Actions taken on SBDN Priorities

The following letter to Mr. S. Williams is one of the items that the SBDN voted to act upon at its last meeting in February 2002.

GRAY BAT STATUS RECOMMENDATION

Steven A. Williams, Director
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Main Interior
1849 C Street NW, Room 3012
Washington, DC 20240-0001

23 April 2002

Dear Mr. Williams,

I am writing on behalf of the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network (SBDN), a nonprofit organization with the mission of conserving bat diversity in the southeastern United States. The SBDN recommends that the status of the federally endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens) be changed to federally threatened. Our members (professional biologists, land managers and others involved in natural resource work in the Southeast) have for some time felt that this action is warrranted and supported by a solid foundation of data. Efforts to restore healthy populations have been in place for many years and have yielded positive results.

Our recommendation is based on population data presented by experts on the gray bat. At our annual meetings in 2001 and 2002 Dr. Michael Harvey (Tennesssee Technical University, Cookeville, TN) summarized findings of population increases in hibernating sites across the range (see attachment-"Gray Bat Status Review", Harvey and Currie, 2/21/02 - revised Working Paper). The criteria for change to threatened status is documentation of permanent protection of 90% of Priority 1 hibernacula and documentation of stable or increasing populations at 75% of Priority 1 maternity caves during a period of five years. We believe that the information provided in the attached working paper demonstrates that these criteria have been met.

The SBDN welcomes the opportunity to work with you on this effort. Our members will continue to cooperate with those involved in the restoration of gray bat populations. Please contact me if you would like more information.

Sincerely,

Mary Kay Clark, President
Southeastern Bat Diversity Network

Copied to:

Dale Hall, Acting Regional Director
  Southwest Region
  US Fish and Wildlife Service
  500 Gold Ave. SW
  Albuquerque, NM 87102

  Bill Hartwig, Regional Director
  Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region
  US Fish and Wildlife Service
  1 Federal Drive
  Fort Snelling, MN 55111

  Sam Hamilton, Regional Director
  Southeast Region
  US Fish and Wildlife Service
  1875 Century Blvd., Suite 400
  Atlanta, GA 30345

  Dr. Mamie A. Parker, Regional Director
  Northeast Region
  US Fish and Wildlife Service
  300 Westgate Center Drive
  Hadley, MA 01035-9589

  Charles Scott, Field Supervisor
  US Fish and Wildlife Service
  Columbia Field Office
  608 East Cherry St. Room 207
  Columbia, MO 65201