A decision over whether to list the northern long-eared bat as endangered is no more than a week away.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed the listing because bat populations face devastation from the deadly white-nose syndrome.
But some farmers and loggers have argued the bat is still too numerous to warrant an endangered listing.
Great Lakes Timber Professionals Director Henry Schienebeck says it would bring too many restrictions.
“The endangered listing obviously would have a huge negative impact on the industry – because the original proposed guidelines said that forest management would be halted from April 1st through October 1st, and there are none of our industries that could survive that long without raw material coming in.”
Schienebeck says he supports taking some conservation measures to protect the bat.
The federal agency could also decide to list the bat as threatened, which could mean lesser protections, and exceptions for certain activities like forest management.
The deadline is April 2nd.
