Law360, New York (February 20, 2015, 10:59 AM EST) -- The Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) is a wide-ranging species of bat that is currently being considered for potential listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Its range covers much of eastern North America, extending from Maine down through North Carolina, southwest to Louisiana and Oklahoma, and north through the Dakotas and into Canada. On Jan. 16, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed ESA Section 4(d) rule for the NLEB. The special take rule would apply in the event that the FWS ultimately lists the NLEB as threatened under the ESA, and would exempt take of the NLEB resulting from certain specified activities from the take prohibition of ESA Section 9....