50 Years of Protecting Endangered Species

Bats protected by landmark legislation

by Kristen Pope

ifty years ago, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act to protect threatened and endangered wildlife. This landmark legislation was built on decades of work with the first Congressional Act to protect U.S. wildlife back in 1900. The Lacey Act was then passed to prevent passenger pigeons from going extinct. It outlawed moving illegally taken wildlife across state lines. Since then, many laws have helped protect wildlife.

In 1964, the Committee on Rare and Endangered Wildlife Species was appointed by the Department of the Interior, and this committee soon pressed Congress for legislation. In 1966, the Endangered Species Preservation Act allowed the creation of a list of Endangered species and their habitat to be included in the new National Wildlife Refuge System. The first list was created the following year, including 14 mammals, 36 birds, 22 fish, three reptiles, and three amphibians. In 1969, the Endangered Species Conservation Act expanded protection from the 1966 legislation.

The Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973. Now, 50 years later, bats are some of the many species that benefit from this legislation. Here are some of them.

Lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) are an Endangered Species Act success story. These bats eat nectar and fruit from night-blooming cacti like saguaro and organ pipe. In 1988, they were listed as Endangered under the ESA due to habitat loss and roost disturbance. After 20 years of protection in Mexico and the USA, populations recovered and they were delisted first in Mexico and then in the USA in 2018. They were the first bat to be delisted, though scientists continue to monitor them.

Photo: Bruce D Taubert

Around 95% of gray bats (Myotis grisescens) hibernate in nine known caves each winter. With such specific habitat needs, human disturbance, vandalism, and pollution have affected their water and food sources and caused the population to drop, but now they are recovering. They were listed as Endangered under the ESA in 1976, and measures such as bat gates have been implemented to help them recover.

Photo: J. Scott Altenbach

Last fall, Northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) became the latest species to be uplisted from Threatened to Endangered, under the ESA, with the new protections beginning in March 2023. White-nose syndrome has decimated populations of this bat, contributing to a 90% population decline in the last decade.

Photo: J. Scott Altenbach

With distinctive ears that make it look like it’s wearing a bonnet, the Florida bonneted bat (Eumops floridanus) is one of the rarest bats in the U.S. It is endemic to southern Florida, where its native habitat has largely been replaced by human development. It is listed as Endangered under the ESA and is facing threats like habitat loss and disturbances like hurricanes.

Photo: Dr. Melquisedec Gamba-Rios

Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) were among the first species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Protection under the ESA led to coordinated efforts to protect caves and mines where the bats hibernate in winter as well as forest management protections during the summer when bats are roosting in trees and raising young. The species was steadily recovering from historic lows in the 1970s until the disease white-nose syndrome emerged in 2007, causing significant mortality at hibernation sites.

Photo: J. Scott Altenbach

Near Mexico City, Cueva de Oztuyheualco (also known as Cueva del Diablo) is the only known mating cave for the Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris nivalis), which is listed as Endangered in the U.S. and Mexico. This bat moves between the nations, eating agave nectar, cacti fruit and pollen, serving as important pollinators while sometimes eating insects. Threats include loss of food resources and climate change. BCI and partners are working on a recovery plan and other binational efforts to help protect this species.

Photo: Dr. Winifred Frick

Learn more about all these bats at batcon.org

Learn More about the Endangered Species Act at esa50.org

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