On Wednesday, January 13, 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a final rule for protecting northern long-eared bats, a species found throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario and many eastern states that is threatened with a fungus that has killed millions since it was discovered in New York in 2006.
Last April federal wildlife officials listed the northern long-eared bat as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. The final rule updates that designation, but is less restrictive toward the logging industry, and gives more leniency to oil and gas companies for clearing land to reach those resources, and for electric companies that want to put up wind turbines. The new rule is also less onerous for landowners and those building homes, but it does impose strict penalties for illegally harming or killing a bat or destroying its roosting site.
The final regulation will take effect February 16.
Wildlife officials said the directive would protect critical bat habitat, including roosting trees where bats raise their pups during the summer, and hibernacula caves where they sleep during the winter.
Under terms set forth, it will be illegal to log within one-quarter mile of a known hibernacula, and loggers and construction workers taking trees for work must stay 150 feet from a roost tree where bats raise their pups in June and July.
Although the final regulation sought middle ground, some environmental groups wanted the more stringent restrictions that come with a listing of “endangered,” which would shut down logging, home and road construction, and any other type of activity that might hurt the bats during their roosting season.
“The new rule does a much better job of protecting industry profits than bats,” said Tanya Sanerib, spokesperson for the Center of Biological Diversity. “It will almost certainly result in more dead bats by allowing the destruction of habitat they need when coming out of hibernation or are pregnant in the summer. It’s the last thing they need after being devastated by this disease.”
But Wayne E. Brandt, executive vice president of Minnesota Forest Industries and Minnesota Timber Producers Association, sees the rule differently.
“This was a substantial improvement from where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFS) started with their original listing of the bat. The changes to the draft rule provide flexibility for the logger. Instead of being one-quarter mile away from a roost tree, they can now be 150 feet away, which makes our work easier.
“I will also give them (USFS) credit for focusing on the fungus that is causing white-nose syndrome. They understand and acknowledge it’s not lack of habitat that is killing the bats, it’s the disease.”
Brandt also added that researchers have learned bats “roost pretty much anywhere,” and don’t favor one species of tree over another. Plus, roosting mothers will move their young from tree to tree, which makes it hard for loggers to track them.
“What is happening to the bats is tragic. They [researchers] need to find a cure, a way to eradicate what is causing white-nose syndrome.
“Overall, we do feel pretty good with the final rule. They [Fish and Wildlife Service] were very open and I give them a ton of credit,” said Brandt.
While it isn’t known how the fungus spreads, it causes the bat’s face and nose to turn white, hence the name “white-nose syndrome.” Once infected, hibernating bats will awaken and fly into the cold. It is thought they might be pursuing insects when they wake and then they starve or freeze to death in search of food.
So far more than $45 million has been spent to find an explanation to what is causing white-nose syndrome.
“Unless there is a solution to the white-nose syndrome crisis, the outlook for this bat will not improve,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe in a news release. “This rule tailors regulatory protections in a way that makes sense and focuses protections where they will make a difference for the bat.”
To date white-nose syndrome has been found in 30 states. It affects seven species of bats, but has decimated northern long-eared bat populations in some eastern states.
Should the northern long-eared bat continue to decline in numbers, it will almost surely be placed on the endangered list and the current rules for logging and other construction activities will end, said Ashe.
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