Political Quotes

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a final 4(d) rule listing the northern long-eared bat as ``threatened'' under the Endangered Species Act. While certain colonies of the species of bat have seen dramatic population losses in recent years, Fish and Wildlife has repeatedly asserted that the underlying fundamental cause is a fungal disease known as the white-nose syndrome. White-nose syndrome does not directly kill or harm these bats. Rather, it wakes them out of hibernation, resulting in the bats burning through stored fat and leaving their hibernacula in search of food when none is often found or available. I am pleased that the underlying legislation contains funding for white-nose syndrome research. Bats play a critical role in the ecosystem, and more needs to be done in order to restore colonies devastated by white-nose. However, as we allow for necessary habitat conservation, we must also ensure that activities occurring in the bats' range are not unreasonably or unnecessarily impacted as a result of the Endangered Species Act listing. Specifically, such a listing could have great impacts on forest management, forest products, agriculture, energy production, mining, and commercial development. Because this species of bat is found in 38 States and Washington, D.C., a listing under the Endangered Species Act would have significant impacts through this enormous geographical range. My amendment is simple.…”