Endangered bats are not protected by the U.S. Forest Service, the lawsuit says

ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina) – A coalition of conservation groups is suing the US Forest Service, accusing the agency of failing to protect endangered bats in a new forest plan for the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests.

The U.S. Forest Service initiated a plan in 2023 that increased logging in the Nantahala-Pisgah national forests fivefold while allegedly failing to protect the biologically diverse areas, according to a lawsuit filed April 19.

Defenders of Wildlife, MountainTrue, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are bringing the lawsuit. These groups emphasize that federally protected bats, such as the northern long-eared bat, the Indiana long-eared bat, the Virginia long-eared bat and the hoary bat, are endangered.

“The Forest Service prioritized logging over protecting some of the most endangered animals on earth,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director of the Center for Biological Diversity. “These bats are on the brink of extinction, but the Forest Service wants to aggressively increase logging in their forest habitats. It is yet another heartbreaking failure of this tragic forest plan.”

“Sustainable and economically viable commercial logging is not incompatible with protecting our endangered wildlife,” said Josh Kelly, MountainTrue field biologist. “Instead, the Forest Service ignored the best available science and withheld critical information from the Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the protection of endangered species.”

When the US Forest Service finalized the forest plan, they said it included all the conditions for federally listed species like these bats.

Below is a quote from the US Forest Service’s final environmental impact statement:

“The forest plan includes all terms and conditions of the relevant biological advisories for all federally listed species, including the Indiana Bat (reference PAD-G-01).

The final plan was reorganized to separate the wildlife plan components and the standard for diversity elements in wildlife habitat is WLF-S-01. This standard would apply to all vegetation management activities, including timber management, and therefore does not need to be repeated in the Timber Management Practices section of the plan. In addition, the final plan includes a standard in the Plant and Animal Diversity section to coordinate with the USFWS to ensure that protection of potential and known hibernacula and nursery habitats is consistent with the most recent conservation measures, recovery plans, biological advisories, or USFS bat conservation. strategy (PAD-S-08).”

The U.S. Forest Service said the plan includes hundreds of components related to preserving, restoring or improving bat habitat.