U.S. habitat protections denied for endangered bat species

Source: Reuters

World | Mon Apr 25, 2016 10:16pm EDT

U.S. habitat protections denied for endangered bat species

BY LAURA ZUCKERMAN

U.S. wildlife officials have decided against setting aside protected habitat for the cave dwellings of an imperiled species of bats, saying that doing so might draw the attention of vandals who would do harm to the lairs of the winged mammals.

The northern long-eared bat, whose numbers have been decimated by the spread of a fungus behind a deadly disease called white-nose syndrome, are deemed integral to the ecology throughout their range along the U.S. Eastern seaboard, Oklahoma, the Dakotas and parts of Montana and Wyoming.

Farmers and foresters credit the species with preventing billions of dollars in damage to crops and woodlands through the insects the bats consume.

Federal wildlife managers on Monday said it would be imprudent to designate critical habitat for the bats because that would entail publicly identifying where they hibernate, increasing the risk of vandalism and possibly hastening the spread of white-nose syndrome.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bats-habitat-idUSKCN0XN05J