Post by L Roebuck on Oct 13, 2005 18:05:00 GMT -5
Purchase Planned To Save Bats
By Monica Keen, Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 4:03 PM CDT
Help is on the way for the endangered Ozark big-eared bat. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is expected to receive over $400,000 to purchase land in Adair County near the Sequoyah County line that contains at least three caves used by the endangered bat.
The acquisition is being funded through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation fund and could contribute to getting the Ozark big-eared bat taken off the endangered species list.
According to the conservation department, the land acquisition will protect 820 acres of high quality foraging habitat. These tracts are adjacent to the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge, which is a satellite of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge near Vian, Steve Hensley, Ozark Plateau refuge manager, said.
Hensley said the tracts will adjoin the refuge and will be managed cooperatively by the Oklahoma Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. He said the refuge encompasses over 3,000 acres in Adair, Delaware and Ottawa Counties, and the land that will be purchased will be adjacent to the largest tract of the refuge south of Stilwell.
Hensley said only 2,000 of the Ozark big-eared bats remain, and they inhabit property on the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line. He said the largest concentration of bats is around the Stilwell area.
"It's one of the most rare bats in the country," Hensley said.
According to the fish and wildlife service's Web site, the Ozark big-eared bat is the largest and reddest of the five subspecies of P. townsendii. The species is medium-sized and weighs from .2 to .5 ounces. It has very large ears, over one inch, that connect at the base across the forehead.
According to the Web site, "the Ozark big-eared bat was probably never very common. The species is intolerant of human disturbance, which causes them to abandon favorite roosts. Disturbance of hibernating bats causes them to use valuable fat stores and increases the probability of starvation during the winter."
Hensley said the gray bat is also endangered and lives in the area, but there have been efforts made to delist the bats as endangered since their numbers have increased.
Hensley said the refuge is a remote area and is not currently open to the public, but will eventually be open to hunters and residents. He said they are developing a management plan for the area to keep the refuge like a walk-in wilderness.
He noted that the newly-purchased land will belong to the state, which pays in lieu of taxes, so counties won't lose any ad valorem tax money on land being acquired.
Hensley said the land purchase will help protect foraging habitat and to prevent future development of the area.
Ron Suttles, head of natural resources section for the conservation department, said different states are getting funding across the country for various projects to do recovery work on endangered species.
Suttles said the conservation of these caves and surrounding forested habitat will greatly contribute to the recovery of the Ozark bat.
Suttles said the paperwork for the land acquisition probably won't be completed until next year. He noted that the property acquisition is done through a willing seller only arrangement. Suttles said he was not sure on how many landowners have agreed to sell their property.
He said the land acquisition will ensure that these areas are managed specifically for the recovery of the bats, which are indigenous to the area and federally-listed as an endangered species. He said the acreage acquired will also preserve geological features of the area.
"The whole purpose is to contribute to the bat population," Suttles said.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Web site, the refuge, originally known as the Oklahoma Bat Caves National Wildlife Refuge, encompasses caves that are the maternity sites for Ozark big-eared bat and offer protection to the gray bat. The forested areas surrounding the caves are also important for bat foraging since bats eat various insects, including moths and mosquitoes.
In addition to the bats, a whole ecosystem of cave creatures, including blind cavefish, salamanders, and crayfish, benefit from the security of the caves. Migrating songbirds also use the forested areas for breeding or migrating to their nesting areas further north.
Sequoyah County Times
www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2005/10/13/news/front4.txt
By Monica Keen, Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 4:03 PM CDT
Help is on the way for the endangered Ozark big-eared bat. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is expected to receive over $400,000 to purchase land in Adair County near the Sequoyah County line that contains at least three caves used by the endangered bat.
The acquisition is being funded through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation fund and could contribute to getting the Ozark big-eared bat taken off the endangered species list.
According to the conservation department, the land acquisition will protect 820 acres of high quality foraging habitat. These tracts are adjacent to the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge, which is a satellite of Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge near Vian, Steve Hensley, Ozark Plateau refuge manager, said.
Hensley said the tracts will adjoin the refuge and will be managed cooperatively by the Oklahoma Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. He said the refuge encompasses over 3,000 acres in Adair, Delaware and Ottawa Counties, and the land that will be purchased will be adjacent to the largest tract of the refuge south of Stilwell.
Hensley said only 2,000 of the Ozark big-eared bats remain, and they inhabit property on the Oklahoma-Arkansas state line. He said the largest concentration of bats is around the Stilwell area.
"It's one of the most rare bats in the country," Hensley said.
According to the fish and wildlife service's Web site, the Ozark big-eared bat is the largest and reddest of the five subspecies of P. townsendii. The species is medium-sized and weighs from .2 to .5 ounces. It has very large ears, over one inch, that connect at the base across the forehead.
According to the Web site, "the Ozark big-eared bat was probably never very common. The species is intolerant of human disturbance, which causes them to abandon favorite roosts. Disturbance of hibernating bats causes them to use valuable fat stores and increases the probability of starvation during the winter."
Hensley said the gray bat is also endangered and lives in the area, but there have been efforts made to delist the bats as endangered since their numbers have increased.
Hensley said the refuge is a remote area and is not currently open to the public, but will eventually be open to hunters and residents. He said they are developing a management plan for the area to keep the refuge like a walk-in wilderness.
He noted that the newly-purchased land will belong to the state, which pays in lieu of taxes, so counties won't lose any ad valorem tax money on land being acquired.
Hensley said the land purchase will help protect foraging habitat and to prevent future development of the area.
Ron Suttles, head of natural resources section for the conservation department, said different states are getting funding across the country for various projects to do recovery work on endangered species.
Suttles said the conservation of these caves and surrounding forested habitat will greatly contribute to the recovery of the Ozark bat.
Suttles said the paperwork for the land acquisition probably won't be completed until next year. He noted that the property acquisition is done through a willing seller only arrangement. Suttles said he was not sure on how many landowners have agreed to sell their property.
He said the land acquisition will ensure that these areas are managed specifically for the recovery of the bats, which are indigenous to the area and federally-listed as an endangered species. He said the acreage acquired will also preserve geological features of the area.
"The whole purpose is to contribute to the bat population," Suttles said.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Web site, the refuge, originally known as the Oklahoma Bat Caves National Wildlife Refuge, encompasses caves that are the maternity sites for Ozark big-eared bat and offer protection to the gray bat. The forested areas surrounding the caves are also important for bat foraging since bats eat various insects, including moths and mosquitoes.
In addition to the bats, a whole ecosystem of cave creatures, including blind cavefish, salamanders, and crayfish, benefit from the security of the caves. Migrating songbirds also use the forested areas for breeding or migrating to their nesting areas further north.
Sequoyah County Times
www.sequoyahcountytimes.com/articles/2005/10/13/news/front4.txt