A bill that would add two bat species decimated by white nose syndrome to Maine’s endangered species list was submitted to the state Legislature on Tuesday.
The state Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife wants to add the northern long-eared bat and little brown bat to the endangered list. Cave counts of the two species showed nearly 90 percent declines, wildlife officials said in July. A third species, the eastern small-footed bat, is being proposed for the state’s threatened species list.
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White nose syndrome is a disease caused by a fungus that turns muzzles of sickened bats white and interrupts hibernation, which robs them of energy and stored fat. It has been identified in states throughout the country.
“Bats are really important and they are being threatened,” said Joan Welsh, a co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s always good to review where we are with threatened and endangered species.”
Maine’s endangered species list was last updated in 2007. The Inland Fisheries & Wildlife list includes 45 endangered or threatened animals. Inclusion on the list could afford the bats protections, including restricting access to Maine caves by humans, who can spread the disease but not be harmed by it. The state could also put up gates on caves to reduce exposure, state officials have said.
The bat proposal is part of a bill that would add a few invertebrate species to the endangered list and change the statuses of some invertebrates and birds.
The black-crowned night heron would be upgraded from threatened to endangered. The Cobblestone tiger beetle, frigga fritillary butterfly and six-whorl vertigo snail are also up for inclusion on the endangered list. The Clayton’s copper butterfly and Roaring Brook mayfly would be downgraded from endangered to threatened.
A public hearing on the bill could be four weeks away, department spokesman Mark Latti said.
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