"The reason bats are important is because they're the night shift on insect patrol," says energy journalist Nancy Grant. She recently wrote an article for Kentucky Living's "On The Grid" section titled, "Bats For Trees," in which she explains why the health of the little animal has an impact on electricity. On Sounds Good, Kate Lochte speaks with Grant about the complicated issue involving two conflicting government agencies and efforts to maintain populations of the Northern long-eared bat alive, which has been plagued by white-nose syndrome.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a federal agency that helps regulate utilities, making sure the lights turn on, says Nancy Grant. This includes strict rules on how electric companies can trim vegetation away from power line corridors large and small. The rules outline specifically how close trees and bushes can be to the lines for safety and prevention of damage during storms.
The US Forest Service is interested in the health and wellbeing of animals, including bats which have been dying of fungal disease in eastern North America. The populations have gotten so small, they need to be listed as an endangered species, Grant says.
The conundrum is if the bats are listed as "threatened" or "endangered" it makes certain actions related to interaction with their habitats illegal. This is where it gets complicated, she says, because while white-nose syndrome is generally spread in the winter while bats roost in communal groups in caves, in the spring they spread out in trees an bushes, nesting in peeling bark or dead and dying trees. If such a tree needs to be trimmed because it could otherwise interrupt electric service, but an endangered bat is living in it, then what is to be done? Two federal agencies have conflicting requirements.
Public comment on this issue has been extended to July 1, 2015. Grant cites Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who says we need to be careful with what we do with these bats. They are a critical component of our nations ecology and economy, helping to maintain the predator/prey balance of insects. Grant says there are other steps being taken to preserve them like disinfectant mats in caves and limiting access to parts of caves where bats roost. Other conservation organizations are putting up bat houses, like Murray Girl Scout Troop 1154, and encourage people to do the same.
FWS Northern Long-Eared Bat information
Public Comment on the Threatened Species Status for the Northern Long-Eared Bat
