(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Activists trying to save the habitat of an endangered bumblebee on prairie land property connected to the Rockford Airport are in a race against time.
The Rusty Patch Bumblebees are expected to emerge and forage on the Bell Bowl Prairie in mere days, according to Robb Telfer of Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves.
“The Rusty Patch Bumblebee is a federally endangered species that has been found at Bell Bowl Prairie, and it’s really great, but there are actually 46 species of bees, alone, that depend on a place like Bell Prairie,” he said.
The FAA has given the airport authority the okay to build a road through the center of the prairie. Telfer said that will destroy the bee’s habitat.
“The Rusty Patch Bumblebee will no longer have a place to live or eat,” Telfer said.
If the bees emerge before the construction starts, which could be this week, it will have to be put off.
The activists have also asked a judge to halt construction.
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