Feds declare bat species ‘threatened’ despite GOP objections

Federal officials have declared the northern long-eared bat a threatened species, defying objections from congressional Republicans.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing under the Endangered Species Act means the bat is under threat of becoming endangered.

{mosads}When the listing goes into effect in May, certain activities that could harm or kill bats in the areas where they hibernate will be prohibited, including some logging practices.

The bat is typically 3 to 4 inches long and lives in forested areas throughout much of the eastern and central parts of the country.

Its populations have dwindled in recent years largely due to fungal white-nose syndrome.

“Bats are a critical component of our nation’s ecology and economy, maintaining a fragile insect predator-prey balance; we lose them at our peril,” agency Director Dan Ashe said in a statement.

“Without bats, insect populations can rise dramatically, with the potential for devastating losses for our crop farmers and foresters,” he said. “The alternative to bats is greater pesticide use, which brings with it another set of ecological concerns.”

Congressional Republicans have opposed the FWS’s approach to protecting the bat species. They say that the activities that federal regulators are controlling will not significantly protect the bat from white-nose syndrome.

“This decision flouts transparency and will fail to mitigate the real menace to this species, which is a disease called white nose syndrome — not human activities,” Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, the administration and extremist environmental groups want us all to pat them on the back for labeling this species ‘threatened,’ which is a distraction from addressing WNS [white-nose syndrome], the real threat to the bat,” he said.

Senators have also objected to the listing. In a February hearing, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told Interior Secretary Sally Jewell that a listing would not save the bat.

“White-nose syndrome is the issue … it’s not development or commercial activity,” he said.

— This story was updated on April 2 at 11:04 a.m.