Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (April 1, 2015) – Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decided to list the northern long eared bat (NLEB) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The FWS cites white-nose syndrome, a disease that has been impacting NLEB populations throughout the east and Midwest, as the sole cause for the listing.

In response, Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-At Large) issued the following statement:

“Naturally-occurring diseases don’t respect government rules or regulations,” said Chairman Lummis. “White-nose syndrome is the sole reason the Fish and Wildlife Service decided to list the northern long eared bat but this unprecedented listing, which focuses entirely on regulating humans, does nothing to actually recover the bat.  Our efforts need to be focused on addressing the real problem at hand: white-nose syndrome, a goal which we all share but that is not furthered one iota by today’s listing.  Instead, this listing shoves regulatory burdens on American families and job creators whose actions are not responsible for the bat’s decline.”

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