Fish and Game Code, CESA's legislative history, and the
case law, which together show that CESA protects insects,” *said Matthew
Sanders of the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, and lead counsel in the
case. *

“This case is critical to clarifying that insects such as bees qualify for
protections under CESA, which are necessary to ensuring that populations of
endangered species, including some bees which are essential to our food
supply, survive and thrive,” *said Victoria Yundt, staff attorney at Center
for Food Safety and co-counsel in the case. *

“California’s native bumble bees will continue their precipitous decline
unless they receive proper protections,”* said Pamela Flick, California
program director at Defenders of Wildlife. *“Bees are integral to healthy
ecosystems and the pollination services they provide serve all of us,
making this decision exponentially more consequential for the protection of
California’s biodiversity. We’re hopeful the appellate court will overturn
this deeply flawed decision.”

In 2018, Center for Food Safety, Defenders of Wildlife, and Xerces Society
petitioned
<https://xerces.org/publications/policy-statements/california-esa-bumble-bee-petition-2018>
the California Fish and Game Commission to list four species of native
bumble bees—western bumble bee, Franklin's bumble bee, Crotch's bumble bee,
and the Suckley cuckoo bumble bee—as Endangered under CESA. As a result of
the groups' petition, the Commission voted
<https://xerces.org/press/four-native-bumble-bees-are-poised-to-be-first-pollinators-protected-under-california>
to begin the listing process in 2019, but was sued by California
agricultural groups shortly after its decision. Center for Food Safety,
Defenders of Wildlife, and Xerces Society intervened
<https://xerces.org/press/pollinator-petitioners-ask-court-for-permission-to-join-lawsuit-to-defend-fish-and-game>
in the lawsuit (Almond Alliance v. California Fish and Game Commission) in
January 2020.

# # #

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation protects the natural world
by conserving invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the
Society is a trusted source for science-based information and advice and
plays a leading role in protecting pollinators and many other
invertebrates. Our team draws together experts from the fields of habitat
restoration, entomology, plant ecology, education, pesticides, farming and
conservation biology with a single passion: Protecting the life that
sustains us. To learn more, visit xerces.org or follow us @xercessociety on
Twitter <https://twitter.com/xercessociety>, Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/xercessociety/> or Instagram
<https://www.instagram.com/xercessociety/>.

Center for Food Safety's mission is to empower people, support farmers, and
protect the earth from the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture.
Through groundbreaking legal, scientific, and grassroots action, we protect
and promote your right to safe food and the environment. Please join our
more than 950,000 advocates across the country at
www.centerforfoodsafety.org. Twitter: @CFSTrueFood
<http://www.twitter.com/CFSTrueFood>, @CFS_Press
<http://www.twitter.com/CFS_Press>

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals
and plants in their natural communities. With over 1.8 million members and
activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative
solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For
more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter
@Defenders <https://twitter.com/Defenders>.

----------

Matthew Shepherd

Director of Communications & Outreach

*he/him/his*

[image: Email-Outlook_Xerces-logo-CMYK]

Protecting the Life That Sustains Us

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