WYOMING — On May 11, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the northern long-eared bat’s listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) passed the Senate by a vote of 51-49.

According to a press release from Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), who introduced the CRA and voted in favor of it, the endangered classification places an undue burden on Wyoming landowners, businesses and infrastructure projects.

“Listing the northern long-eared bat as endangered would create a regulatory headache for people throughout Wyoming,” said Senator Lummis. “There’s no evidence listing the northern long-eared bat would do anything to actually help the species; however, it would definitely cost hardworking people in Wyoming a lot of time and money.”

But the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has confirmed the northern long-eared bat faces extinction due to white-nose syndrome, a fast-spreading disease where a white fungus infects the skin of muzzles, ears and wings of hibernating bats and can kill up to 100 percent of a colony.

Defenders of Wildlife (DOW) also states the northern long-eared bat populations have plummeted 99 percent since the early 2000s from disease, habitat loss and oil and gas drilling. As wind energy programs are expanding in Wyoming with projects like an approved high-voltage transmission line and the proposed Rail Tie Wind Project, the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that tens to hundreds of thousands of bats die at wind turbines in North America every year.

“The Senate is becoming alarmingly anti-science and anti-wildlife.”

Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife

“The Senate is becoming alarmingly anti-science and anti-wildlife, as evidenced by this legislation which flies in the face of the historic and broad bipartisan support enjoyed by the Endangered Species Act,” Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of DOW, said on DOW’s website. “We applaud the Senators who stood up for wildlife today and voted against this senseless resolution that will strip much needed protections from endangered northern long-eared bats.”

The USFWS has developed several tools and guidance documents to assist stakeholders in assessing impacts of projects, which can be found here.

River Stingray is a news reporter with a passion for wildlife, history and local lenses. She holds a Master's degree in environmental archaeology from the University of Cambridge and is also a published poet, dog mom and outdoor enthusiast.