This month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to downgrade the listing of the Northern Long-Eared Bat from “endangered” to “threatened with a 4(d) rule.” This change in listing is likely due to comments from state forester associations and regional fish and wildlife agencies made in November of 2014 (click here for more information). Listing the bat as “threatened” and incorporating a 4(d) rule gives greater flexibility for land and resource managers for a species whose range includes much of the eastern United States. Specifically, this change in listing loosens restrictions on “forest management activities,…maintenance and minimal expansion of existing rights-of-way and transmission corridors,…minimal tree removal,… and removal of bats from…human structures” (click here for more information). While these activities will likely receive reduced scrutiny from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, contact and consultation with the USFWS may still be required to perform these activities.
If you would like to comment on the proposed listing, you may do so until March 17th. Instructions for submitting comments can be found here. If you have questions on how this may affect your project or what consultation with USFWS might entail, contact me.