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Along with leading
bat experts, WAP has co-authored a formal request to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to initiate a comprehensive
review of the status of the little brown bat, and to protect
the species under the Endangered Species Act as soon as
possible. Developed in conjunction with Dr. Thomas H. Kunz,
a Professor at Boston University and one of the leading
authorities on bats in the United States, WAP's request
explains that the little brown bat, historically one of
the most widespread bat species in the Northeast, is being
decimated by white-nose syndrome, a fast-spreading, lethal
disease that has already killed millions of bats in the
United States and which Dr. Kunz and other experts say could
wipe out little brown bats within the next two decades.
The request also explains that little brown bats are suffering
from additive sources of mortality, such as impacts by wind
turbines, that must be brought under control if the species
is to survive and recover. In addition to Dr. Kunz and his
Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology at Boston University,
the request for little brown bat protection is also supported
by the Center for Biological Diversity, Bat Conservation
International, and Friends of Blackwater Canyon.
For a copy of the formal
request, click
here. For a copy of the press release announcing the
request, click
here.
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