SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A California appeals court Tuesday ruled that invertebrates, including four species of a native bumble bee, are protected under the California Endangered Species Act.
The ruling reverses a 2020 finding of the Sacremento Superior Court.
In 2018, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the Center for Food Safety, and Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to list four species of bumble bees as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Shortly after the vote to protect the bees, the California Fish and Game Commission was sued by large agricultural interests. The Almond Alliance of California, California Farm Bureau Federation, California Citrus Mutual and four other organizations claimed that listing the bees was outside the commission's domain since they aren't birds, reptiles, mammals, fish, or amphibians.
The agricultural interest groups put their case in front of the Sacramento Superior Court, which court determined that the commission didn't have the authority to list the bees under CESA. Then represented by the Stanford Environmental Law Clinic, the listing petitioners and the commission appealed the decision. The arguments heard by an appeals court last week primarily focused on one question: What does it mean to be a "fish"?
The colloquial meaning of fish usually involves scales and living in water. However, the CESA is intended to be flexible and allow a variety of creatures to be covered. "Fish" in the Act refers to invertebrates, without boxing the animal into an aquatic or terrestrial environment. Some creatures protected by Act via the fish category include pill bugs, frogs, slugs and snails.
"We acknowledge the scope of the definition is ambiguous but also recognize that we are not interpreting the definition on a blank slate. The legislative history supports the liberal interpretation of the Act (the lens through which we are required to construe the Act) that the commission may list any invertebrate as an endangered or threatened species," the 35-page ruling states.
Native bumble bees are essential in maintaining California's ecosystems and agricultural economy.
"With one out of every three bites of food we eat coming from a crop pollinated by bees, this court decision is critical to protecting our food supply," Rebecca Spector, West Coast Director at Center for Food Safety, said in a press release.
Between almonds, avocados, grapes and more, California is responsible for 12% of the country's agricultural cash receipts. According to the Center for Food Safety, 75% of vegetable and fruit plants have higher yields when visited by a pollinator such as a native bumble bee. Additionally, one-third of California's food production requires an animal pollinator. However, three of the four bee species populations have declined between 58%–98%, and the fourth hasn't been seen since 2006.
"CESA is one of the important tools we have to protect and restore endangered species. The court's ruling, which is grounded in the California Legislature's plain words and intent, ensures that CESA will fulfill its purpose of conserving 'any endangered species' by protecting the full range of California's biodiversity, including terrestrial invertebrates," said Sam Joyce, a Stanford Environmental Law Clinic student who helped argue the case.
This ruling ends a four-year clash between the California Fish and Game Commission and agricultural groups. It also paves the way to protect other threatened insects under CESA, including the Monarch butterfly, whose population has dropped 95% since the 1980s.
"It is a great day for California's bumble bees. Today's decision confirms that California Endangered Species Act protections apply to all of our state's imperiled native species and is critical to protecting our state's renown biodiversity. Bees and other pollinators are integral to healthy ecosystems and the crucial pollination services they provide serve all of us, making this decision exponentially more consequential," said Pamela Flick, California Program Director with Defenders of Wildlife.
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