Towercos Must Take These Steps to Protect Threatened Bats

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau updated its guidance for proposed tower construction in the Midwest, where the northern long-eared bat lives. The new instructions update the previous 2016 guidance. They direct towerco construction applicants to the electronic resources of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and require electronic documentation submission to the Commission in certain circumstances, similar to bureau guidance for other threatened species. The Northern Long Eared Bat was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2015 because of the continued spread of white-nose syndrome, a fungus that kills bats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2016, released required protective measures for the bats. It also released an optional streamlined framework for proposed tower construction. The FCC said if this were used, the tower owner was not required to submit additional information to the Commission. Continue Reading