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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
nonnative bumble bees to the decline of the Franklins bumble bee. Furthermore, invertebrate surveys in Franklins bumble bee habitat continue to show evidence of healthy populations of other native Bombus species unaffected by competition from nonnative bees Pool 2014, entire; Colyer 2016, entire.

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Summary We find that several natural and other human-caused factors contributed to the decline of the Franklins bumble bee.
While it is unlikely that pesticides alone can account for the decline of the Franklins bumble bee, documented effects of pesticides on closely related Bombus species suggest pesticide use was likely a factor in the decline of the Franklins bumble bee. The haplodiploid genetic system of the Franklins bumble bee, combined with its historically small population size, was also likely a factor in the decline of the species. Although nonnative Bombus species in the range of the Franklins bumble bee could outcompete the Franklins bumble bee for floral resources and nesting habitat, we have no information connecting competition with nonnative bumble bees to the decline of the Franklins bumble bee. Additionally, surveys in Franklins bumble bee habitat continue to show evidence of healthy populations of other native Bombus species unaffected by competition from nonnative bees.
Synergistic and Cumulative Effects It is likely that several threats are acting cumulatively and synergistically on many Bombus species, including the Franklins bumble bee Goulson et al.
2015, p. 5, and the combination of multiple threats is likely more harmful than any one acting alone Gill et al.
2012, p. 108; Coors and DeMeester 2008, p. 1821; Sih et al. 2004, p. 274. There is recent evidence that the interactive effects of pesticides and pathogens could be particularly harmful for bumble bees Service 2018a, p. 39.
Nutritional stress may compromise the ability of bumble bees to survive parasitic infections Brown et al. 2000, pp. 424425. Bumble bees with activated immunity may have metabolic costs, such as increased food consumption Tyler et al. 2006, p. 2;
Moret and Schmid-Hempel 2000, pp.
11661167. Additionally, exposure to pesticides may increase with increased food consumption in infected bees Goulson et al. 2015, p. 5. Activating immunity impairs learning in bumble bees Riddell and Mallon 2006;
Alghamdi et al. 2008, p. 480. Impaired learning is thought to reduce the ability
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of bees to locate floral resources and extract nectar and pollen, therefore exacerbating nutritional stresses Goulson et al. 2015, p. 5. Further, declining North American species with low genetic diversity have higher prevalence of the pathogen Nosema bombi Cameron et al. 2011, p. 665. In summary, we, therefore, find that pathogens in combination with pesticides, as well as pathogens in combination with the effects of small population size, may have hastened and amplified the decline of the Franklins bumble bee to a greater degree than any one of the three threats would cause on its own.
Existing Regulatory Mechanisms and Conservation Efforts Surveys conducted by Dr. Robbin Thorp, other private individuals, university classes and researchers, the U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management have significantly contributed to the existing information on Franklins bumble bee. However, other than those search efforts, we are aware of no conservation efforts or beneficial actions specifically taken to address threats to the Franklins bumble bee. Oregon does not include invertebrates on their State endangered species list Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 2018, entire and California has no bee species included on its list of threatened and endangered invertebrates California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2018, entire.
California has the Franklins bumble bee listed on its list of terrestrial and vernal pool invertebrates of conservation priority but has no required actions or special protections associated with the listing California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2017, p. 10. The Franklins bumble bee is on the species index for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Interagency Special Status/Sensitive Species Program ISSSSP. Although the Federal agencies include the species in survey efforts and conduct general meadow enhancement activities, there are no actions resulting from the ISSSSP
classification that address known threats to the Franklins bumble bee ISSSSP 2018, entire.
General awareness of colony collapse disorder and increase of conservation efforts for pollinators in general has likely had limited, indirect effects on policies and regulations. The U.S. Forest Service is working to include a section in all biological evaluations to address the effects from agency actions on pollinators. In addition, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest is implementing ongoing projects and
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mitigations to create and enhance pollinator habitat Colyer 2018, pers.
comm.. The Oregon Department of Agriculture restricts some potential sources of Nosema bombi from entering the State for agricultural uses, including commercially produced colonies of eastern bumble bee; only Bombus species native to Oregon are allowed for commercial pollination purposes Oregon Department of Agriculture 2017, p. 5. However, California allows, with appropriate permits, the importation of eastern bumble bee, and other species such as the blue orchard bee Osmia lignaria, for greenhouse pollination California Department of Food and Agriculture 2017, making the potential for pathogen spillover from nonnative bees higher in California.
Some local municipalities in Oregon enacted legislation against aerial pesticide applications but none in the range of the Franklins bumble bee Powell 2017, p. 1; City of Portland 2015, p. 2. However, in the 2017
legislative session, Oregon passed an Avoidance of Adverse Effects on Pollinating Insects law Oregon Revised Statutes ORS 634.045 that is providing enhanced training of licensed and unlicensed pesticide applicators in the State Melathopoulos 2018, pers.
comm., and could thereby reduce effects of pesticides on pollinators, including Franklins bumble bee.
In January 2017, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agencys Office of Pesticide Programs published their Policy to Mitigate the Acute Risk to Bees from Pesticide Products, which recommended new labeling statements for pesticide products, including warnings for pesticides with a known acute toxicity to bees Tier 1 pesticides, including neonicotinoids specifically including imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2017, p. 31. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with State and Tribal agencies to develop and implement local pollinator protection plans, known as Managed Pollinator Protection Plans MP3s. The Environmental Protection Agency is promoting MP3s to address potential pesticide exposure to bees and other pollinators at and beyond the site of the application. However, States and Tribes have the flexibility to determine the scope of pollinator protection plans that best responds to pollinator issues in their regions. For example, State and Tribal MP3s may address pesticiderelated risks to all pollinators, including managed bees and wild insect and noninsect pollinators U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2018. The Service implemented a ban on the use of
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