Trump administration delays listing bumblebee as endangered

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopted a rule Jan. 11 extending federal protection to the rusty patched bumblebee, one of many types of bees that play a vital role in pollinating crops and wild plants.

"The Trump administration has put the rusty patched bumblebee back on the path to extinction," said Rebecca Riley, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The U.S. Department of Interior, which includes the Fish and Wildlife Service, "is working to review this regulation as expeditiously as possible and expects to issue further guidance on the effective date of the listing shortly," spokeswoman Heather Swift told The Associated Press in an email.