Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

The endangered Rusty Patched Bumble Bee made headlines this week due to a decision about designating critical habitat. This is a good opportunity to learn about this bee, its biology and ecology, and understand more about why this decision was made (and the evidence for/against it). To start, read this MPR News article: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/08/31/agency-denies-critical-habitat-for-endangered-bumblebee
Then, address the following questions in a 1 to 1½ page essay (Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced). Don’t just answer each question in a list–try to make everything flow together. You will need to do some reading outside of the provided article to earn full points. Include any citations on a separate page.
• Why did the USFWS decline to designate critical habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumble bee (Bombus affinis)?
• What does it mean for an organism to be a generalist (and how does this apply to B. affinis)?
• What factors do scientists think caused the decline in B. affinis populations?
• Would designating critical habitat help B. affinis? Why or why not?
• Okay, so there’s no critical habitat. So, going forward, what should happen next? Offer constructive, thoughtful ideas about the future of conservation for B. affinis.