FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) _ Construction of up to 300 homes at Fort Drum could be delayed by up to year because $75 million authorized last year for the development at the northern New York Army post has been held up in Congress.
Developers said the problem is further complicated by the presence of Indiana brown bats, an endangered species protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The act contains a ban on clearing trees from April 15 through Sept. 30 _ a provision that protects the bats from being killed while foraging for food.
"The bats just complicate things," Joseph E. McLaughlin, project development director for Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes, said Thursday.
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