Northern Long-eared Bat protected under Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is making a last-ditch effort to keep the Northern Long-Eared bat from becoming extinct.

The Service published a final rule on November 29, 2022, to reclassify the northern long-eared bat from “threatened” to “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

The rule will go into effect on January 30, 2023.

Found in 38 states (but suspected to exist in 43 states) and eight provinces in North America, these bats are suffering from white-nose syndrome (WNS), first discovered in New York in 2006.

An invasive fungus from Europe, the disease causes fuzzy white growths on the noses and faces of the bats, and the fungus eats its way into their wings. First, sick bats will awaken from hibernation. Then, they are believed to fly out into the cold and die from exposure or starvation when no bugs can be found.

In 2013 two sites in Minnesota, the Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park in the state’s southeastern corner near Zumbrarro and the Soudan Underground Mine State Park on the Iron Range, were found to house the WNS fungus. In that initial search, three little brown bats and one northern long-eared bat were found infected.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, bats account for one-fifth of all mammals on earth and eat millions of pounds of flying insects yearly. A recent study found that the value of bat pest control services in the United States ranges from $3.7 billion to $5.3 billion per year.

The medium-sized bats are 3 to 3.7 inches with a wingspan of 9 to 10 inches, fur colored medium to dark brown on the back, and tawny to pale brown on the underside. They eat moths, flies, leafhoppers, caddis fish, and beetles found in 39 states.

Since the WNS discovery, the northern long-eared bat population has been decimated, losing 97 to 100 percent of the population in some affected areas. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, WNS currently affects 80 percent of the bat’s range and is predicted to affect 100 percent by the end of the decade.

In the summer, these medium to dark-brown bats roost alone or in small colonies in crevices found in living or dead trees or abandoned buildings. The females have one pup per year.

The new ruling has the potential to affect loggers, construction workers, wind energy projects, and other projects that will be done to protect mating and roosting bats in the summer.

The USWS tried to address those concerns in a November 29 press release.

“The Service has a strong foundation in place for working with stakeholders to conserve listed bats while allowing economic activities within the range to continue to occur. Since the species was listed as threatened in 2015, the Service has approved more than 22 habitat conservation plans (HCPs) that allow wind energy and forestry projects to proceed after minimizing and mitigating their impacts to northern long-eared bats. Several newly developed tools have been prepared to help guide project managers through consultation once the change in status takes effect, including an interim consultation framework to help prevent delay for projects already reviewed under the prior 4(d) rule and an online determination key for automatic project concurrence for many activities. We have also developed voluntary guidance for wind facilities to allow operation in a manner consistent with bat conservation and voluntary timber management guidance to aid risk assessment and to avoid and minimize impacts to northern long-eared bats. Many transportation projects already have ESA compliance in place that will remain.

“To address the growing threat of white-nose syndrome to the northern long-eared bat and other bats across North America, the Service is leading the White-nose Syndrome National Response Team, a coordinated effort of more than 150 non-governmental organizations, institutions, Tribes, and state and federal agencies. Together we are conducting critical white-nose syndrome research and developing management strategies to minimize impacts of the disease and recover affected bat populations. To date, this effort has yielded scientific advancements that include identification of critical information about white-nose syndrome and its impacts on North American bat species. We developed and are using disease surveillance tools to monitor spread and impacts, and we’re testing biological, chemical, immunological, genetic and mechanical treatments in a number of states to improve bat survival.”