Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

What it does

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), a bumble bee historically known to occur broadly across the eastern United States and portions of Canada, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). In total, we are designating approximately 1,534,951 acres (621,172 hectares) of occupied critical habitat in 14 units across 33 counties in 6 States.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

50 CFR 17

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Fish and Wildlife Service has published 29 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 13 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1018-BH72 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

This rule is effective July 1, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Title 50 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register