Two imperiled animals found in Alabama have gotten one step closer to protected status under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday the agency has determined further study and research is warranted to decide whether the oblong rocksnail and tricolored bat should be listed as threatened or endangered species and afforded federal protections under the Act.

The oblong rocksnail is found only in the Cahaba River in Alabama. It was believed to be extinct for more than 70 years until it was rediscovered in a single shoal of the Cahaba in 2011. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, that shoal is the only location the species is known to survive.

The tricolored bat is found in 38 states, including Alabama, and was once believed to be the most common bat species in Alabama. However, in recent years, the species has been decimated by white-nose syndrome and has seen 95-100 percent declines in population is areas where the disease has taken hold.

One of Alabama's largest known hibernating grounds for these bats, at Birmingham's Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, has become infected with white-nose and the tricolored bat population is expected to drop precipitously within the next year or two.

The so-called "90-day finding" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the next step in gaining federal protections for a species, a process which can take years before a decision is reached.

Tuesday's 90-day finding kicks off a one-year scientific status review for the tricolored bat, oblong rocksnail and the Venus fly-trap, a carnivorous plant found in the Carolinas, which the FWS also found warrants more study.

Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said this was an important step for all those species toward population recovery.

"It's great news that the oblong rocksnail is moving toward the Endangered Species Act protection that will make sure it's around for generations to come," Greenwald said in a news release. "The Endangered Species Act has been 99 percent effective at preventing the extinction of the plants and animals under its care, so this special snail now has a hopeful future."

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned Fish and Wildlife to list the oblong rocksnail, along with Birmingham-based environmental group Cahaba Riverkeeper.

"Rocksnails are critical to the health of the Cahaba River ecosystem, one of the most biologically rich freshwater systems in the world," said Myra Crawford, executive director of Cahaba Riverkeeper. "We must do everything we can to protect the diversity of this area, because it's an underappreciated national treasure."

The rocksnail was previously found in at least seven locations along the Cahaba, but had not been found since 1935 before its 2011 rediscovery. Greenwald said pollution, agricultural runoff, sediment and development of the Cahaba watershed are the most likely cause of the snail's decline and still its biggest threat.

The tricolored bat is widespread throughout the United States and Canada, but has been one of the most affected species by the white-nose syndrome fungal disease, which is spreading rapidly across North America.

As one of the smallest hibernating bats, and one that hibernates longer than some other species, the tricolored bat has been among the most heavily impacted by white-nose.

According to biologist Chris Cornelison of Kennesaw State University in Georgia, the tricolored bat was likely the most common bat in Georgia before white-nose greatly reduced populations in many Georgia caves.

Alabama is expected to see similar declines as the disease spreads here, and there's not much that can be done where the disease has already spread. The best hope for researchers and bat conservationists now is to develop treatments for caves in other states where it has not yet taken hold.

"Endangered Species Act protection will hopefully help provide more attention and funding to finding a cure for the disease, as well as protect places where the species still survives from disturbance and other threats," Greenwald said.