ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the status of the eastern small-footed and northern long-eared bats to see if they warrant federal protection.

The status review announced Tuesday was launched after the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, filed a petition asking for Endangered Species Act designation for the bats and their habitat.

The wildlife agency says the bats have declined because of habitat destruction, disturbance of hibernation and breeding roosts, and white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that has killed more than a million bats since its discovery in 2006.

The eastern small-footed bat is found from eastern Canada and New England south to Alabama and Georgia and west to Oklahoma. Northern long-eared bats live across the eastern and north-central United States and Canada.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Don't be surprised if you see a lot of dead fish when the ice melts off your local pond.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says increased fish kills known as "winterkills" are expected this spring because of the unusually harsh, snowy winter.

Winterkills are the result of oxygen depletion in a water body that has been covered by ice and snow for an extended period of time. The layers of snow and ice block oxygen from entering the water from the air, and prevent sunlight from reaching aquatic plants that would produce oxygen.

The DEC says winterkills are rare in larger water bodies over 20 acres in size, occurring more often in small ponds. The agency says fish populations can often rebound a few years after a winterkill.

DEC says anyone noting a fish kill that they believe cannot be attributed to winterkill should contact their local DEC regional office.