States Seek Delay In Protecting Long-Eared Bat
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Four states in the Upper Midwest want federal officials to delay listing the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species.
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin made the request this month to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which proposed the designation in October with the understanding that it would make a final decision within a year.
The states want an extension so they can have a role in devising regulations for logging in ways that would protect the bat. They say the federal agency's guidelines are too restrictive and could severely harm the forest products industry.
Millions of northern long-eared bats have died in recent years because of a disease called white-nose syndrome that has been detected in 25 states.
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