In December 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a notice that 90-day findings have been reached in response to petitions to list five species as threatened or endangered, including the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus). The USFWS found that a 2016 petition to list the tricolored bat as threatened or endangered contained substantial information showing that listing under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. Like other cave-dwelling bats in the Eastern U.S., tricolored bats have experienced precipitous declines due to the proliferation of white-nose syndrome.
With this finding, the USFWS will now conduct a formal review of the species’ status to determine whether or not listing is warranted. As part of this review, the USFWS is requesting any scientific or commercial data that could inform their decision. The review is expected to take at least a year, after which the USFWS will either decide that listing is not warranted or issue a proposed rule to list.