WVFA eNews Weekly

Industry News

Although the public comment period on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the Northern Long-Eared Bat under the protection of the Endangered Species Act closed in August, both private and official communications to the Service continue. In early October, a large number of state natural resource agency representatives met in Minneapolis to share their views of the bat’s actual status and the potential impacts an ESA listing might have on their states’ own resource management and conservation goals. This group, led by the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, prepared a consensus supplemental comment, dated Nov. 5, which USF&WS agreed to accept into the public comment record, and it even agreed to re-open the public comment process to accept new comments limited to responses to this submission.

This strongly argued letter, signed by four regional coalitions of state agency leaders, consists of 13 pages of interpretive comments on USF&WS’s evidence for proposing a listing, followed by another four pages of literature citations. In essence, the letter:

Reiterates that White-Nose Syndrome is the "primary threat" to the bat;
Argues that USF&WS’s techniques for monitoring bat populations or projecting WNS’s spread are inadequate;
Argues that existing, or "normal," forest management practices adequately protect the bat during its roosting period;
Proposes that even if USF&WS finds for a "threatened" status, minimally disruptive options exist to protect the bat within such a finding; and
Proposes that the kind of minimal "takes" of bat specimens that may occur during normal forest management should not be a cause for concern.

The "WVFA eNews Weekly" will not be published next week due to Thanksgiving holiday constraints.

Enjoy the holiday!

WVFA Events

U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree is on the road visiting communities in America as it makes its way to Washington, D.C. If you missed it at the Town Center Mall in Charleston yesterday, you still have a chance to take a holiday gander at the 88-foot White Spruce in Wheeling today at the Oglebay Resort and Conference Center. The tree was cut in Cass Lake, Minnesota, in October.

Monday, Nov. 17:

8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Kenworth Truck Company (65 Kenworth Drive, Chillicothe, OH 45601)

4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Charleston Town Center Mall (3000 Charleston Town Center Charleston, WV 25389)

Tuesday, Nov. 18:

11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Winter Wonderland in Marietta (205 Putnam St., Marietta, OH 45750)

5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Oglebay Resort and Conference Center (465 Lodge Dr., Wheeling, WV 26003)

Forestry Facts

The Bat as a Practical Matter

Attached for your reference is a letter from Congressman McKinley to USFWS expressing concern over USFWS–WV’s bat conservation and tree clearing guidance. The Congressman had received concerns from the shale industry about the matter. It is reported that USFWS has prepared a response, which has not been finalized at this point.

The tree clearing season is about to begin, but because of the USFWS–WV guidance criteria combined with its late issuance (midsummer) projects with a federal nexus (i.e., nationwide permits) are on hold. The technical basis for the USFWS-WV guidance has not been adequately articulated nor appropriately vetted through public notice and comment. Attached is a briefing document on the issue for your reference.

Steptoe & Johnson is working to coordinate a collective voice among the regulated community that would request revision and/or withdrawal of this guidance and perhaps request a meeting of USFWS, USCOE, WVDNR, etc. Stay tuned...

Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/pdf/USFWS_-_McKinley_Bat_Letter_10-8-14.pdf to view the full article online.

WV – Bat Conservation Plan Briefing Document

Overview of Technical Guidance Substantive Changes. To the significant disappointment of landowners and regulated entities, the West Virginia Field Office of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ("USFWS") issued revised technical guidance for the Indiana Bat in July 2014. Within the July 2014 guidance are two technical options which have been dramatically altered from previous guidance.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=295851&issueID=40929 to view the full article online.

West Virginia Forestry Association