RICHMOND, Vt.â(ENEWSPF)âAugust 28, 2014. Two dozen conservation and animal-welfare groups sent a letter today urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete its plan to protect the northern long-eared bat, a species found primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States. Opposition to the batâs protection under the Endangered Species Act â from timber, mining and energy industries as well as several state natural-resource agency officials â prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service to postpone a final decision on protecting the bat until spring 2015.
