West Virginia Highlands Voice

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has joined with the Friends of Blackwater and several other groups in a notice to the United States Department of the Interior, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Allegheny Wood Products, Inc. of the groups’ intention to take legal action pursuant to the Endangered Species Act.

The controversy arises out of timbering in Blackwater Canyon and the danger it presents to species that are protected by the Endangered Species Act. According to the letter, the logging imperils the habitat of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), the endangered Virginia big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus), and the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander (plethodon netting). The area in controversy is also home to the Virgnia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus), which was recently removed from the list of endangered species.

The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to “take” an endangered species.

“Take” means to harass, harm, or kill the species. This includes habitat destruction.

A determination that the facility will harm the endangered Indiana bat is not necessarily a death sentence for the timbering.

The Endangered Species Act allows the issuance of what is called an “incidental take permit.” Such a permit allows a person or other entity to lawfully take an endangered species, without fear of incurring civil and criminal penalties, “if such taking is incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise lawful activity.”

An “incidental take permit” must be issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service but only when the Fish and Wildlife Service attaches strict and enforceable conditions designed to minimize the impact on imperiled species. The application for such a permit is required to contain information on steps the applicant will take to protect the species. The application for such a permit must be published and comment solicited from interested persons.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has previously determined that logging will present a threat to some or all of these endangered species. In spite of this, Allegheny Wood Products has decided to continue logging.

The groups have asked that Allegheny Wood Products cease all logging until there is a plan in place for protecting endangered species. If it fails to do so, the groups have by this letter announced their intention to take legal action