A new study says when the Trump administration shrank Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah late last year, it may have endangered scores of native bee species.
The study reports there are almost as many species of native bees living in Grand Staircase as in the entire eastern United States -- 660 in total. Most native bees don’t live in colonies or make honey, but they are important pollinators.
Joseph Wilson, a biology professor at Utah State University and co-author of the study, said the new boundaries mean a number of those bee species now live on unprotected land, and they’re vulnerable to increased development like mining.
“Mining,” he said, “brings with it other things that we know can have negative impact—like more roads or more disturbance, removing ground cover, removing vegetation or other things like that.”
Wilson said we should care because, as pollinators, bees are one of the most important animals in the world, and they are already vulnerable right now because of climate change.
The big takeaway from the study, Wilson said, “is that there’s a lot we still don’t know about this hot spot of bee diversity. So as changes are being made, land managers need to take into consideration these bee populations because it seems they’ve just mostly been overlooked.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
You want to know what is really going on in Southern Colorado these days. We have got just the thing for people like you: the KRCC Weekly Digest. Sign up here and we will see you in your email inbox soon!
KRCC has moved, and our new home, the Southern Colorado Public Media Center, also houses the Colorado College Journalism Institute, and Rocky Mountain PBS’s Regional Innovation Center. See more photos and learn about the new space.
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. Listen now.
Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the Southern Colorado stories that affect you and the music that inspires you.