Vermont Panel Votes to Add LBB and NLE to ESL

[PYoungbaer]

The Vermont Endangered Species Committee voted unanimously to add the Little Brown Bat and the Northern Longeared Bat to the state's endangered species list. Final say will come from Secretary of Natural Resources, Deb Markowitz. Here's the Burlington Free Press story:

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110202/NEWS02/102020313

[BrianC]

Does the listing require a recovery plan?

[PYoungbaer]

The Vermont statute (Title 10 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Chapter 123) does not require a plan. The statute says the Secretary "may" adopt a conservation plan. Anyone who wants to read the Vermont law (4.5 pages) can find it at:

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/statutes/sections.cfm?Title=10&Chapter=123

I've just requested a meeting with the Secretary of Natural Resources.

[PYoungbaer]

Massachusetts' Endangered Species Committee is following suit and voted to add the Tricolored, Northern Long-eared, and Little Brown bats to its state Endangered Species List, and to raise the Eastern Small-footed bat from Species of Concern status to Endangered.

The Chester emery mines, long known for large bat populations, have gone from over 10,000 bats to less than 20 in two years.

[BrianC]

We will see this listing all over. Will it help the bats? will it stop the spread? will it make a difference? WNS is not the same as saving the Bald Eagle, where we new what was causing problems with humans using DDT and egg development not able to mature. I would require any listing by ESA reveal a properly developed rehab and recovery plan so there is a reason for the listing. Bats are not a game animal, they are not caught to hang on some living room wall. Bats are pretty much left alone, so what will putting bats on the ESA list do, besides have another group of people funded for life time surveillance and research?

[PYoungbaer]

Just putting the bats on state lists won't do anything in and of itself. What it will permit, depending on each state's laws and regulations, is the use of funding for activities related to surveillance, monitoring, and protection. Specific language varies from state to state. It could also lead to a state's ability to influence what happens on private land.

[tncaver]

Just putting the bats on state lists won't do anything in and of itself. What it will permit, depending on each state's laws and regulations, is the use of funding for activities related to surveillance, monitoring, and PROTECTION (aka closing and gating). Specific language varies from state to state. It could also lead to a state's ability to influence what happens on PRIVATE LAND.

Then I hope the states get NO funding. Fortunately, the Republicans that are now in office just might reduce funding for illegitimate scientific
research and protection efforts by overzealous projects that quite frankly have NOT BEEN PROVEN to accomplish anything, other than the loss of
access by the public to public land. The public also includes cavers, btw. However, I do not object to temporarily closing bat caves. I do
object to gating bat caves which are not directly in harms way from vandals, (which can mean permanent loss of access to caves by the public
on public land. And I also object to closing NON bat caves, PERIOD. Quite frankly this has been my objection from day one and still is.

[BrianC]

Just putting the bats on state lists won't do anything in and of itself. What it will permit, depending on each state's laws and regulations, is the use of funding for activities related to surveillance, monitoring, and PROTECTION (aka closing and gating). Specific language varies from state to state. It could also lead to a state's ability to influence what happens on PRIVATE LAND.

Then I hope the states get NO funding. Fortunately, the Republicans that are now in office just might reduce funding for illegitimate scientific
research and protection efforts by overzealous projects that quite frankly have NOT BEEN PROVEN to accomplish anything, other than the loss of
access by the public to public land. The public also includes cavers, btw. However, I do not object to temporarily closing bat caves. I do
object to gating bat caves which are not directly in harms way from vandals, (which can mean permanent loss of access to caves by the public
on public land. And I also object to closing NON bat caves, PERIOD. Quite frankly this has been my objection from day one and still is.

Ditto!...