The Northern Long Eared Bat is considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the problem for the school system is the bat's migratory path which includes parts of Loudoun County. (Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Posted on 02/25/2016 4:59:35 PM PST by COBOL2Java
The Northern Long Eared Bat is considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the problem for the school system is the bat's migratory path which includes parts of Loudoun County. (Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
"This is not a joke, this is real," said Loudoun County School Board member Jeff Morse, who represents the Dulles District.
The Northern Long-Eared Bat is considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act and the problem for the school system is the bat's migratory path, which includes parts of Loudoun County.
The clearing of land for construction in the bats' flight path is prohibited between the months of April and August, according to rules set up by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"This all comes down to our inability to conduct some of the ground work and site clearing during these transit periods for the bats," Morse told the board during a meeting this week.
A new middle school for Dulles South is desperately needed to help with overcrowding. In order for it to open in fall of 2018, Morse said ground clearing at the construction site must happen this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
The solution is simple but so are the bat defenders.
Be free or not ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw3fTBd0R0g
It is refreshing when the government agencies are busy tripping each other up. At least they aren’t out west forcing people off ranches...
I know the purpose of this is to devalue human life, but my immediate reaction is that we’ve lost our minds.
If they would just ban all other traffic on I-95 anytime I drive up there from April through August ...
Can’t they throw up a few belfries? That would make those bats happier than a pig in mud.
Oh noes! Belfries mean churches, and the liberals would burst into flame on consecrated ground!
Shoot, shovel, and shut up.
Couldn’t we just rename the bats “Northern Schoolrammers” and then everything would be right with the world?
In NC I don’t think you can kill them, but you can evict them.
(I had some in my attic.)
Don’t disturb an endangered or threatened critter; you will be jailed.
+
They flew away.
“If they would just ban all other traffic on I-95 anytime I drive up there from April through August ...”
A true story. Back in the early 90s, some one wanted to build a hospital near Las Angeles. Someone else determined that the land appeared to be great breeding habitat for some kind of flying flea. Note, now, no flying fleas were ever found on the land, it just looked like good breeding grounds for the flea. The builders were denied the permit unless they could somehow mitigate the potential impact on the potential flying fleas.
Some one in the government decided that they needed to create a protected flying flea flyway from the nearest confirmed flying flea habitat. The proposed flyway was over two miles long and included two right angled turns. It crossed the 405 freeway. The government proposed lowering the speed limit for a 100 yard segment of the 405 to 5 MPH to protect the flying fleas should they have decided to make the flight to their new breeding grounds.
At that point, the builders found some more habitat closer to the known habitat which was purchased and set aside for flying flea habitat.
No, I’m not making this up.
Another true story.
At times the sewers in Tijuana would overflow after a heavy rain. This would result in raw sewage entering the Tijuana river and contaminating the beaches near San Diego. The beaches would have to be closed until the raw sewage was cleaned up. San Diego offered to pay Tijuana to upgrade it’s sewage system. The EPA intervened to protect some bacteria in the river that relied upon the raw sewage. IOW, a form of sewage eating bacteria was more important than clean beaches.
Kind of surprised to hear there’s even any non-developed land left to clear in Loudoun County at this point. The rate at which that county has been paved over and overdeveloped in the last decade or so has been ridiculous.
ahha I have been waiting for this.... this listing banned land clearing in the summer in 36 states.. and they even admit it has 0 and humans have 0 to do with species decline
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