The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received “approximately 666” total comments on the 4(d) rule put in place for the northern long-eared bat after it extended its public comment period to July 1, 2015.
“We intend to finalize the 4(d) rule [which addresses exemptions for some activities that may affect the bat] by the end of 2015,” said Georgia Parham, who works in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest regional external affairs office in Bloomington, Indiana.
“The status of the bat was finalized earlier this year,” said Parham to the Cook County News-Herald.
According to Parham, the bat has been listed as threatened.
Since 2006 bats in the eastern part of the country have been infected from a fungus called white-nose syndrome. Hibernating bats in caves and mine shafts have died by the millions after being infected with the fungus that turns their noses white and causes them to wake up and fly out into the cold during the day. The bats often freeze or starve to death because there are no bugs to catch. The fungus also causes wounds to wing tissue and dehydration.
To date the disease has been discovered in 28 of 37 states where the bats live.
By using the threatened status the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will be able to search for ways to cure the disease and implement protections for the bat’s habitat, efforts they hope will help the bat make a comeback.
The forest products industry fought to keep the bat off of the Endangered Species List because that would have shut down logging in June and July when the bats are roosting in trees with their young.
The 4(d) rule makes it illegal for a logger to harvest a known roosting tree from June 1 to July 31 when the pups are growing in the nest. During that time all logging is prohibited within a quarter of a mile of the known roosting tree.
The interim 4(d) rule allows flexibility to land owners, land managers, government agencies and others as they work or conduct activities in the northern long-eared bats’ habitat. But just what that means to local forestry businesses and trails is not yet known.
Wayne Brandt of the Minnesota Timber Producers Association said, “So far I haven’t heard of any logging sales in the area affected by this ruling. I do know that the Forest Service had their staff check their sales for roosting trees and areas that the bat might use for hibernating, but they didn’t find anything. I haven’t heard of any reports of this ruling affecting Minnesota Department of Natural Resources sales, either. So far, so good.”
The northern longeared bat is found in 38 states and in Canada it is found from the Atlantic Coast to the southern Yukon Territory and in eastern British Columbia.
Because the 4 (d) rule is an interim rule, and given the number of comments received in response to the 4 (d) rule, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will weigh the added responses and make its final decision on whether or not to keep the rule the same or make some modification at the end of the year.
“We received many duplicate comments (for example some organizations’ members sent the same form letter, sometimes in the tens of thousands), said Parham. But, she added, “Duplicates were only counted once. Information contained in a duplicate letter is considered by our agency as it applies to our decision.
“The Endangered Species Act requires that our decisions are based on the best available scientific information, so this process isn’t a ‘vote.’ However, the number of comments we receive is a good indication of interest in a particular issue,” Parham said.
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