The Fish and Wildlife Service floated a notion Thursday intended to simultaneously protect bumblebees while also streamlining permits for energy and transportation projects.
Prompted by an application from the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC), the FWS opened for public comment what’s being called a “Nationwide Conservation Benefit Agreement” covering 11 distinct bumblebee species. The program would essentially entice energy companies and others to conserve bumblebee habitat in exchange for a long-term permit allowing some unintentional harm to a vulnerable bee species.
“The time and costs saved by participating in the bumblebee agreement are potentially significant,” said Dan Salas, director of the Sustainable Landscapes program at the university’s Energy Resources Center. “Moreover, this also saves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service time and cost. By encouraging conservation investment and streamlining compliance paperwork, it allows Service personnel to focus their time and attention on other priority species in need.”
Under this program, Salas said that “participants invest upfront in conservation practices for species that need it most.” In return, he said, they “receive regulatory certainty and streamlined permitting as long as they are continuing to invest in conservation.”
