The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking the public’s suggestions for an environmental impact statement for an eight-state Midwestern plan designed to help conserve the habitats of several species of animals, including bats that can be harmed by wind turbines.

The states are Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The environmental impact statement will assess the effects of giving various operations, such as wind energy facilities, “incidental take” permits, which would give them immunity from prosecution for any incidental bat deaths or injuries.

To learn more about the statement and the regional habitat conservation plan, known as the Midwest Wind Energy Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan, visit the federal eRulemaking portal atregulations.gov and type or cut-and-paste Docket Number FWS-R3-ES-2015-0033 into the horizontal search box.

A public meeting is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Drive, Madison.
The wildlife service also will conduct an online public meeting July 28 at 1 p.m. More details are at midwestwindenergyhcpeis.org.

Steve Cherry is a reporter for the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism.

The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

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Feds seek public input on Midwest bat protection plan

by Steve Cherry, Wisconsin Watch
July 12, 2015

<h1>Feds seek public input on Midwest bat protection plan</h1> <p class="byline">by Steve Cherry, Wisconsin Watch <br />July 12, 2015</p> <div id="attachment_89075" class="wp-block-image wp-caption aligncenter"> <figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wns_map_20150528.jpg"><img src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/wns_map_20150528-771x596.jpg" alt="The highly deadly white-nose syndrome has spread rapidly since it was discovered in New York in 2006. The disease has killed millions of bats, including many in Wisconsin." class="wp-image-89075" height="596" width="771" /></a><figcaption>The highly deadly white-nose syndrome has spread rapidly since it was discovered in New York in 2006. The disease has killed millions of bats, including many in Wisconsin.</figcaption></figure> </div> <p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking the public’s suggestions for an environmental impact statement for an eight-state Midwestern plan designed to help conserve the habitats of several species of animals, including bats that can be harmed by wind turbines.</p> <p>The states are Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.</p> <p>The environmental impact statement will assess the effects of giving various operations, such as wind energy facilities, “incidental take” permits, which would give them immunity from prosecution for any incidental bat deaths or injuries.</p> <p>To learn more about the statement and the regional habitat conservation plan, known as the Midwest Wind Energy Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan, visit the federal eRulemaking portal at<a href="http://www.regulations.gov/">regulations.gov</a> and type or cut-and-paste Docket Number FWS-R3-ES-2015-0033 into the horizontal search box.</p> <p>A public meeting is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center, 1625 Northport Drive, Madison.<br /> The wildlife service also will conduct an online public meeting July 28 at 1 p.m. More details are at <a href="http://www.midwestwindenergyhcpeis.org/">midwestwindenergyhcpeis.org</a>.</p> <p><em>Steve Cherry is a reporter for the <a href="http://iowawatch.org">Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism</a>.</p> <p>The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (<a href="www.WisconsinWatch.org">www.WisconsinWatch.org</a>) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.</em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://wisconsinwatch.org/2015/07/feds-seek-public-input-on-midwest-bat-protection-plan/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://wisconsinwatch.org">Wisconsin Watch</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://wisconsinwatch.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=89203&amp;ga4=G-D2S69Y9TDB" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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