“Endangered Species Act – Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB)”

In April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the NLEB as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This bat’s population is down due to a high-mortality fungal disease called White Nose Syndrome, which infects hibernating bats. The NLEB hibernates in caves during the winter and roosts in trees during the summer. June and July are particularly sensitive months for the species, as the mother bats and their pups roost in trees. To allow certain land management activities to continue, the FWS adopted a temporary “4(d) rule” designed to determine how activities may be conducted without being considered a prohibited “take” under the ESA. Complicating this issue is a pending lawsuit brought by a national group, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). CBD is challenging the interim 4(d) rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claiming the FWS failed to conduct an analysis under the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) when it issued the interim rule. The NHTOA will join a coalition of other timber industry and timberland owner organizations as intervenors in this case to support the FWS’ research.