INTRODUCTION 



The Endangered Species Act of 1973, Section 7 (a)(2) mandates 

 that any federal agency assure that any of its actions "(are) not 

 likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or 

 threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse 

 modification of (its) habitat" (Finch 1992). In addition, the 

 National Forest Management Act of 1975 and United States Forest 

 Service ( USFS ) policy require that the Forest Service must 

 maintain viable populations of native vertebrates in national 

 forests (Sec. 219 (12)(g) and "where appropriate and to the 

 extent practicable, ...preserve and enhance the diversity of 

 plant and animal communities" (Finch 1992). 



There are presently 14 species of bats in Montana (Thompson 

 1982)). Five species are listed by the Montana Natural Heritage 

 Program as species of special concern. These are the Pallid bat 

 (Antrozous pallidus) , the Spotted bat {Eudezrma maculattm) , 

 Townsend's big-eared bat {Plecotus townsendii) , the Fringed 

 myotis (Myotis thysanodes) , and the Northern long-eared bat 

 {Myotis septentrionalis) (Center 1993). The first three are 

 listed as sensitive by the Northern Region (R 1) of the USFS 

 ( Mumma 1991). Sensitive species are "those plant and animal 

 species identified by the Regional Forester for which population 

 viability is a concern as evidenced by: 



a) Significant current or predicted downward trends in 



population numbers and density; 



2) Significant current or predicted downward trends in 



