Protection Of Northern Long-eared Bats Outside of Long Island

General Recommendations for the Protection of Northern Long-eared Bats in New York (Not Including Nassau and Suffolk Counties)

This section provides guidance regarding recommended measures to ensure that forest management activities are protective of the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) and do not result in an incidental take pursuant to 6NYCRR Part 182. If your project occurs in Nassau or Suffolk County, please contact the Region 1 Wildlife Office. Draft guidance for evaluating impacts to NLEB in Nassau and Suffolk counties is available for review.

The guidance on this page is intended to address only the protection of NLEB. Additional regulations may apply to the land, including wetland and stream protection regulations and protective measures for other federal or state endangered species that may be present. If your project is funded from a federal source, is being conducted in cooperation with a federal agency, requires a federal permit, or takes place on federally-owned property, you will need to use the USFWS IPaC Decision Key and abide by any conditions placed upon your project by the federal agency providing funding or permissions. USFWS does not use the same definition of occupied habitat as DEC and may apply restrictions where DEC does not.  Please note that the USFWS updated its public guidance for management of NLEB on October 23, 2024. Regional DEC staff in Division of Environmental Permits can help determine if there will be any additional DEC restrictions that would apply to the property and project in question.

All federally endangered species that occur in New York State are afforded endangered status under the New York Endangered Species Law and its implementing regulations.

Guidance for General Forest Management

DEC does not have comprehensive information on where NLEB occur. To protect NLEB from unintentional harm, the Department encourages the voluntary implementation of all forest management activities during the hibernation period-November 1 through March 31 throughout the state except for Nassau and Suffolk Counties when bats are not expected to be present. However, DEC imposes no restrictions on tree cutting unless a project is located within 5 miles of a known hibernation site or 1.5 miles of a documented summer occurrence. For all projects that require the removal of trees (regardless of location), the following voluntary actions are recommended:

• Leave snag and cavity trees uncut unless their removal is necessary for protection of human life and property. Snag and cavity trees are defined under DEC Program Policy ONR-DLF-2 Retention on State Forests.
• If any bats are observed flying from a tree, or on a tree that has been cut, tree management activities in the area should be suspended and DEC Wildlife staff notified as soon as possible. A permit may be required to continue work, or you may have to wait until November 1 to resume activities.

If your project is located within 5 miles of a known hibernation site or 1.5 miles of a documented summer occurrence, the additional guidance below is applicable.

Guidance on Protective Measures Required for Northern Long-eared Bats When Projects Occur within Occupied Habitat

NYSDEC considers suitable forest habitat within 5 miles of mapped hibernacula and 1.5 miles of confirmed summer occurrences as occupied habitat. View a map and chart of NY towns with NLEB occurrences as of 2022 (PDF).

To determine if your project is located in occupied habitat, you can enter your project location into the Environmental Resource Mapper and generate a populated EAF. If your site is in occupied habitat, Northern long-eared bat will be listed in the response to the question on the presence of listed species at your project site (Question E.2.o on the long form EAF). You can obtain further guidance by contacting your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits and you can assess the potential for harmful impacts using the following self-evaluation steps below.

Projects That Result in a Change in Land Use

For the purposes of the NLEB guidance provided here, a land use change is defined as any portion of forest or a hibernation site that is converted to another form that will reduce NLEB use of the area (e.g., most development). 

Projects that convert forest to other land uses have a greater impact on NLEB than projects that allow for the regeneration and retention of forests on the landscape, such as sustainable forestry projects. With the exception of Suffolk County, trees are not currently a limiting resource for NLEB. However, the species also uses forests of all types for feeding. When forest is converted to another use, these areas no longer provide any benefit to NLEB.

A project is considered to maintain the existing land use if forest or a hibernation site is being managed to perpetuate its existing use by bats (e.g., sustainable forestry, forest maintenance, cave or hibernacula maintenance).

The State endangered species law and its implementing regulations require consideration of impacts to occupied habitat of listed species, and DEC requires additional protections for such occupied habitat to avoid adverse impacts to the species. These protections consist mainly of conditions placed on tree cutting to protect bats that may be roosting in the vicinity of their hibernacula or documented summer occurrences. Therefore, projects located in occupied habitat must comply with the additional protective guidance below. 

Please note: What follows does not address the operation of wind turbine projects but may be helpful in assessing the potential for adverse impacts to NLEB during construction of wind energy facilities. As stated above, if your project requires federal funding or approval, there may be additional conditions placed upon your project by the federal agency. 

Self-Evaluation Steps if Project Occurs in NLEB Occupied Habitat

1. Will the project result in a change in land use as defined above?
   1. If yes, you should stop the self-evaluation and contact your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits for project-specific guidance. Typical recommendations include, but may not be limited to:
      • Avoid any tree clearing when bats are active
      • Minimize tree clearing, leaving as many potential roosts as possible
      • Forest modification may be restricted in portions of the project area
      • Restrictions on drilling, blasting, or other activities may be required to limit impacts to NLEB.
   2. If no, proceed to step 2.
2. Can you cut all trees necessary for your project during the hibernation season when bats are living underground (Nov 1-Mar 31)?
   1. If no, you must contact the NY Natural Heritage Program for the most precise information available regarding the locations of roosts or hibernacula in relation to your project. If you cannot incorporate the following into your project, you will need to contact your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits for project-specific guidance. Typical recommendations include, but may not be limited to:
      • Avoid tree cutting until after the pup rearing season (mid-August)
      • Leaving uncut all known roost trees, and any trees >3” DBH within DEC-determined buffers of a summer occurrence or hibernaculum.
      • Leaving uncut all snags and cavity trees (PDF) unless their removal is necessary for protection of human life or property.
      • Restrictions on drilling, blasting, or other activities may be required to limit impacts to NLEB.
   2. If yes, proceed to Step 3.
3. Can you leave all trees >3” DBH within 150ft of known roost trees and avoid any clearing within ¼ mile of a hibernaculum, as well as any snags and cavity trees (PDF) uncut?
   1. If no, contact your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits for further guidance.
   2. If yes, proceed with cutting. 

Guidance for Hazard Tree Removal

You do not need pre-approval from DEC to remove hazard trees. A "hazard tree" is a tree that poses an immediate threat to lives, public health and safety, or improved property if it is not trimmed or removed. We recommend planning ahead so that removal of potentially hazardous trees does not become an emergency and making every effort to avoid removing suitable roost trees between June 1 and August 15.  However, regardless of time of year, if you determine an emergency exists and human life is in imminent danger, do not delay action. If you think incidental take of listed bats was reasonably certain to have occurred as a result of your hazard tree removal, we advise you to contact your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits for additional guidance.

Further Guidance

If you cannot follow the guidance from DEC to avoid a take of NLEB, you may still be able to pursue your project under an incidental take permit. To be eligible for a permit to take NLEB, you must be able to demonstrate a net conservation benefit to NLEB as a result of your overall project. For example, projects that identify and protect new roost trees or hibernacula can help further conservation of NLEB. For information on how to apply, contact your regional DEC Office of Environmental Permits.