A coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit this month claiming the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest services have failed to adequately protect the critically endangered Indiana bat as required by law.

The Indiana bat was listed as endangered in 1968 but has continued to decline — by as much as 40 percent since 1980 and 60 percent since 1960, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The lawsuit claims federal agencies are not doing enough to protect bat habitat.

The strategy intended to help Indiana bat populations was developed by federal agencies in 1983.

“However, the Recovery Plan was issued before most of the current scientific information about the summer habitat requirements of the species was developed. Also, the population figures in the 1983 plan are not up to date and do not reflect the continued population declines since that time,” the lawsuit states.

The 1983 recovery plan only designates caves where the bats hibernate for six months out of the year as “critical” habitat and therefore off-limits to commercial logging operations. The coalition of environmental groups claim the U.S. Forest Service also needs to designate the bats’ summer forest habitat as “critical habitat” as well and stop allowing commercial logging operations in these areas.

Indiana bats use dead and dying trees as roosting sites, but commercial logging in the national forests removes trees when they reach maturity before they get a chance to die and develop hollows.

However, a 1999 U.S. Fish and Wildlife report indicates logging of summer habitat is not a primary threat to the bats.

“Factors contributing to its decline include disturbance and vandalism in wintering caves and loss or changes to habitat. Chemical contamination of its food source is also suspected,” according to the report issued for the Nantahala Forest region. The Indiana Bat can consume 1,200 insects an hour. If those insects are contaminated with pesticides from fields, it could have a multiplier effect on the bat.

Another documented cause of their decline is disturbance by spelunkers and researchers of caves where they hibernate.

“Bats enter hibernation with only enough fat reserves to last until spring. When a bat is aroused, it uses a portion of these reserves, as much as 68 days of fat supply in a single disturbance .... The bats’ fat reserves may be exhausted before spring when insect prey again are available,” according to a research project conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation in hopes of pinpointing the cause of Indiana bat decline.

In addition, the practice of placing gates across caves and mines either sealed off these hibernation areas completely or altered the caves microclimate, making it unsuitable for hibernation. Indiana bats are also subject to a number of natural hazards. River flooding, internal cave flooding, and flash flooding have drowned Indiana bats during hibernation in several caves.

The same report, however, also calls for a supply of “large diameter, mature and over-mature trees” for summer roosting habitats.

All this fuss is over more than just a furry little bat, according to the environmental groups. The environmental groups claim the bat species is a “canary in the coalmine,” and that the loss of a single species indicates a serious ecological imbalance in the forests.

“The national forests in our region, including the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, provide the best opportunities for protecting this species’ habitat,” says Tracy Davids, Director of the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project. “We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to be good stewards of these lands and leave behind a legacy of protecting endangered species and the special places they call home.”

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The parties to the lawsuit include the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, National Forest Protection Alliance, Virginia Forest Watch, Wild Virginia, Indiana Forest Alliance, Kentucky Heartwood and the Buckeye Forest Council.