A conservation easement to protect bats displaced by the start of construction for the Roy Blunt Reservoir has been established. The North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission (NCMRWC) and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) finalized agreements to establish a perpetual conservation easement around the Roy Blunt Reservoir.
The easement is to protect habitat for the Indiana Bat and Northern Long-eared Bat, both displaced by the construction of the reservoir.
Under the Endangered Species Act, adverse impacts to the habitat of endangered species warrant compensation. Because of this, the NCMRWC established a 1,644-acre conservation easement.