{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=3D6488A5-1B13-4790-96B1-6E4C3F679885", "Legislators highlight impact of listing northern long-earned bat as endangered", "2014-10-16", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Ripon Advance \r\n\tRep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) said on Tuesday that the Interior Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) should withdraw a proposed endangered species listing for the northern long-eared bat.\r\nNoem and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said in letters to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Fish and Wildlife Services Director Dan Ashe that there was insufficient supporting data to list the long-eared bat as endangered, and that its listing could threaten forest health and jobs.\r\n\u201cThe proposed listing of the long-eared bat as endangered and corresponding guidance provides a significant and unnecessary distraction from the real issues at hand,\u201d Noem said. \u201cWhile white nose syndrome is a species-threatening disease that has jeopardized northern long-eared bat populations in many states, the proposal focuses primarily on habitat \u2013 a non-factor according to many researchers. The misguided proposal not only avoids the primary cause of the problem, but also restricts active forest management, endangering more than 1,500 jobs in the Black Hills area.\u00a0Any effort to preserve the species should focus on the disease.\u201d\r\nThune said he was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d with the decision to list the long-eared bat as endangered alongside proposed forest management guidance that could harm the economy in Black Hills, S.D.\r\n\u201cThese proposed regulations don\u2019t address the real problem \u2014 eradicating white nose syndrome,\u201d Thune said. \u201cThe long-eared bat\u2019s population decline is due to the white-nose syndrome and is not related to current forest management practices. If FWS and the Interior Department are serious about protecting both the northern long-eared bat and the Black Hills National Forest \u2014 it will repeal its proposed listing, focus on addressing white-nose syndrome and continue active forest management, including timber sales.\u201d\r\nBlack Hills Forest Resource Association Programs Manager Ben Wudtke said the restrictions are an \u201ceminent threat\u201d to forest product companies and sustainable forest management in the Black Hills.\r\n\u201cThese restrictions on forest management are proposed despite acknowledgement by the FWS that timber harvest activities have not posed any threat to this species and may actually improve habitat used by the long-eared bat,\u201d Wudtke said. \u201cIt is imperative the FWS change their interim guidance to reflect the benefits of active forest management for long-eared bat habitat in western forests.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=3D6488A5-1B13-4790-96B1-6E4C3F679885"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.899794977158308, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}