【Tamil Archives】

This might be Tamil Archivesthe Trump administration's first pro-environment move.

The rusty patched bumblebee is now on the endangered species list, making it the first bee species in the continental United States to be considered endangered, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced this week.

SEE ALSO: Not everyone's thrilled Cheerios gave away 1.5 billion wildflower seeds to save the bees

The species is "balancing precariously on the brink of extinction," the agency said on Tuesday. "Just 20 years ago, the rusty patched bumblebee was a common sight, so ordinary that it went almost unnoticed as it moved from flower to flower, collecting nectar and pollen."

The decision came as a huge relief to environmentalists, who said they worried the Trump administration would scrap the effort.

Via Giphy

The FWS had approved the bee's endangered listing in the final days of the Obama administration. Shortly after taking office, however, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping "freeze" on Obama-era federal regulations.

On Feb. 9, a day before the bee order was supposed to take effect, the Trump administration delayed the listing until Feb. 21. The Natural Resources Defense Council quickly filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to stop FWS from "violating the law" by delaying the rule without public comment or notice.

"The Trump administration reversed course and listed the rusty patched bumblebee as an endangered species just in the nick of time," Rebecca Riley, a senior attorney with the environmental group, said in a statement released this week.

Now the real work can begin.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

By listing a species as endangered, the FWS is required to devise plans for creating "a healthy and secure condition" in the areas where the species is native. That might mean limiting or redefining development in places that are critical to the species' survival.

Another bee under threat: honey bees. Credit: natalie behring/Getty Images

A handful of business groups, including the American Petroleum Institute and the National Association of Home Builders, filed an "emergency petition" asking Trump officials to extend the freeze until Jan. 11, 2018.

Opponents said the Obama administration didn't take enough time to consider how the bee's listing would "profoundly" affect human activities, such as residential development and crop production.

But efforts to protect rusty patched bumblebees had been underway for years.

Once common across the East Coast and Midwest, the bee species has disappeared from about 90 percent of its range in the past two decades. As with many bee types and pollinators, heavy use of pesticides, sprawling real estate development, climate change and other factors have contributed to staggering population declines.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Nectar-loving pollinators play a vital role in sustaining our ecosystems by enabling plants and food crops to thrive and reproduce. As their habitats shrink, however, so do their numbers.

The Xerces Society, which filed the petition triggering the government's consideration of the rusty patched, said it was "thrilled to see one of North America's most endangered species" receive much-needed protection.

"This is a positive step towards the conservation of this species, and we now have to roll up our sleeves to begin the actual on-the-ground conservation that will help it move toward recovery," Sarina Jepsen, director of endangered species at the Xerces Society, said in a statement.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Watch bee drones pollinate flowers

---

• Tech
• Life
• Games
• Entertainment
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Deals
• Social Good

• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• Tucker Carlson's anti
• 'Serial' Season 3 is coming your way
• J.K. Rowling reveals which 5 items you'd need to summon her
• Boeing's new VR simulator immerses astronauts in space training
• Bumble launches digital snooze button that lets you take a mental health break
• Which Marvel titles to watch as you prep for ‘Multiverse of Madness’
• Review: YSL's custom lipstick maker is impressive, but pricey
• Outdoor speaker deal: Save $20 on the Soundcore Boom 2
• Elon Musk might become temporary Twitter CEO

• Love, Loosha by Lucia Berlin and Kenward Elmslie
• At the Joan Didion Estate Sale by Sophie Haigney
• Acte Gratuit by Alice Blackhurst
• Diary, 2001 by Nell Zink
• Abandoned Books, Anonymous Sculpture, and Curves to the Apple by The Paris Review
• The Face That Replicates by Katy Kelleher
• Solstice Diaries by Ellyn Gaydos
• Nobody Writes Like Nancy Lemann by Susan Minot
• Diary, 1995 by Melissa Febos
• Everything But Money: On Katherine Dunn by Eric Rosenblum

• Best Max streaming deal: Save 20% on annual subscriptions
• How Taweret and actor Antonia Salib lit up 'Moon Knight'
• 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' spoiler
• An alarming number of Americans still use their pet's names as passwords
• Operation Mensch
• Ryan Reynolds' Twitter tribute to Burt Reynolds is as perfect as you'd expect
• Tinder's parent company Match is suing Google over in
• Ultimate dad Barack Obama accidentally plays matchmaker at campaign event
• The Best Gaming Concept Art of 2016
• YouTube's new Super Thanks feature is game

• Every MCU movie villain ranked, from "Iron Man" to "Thunderbolts*"
• 'Last Jedi' scores high in Star Wars film ranking
• This dog's ear contains another dog and it's sort of mind
• Which Marvel titles to watch as you prep for ‘Multiverse of Madness’
• Boeing's new VR simulator immerses astronauts in space training
• Colin Kaepernick's Nike ad is naturally a meme now — and even Don Jr. is getting in on it
• Trump's Nike tweet proves you should never ask a rhetorical question on Twitter
• Apple officially discontinues iPod Touch
• How to Easily Make iPhone Ringtones Using Only iTunes
• 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' mid