Conservation of Northern Long-eared Bat Habitat at an Aggregate Mine - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Conservation of Northern Long-eared Bat Habitat at an Aggregate Mine - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Conservation of Northern Long-eared Bat Habitat at an Aggregate Mine in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Presented By Craig Rockey Project Manager Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. 2017 Joint Conference West Virginia Drainage

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Conservation of Northern Long-eared Bat Habitat at an Aggregate Mine in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Presented By

Craig Rockey Project Manager Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

2017 Joint Conference – West Virginia Drainage Taskforce, ASMR, and ARRI April 12, 2017

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Project Background

►Hanson Aggregate’s Wagner Quarry

▪ Expansion of existing limestone mine

  • Portal
  • Ventilation

▪ Originally permitted in 2013 ▪ 20 acres of surface disturbance

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Project Background

►Activation in 2016

▪ New Environmental Review (i.e., PNDI) required by PA DEP

  • Triggered agency

involvement

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Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis)

►Small ►Insectivorous ►Migratory ►Slow reproduction, but long-lived ►Overlap with Indiana bat and little brown bat

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Northern Long-eared Bat

►Winter

▪ Hibernate in caves and mines

  • Mid-October to mid-April

▪ Return to same area, if not same cave each year (philopatry or fidelity)

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Northern Long-eared Bat

►Summer

▪ Migrate in late April and early May

  • Female bias

▪ Males form small bachelor colonies ▪ Females raise pups in roost trees (i.e., maternity colonies)

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Northern Long-eared Bat

►Proposed for listing in August 2014 ►White-nose Syndrome

▪ Primary

►Habitat Loss

▪ Secondary

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Northern Long-eared Bat

►Threatened with 4(d) rule – January 2016

▪ Incidental Take* prohibited:

  • Within a hibernaculum
  • For tree clearing, within:

▪ .25 miles of hibernaculum ▪ 150 feet of maternity roost

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*Take is defined “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect”

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Consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service

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Consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service

►Meeting with USFWS

▪ Clarified impacts ▪ Explored Options

  • Reduce Impacts
  • Incidental Take

Permit (HCP)

▪ No additional capture surveys

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Consultation with US Fish and Wildlife Service

►Habitat Assessment

▪ Quantitative

  • Habitat Plots
  • Potential Roost

Trees

▪ Qualitative

  • Roosting
  • Foraging

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Improvement of Habitat – Artificial Roost Structures

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Improvement of Habitat – Selective Clearing and Planting

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Cave Gating

►Dual-purpose Habitat Improvement

▪ Northern long-eared bat ▪ Alleghany Woodrat

►Purpose

▪ Prevent disturbance by humans ▪ Maintain microclimate

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Cave Gating

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Cave Gating – 3D Lidar Scanning

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Cave Gating – Design in AutoCAD

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Cave Gating – 3D Lidar Scanning

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Questions/Answers

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Thank You