As you know, a letter sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, December 12, 2013 seeks a 30 year "incidental take" permit to kill two types of endangered bats in order to log in Pennsylvania's state lands.
The northern long-eared bat were added to the endangered species list in October after the fungal disease "white nose syndrome" killed off 99 percent of their populations in Pennsylvania. The same disease killed off 76 percent of Indiana bat populations since its arrival in 2008. These bats have not had a chance to recover, and logging will destroy the habitats they need to survive and reproduce. Both species could become extinct in the 30 years the permit requests.
We respectfully urge you to put our native wildlife over big business interests and reject the permit to kill endangered bats. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider our petition.
