The California Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals to California’s designation that will give four bumblebee subspecies protection under the California Endangered Species Act’s protection of fish.
The decision does not mean that bumblebees are fish. Still, the appeals court had reasons to conclude, based on the goals of the endangered-species law, that its wording “carries an unusual meaning, peculiar to that law,” wrote Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.
Agricultural groups argued that protections for the bumblebees could affect growing crops, grazing, herbicide and pesticide applications and the use of commercial honeybees to pollinate crops. The court signaled that it is up to lawmakers—not the courts—to provide clarity on the rule.
