Sarina Jepsen: Xerces Society seeks to join lawsuit to protect four California bumble bees

THIS WEEK ON THE SHOW

This past June, the California Fish and Game Commission decided to list four bumble bees as candidates for endangered species protection in the state. However, in September a coalition of agricultural interests sued to prevent the listing from going forward, claiming that insects cannot be listed under California’s endangered species act. Now the Xerces Society, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Food Safety are seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to ensure that the bumble bees receive protection.

This is a really important court case to follow because it focuses on an essential conversation about insect conservation. So here is my conversation with Sarina Jepsen, the Endangered Species Program Director for the Xerces Society, to help us understand what the case is all about. Enjoy.

• Pollinator petitioners ask court for permission to join lawsuit to defend fish and game commission decision to protect four native bee species under the California endangered species act: https://bit.ly/2UO2HZF

• If bumble bees become endangered in California, farmers say it sets a ‘dangerous precedent’: https://bit.ly/2OT39BZ

WEEKLY UPDATE

• California banned chlorpyrifos from your food. Now it won’t be manufactured (Los Angeles Times): https://lat.ms/2OTxOz7

• Häagen-Dazs ice cream now Bee Better Certified (Xerces Society): https://bit.ly/2HkLA9J

• Bumble bee declines indicate mass extinction (The Guardian): https://bit.ly/3bzOFRl

• Bumble bees fly in ‘economy mode’ when carrying heavy loads (University of California, Davis): https://bit.ly/2SoedZT

• Alternative pollinators to help farmers as bee populations suffer in drought and bushfires  (ABC): https://ab.co/2OSHeuF

• Oldest evidence of modern bees found in Argentina (National Geographic): https://on.natgeo.com/2UO1mlB

• Fossilized insect from 100 million years ago is oldest record of primitive bee with pollen (Oregon State University): https://bit.ly/3bAaekK