SAVING THE INDIANA BAT

Every year, Indiana bats gather in “swarms” at chosen hibernating spots to mate, swooping in and out of caves from dusk till dawn. Some humans might find this a frightening sight, but in fact bats are shy, sensitive, and vulnerable animals — and the Indiana bat is one of the rarest and most vulnerable of its kind. The species’ long-term decline began in the early 1800s as its wintering sites or “hibernacula” were disturbed by mining, tourism, and other activities. In the decades since, these bats have been hit hard by habitat loss — and in 2007 a perplexing and deadly new threat to bats, called white-nose syndrome, first appeared in the Northeast and began killing hundreds of thousands of the animals, including Indiana bats. If this species doesn’t get extra protections, it may disappear from the region.

In recognition of Indiana bats’ declining status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed them as endangered in 1967. Closure of caves and other protective measures for hibernacula have been crucial to Indiana bat recovery. But today, white-nose syndrome has precipitated a deadly dive in Indiana bat numbers in the Northeast.

With so many Indiana bats dying from white-nose syndrome, it’s imperative that other threats to the species are minimized. The Center’s campaign to give extra protection to these and other bats took off in January 2008, when we requested that the Fish and Wildlife Service close to the public all caves and abandoned mines used by Indiana bats and other listed bats. The next month, we petitioned the Service, six other agencies, and the secretary of the Army to re-evaluate federal projects that might harm endangered bats in the East, including highways, dams, and logging. When we got no response to our petition, we filed a notice of intent to sue the agencies.