Historically, for those contemplating construction on a new property, the last item many consider is what kinds of bats live in an area. That has been changing over the past few years with the listing of the Indiana Bat as endangered and its potential range spanning every county in Kentucky. Now the US Fish and Wildlife Service is getting ready to list the Northern Long-Eared Bat as endangered, affecting similar habitat areas as the Indiana Bat. The species is currently proposed for listing and listening sessions will be conducted Tuesday August 19th through Thursday August 21st for the public to provide comments on this proposed listing. If you want to participate you can log into the webcast at http://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=741848583&p=&t=c and call in to 1-800-369-1692 using the passcode 2549152#. Webcasts will be conducted Tuesday at 1pm, Wednesday at 4pm, and Thursday at 7pm Eastern Time. More information on the proposed listing and how you can provide comments can be found at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/news/734.html.
If you have any questions regarding what this species listing might mean for your project, feel free to contact me a josiahf@smithmanage.com.
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/mammals/nlba/nlebRangeMaps.html