A fungus is wiping out entire colonies of bats in a region of the US South near the South Carolina coast. The Northern long-eared bat landed on the federal endangered species list not long ago, with more bat species expected to reach this status soon. This has paused the development of thousands of new homes in the area, pitting the endangered winged mammal against developers and politicians. As Clare Fieseler reports in this informative piece, the battle isn’t really about saving an animal, but about land.
Every Republican senator voted for the resolution, including South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, as did a few Democrats, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The bill’s sponsor said the bat’s “endangered” status would put an undue burden on the East Coast’s timber industry.
The rule found support in the U.S. House and among developers. Rock Hill-based Republican Ralph Norman, a successful developer himself, has benefited from forest clear-cutting to build large commercial warehouses. Norman suggested that the Endangered Species Act shouldn’t apply to all animals. And certainly not these bats.
“I see the bald eagle. That makes sense. I see the bears. That makes sense. But long-eared bats? I hope the white-nose syndrome wipes all of them out. We won’t have it to worry about,” Norman said at a committee hearing before a critical vote.
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