Cavechat.org

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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From the AP article listed by Wayne Harrison wrote: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.

Indiana brown bat? And bats protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

Some one needs to do their research.

It's about time the Indiana bats form an alliance with the Brown bats.


Their strength are in their numbers now!

My last year in the army (1993) at Ft Bragg, NC we had some real environmental issues with the red-headed woodpecker. Any tree found to have woodpeckers was marked with a special reflective sign and then trees around it were also marked. You couldn't maneuver vehicles or do war games near the nesting sits.
Dr J

hey, ran into that issues on land nav at area J. still have the signs posted all over. our "safety brief" included "don't piss off the wildlife"
always good advice anyway, considering the wildlife usually has teeth...or beaks...

I'm pretty sure the Red-headed woodpecker is in every training area the Army owns, or at least op-for puts the signs were they don't want you to be!!