WNS found in Alabama Bats - Bad, bad news

[cavedivingwoman]

The link is here.

http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome...in_Alabama.pdf

I'm posting it on the forum because there are diveable sumps there---if it's more appropriately posted elsewhere, feel free.

Barbara

[Tegg]

That just plain sucks...

[Jim Coke]

Thanks cavedivingwoman.

As mentioned earlier in this forum, there is a wealth of information about WNS on the NSS web site:

http://www.caves.org/WNS/index.htm

WNS is a growing problem for bats, sump divers, and cavers.

[graepaep]

This really bites.

I assume there will be an updated list of closed caves.

[jlillest]

I'm posting it on the forum because there are diveable sumps there---if it's more appropriately posted elsewhere, feel free.

This isn't altogether bad. WNS is an awful epidemic affecting the bats and so far nothing that we have or haven't done has made it worse. It sucks for the bats, but shouldn't greatly affect cave closures more than it has already. Caves that serve as hibernacula or maternity zones for bats should have been avoided before WNS and this shouldn't change. Caves with sumps won't have bats near the water zone anyway, so as long as you don't need to travel through parts where the bats hang out then they shouldn't be affected by reasonable measures.

VA has had WNS for about 4 years now and before the wave had spread across the land, there was a lot of fear and bad policy. We've learned our lessons from here and states further north, so there's no reason to get overly concerned. If you cave in the WNS zone (counties or watersheds affected by WNS) then you should stay caving there, and the same for the WNS-negative zone. Alabama has all it's caves (99% of significant caves) clustered in the northeast so the state will be considered completely WNS-positive within a year.

In VA all the caves that were open before WNS are back open now.

-Jon

[cavedivingwoman]

We're all concerned about closures in CA, even though the epidemic hasn't approached here. If the bats get decimated in the southeast, though, think of the mosquito problems and the diseases they carry. Not a good thing at all. And I feel bad for our bats.

[mwenner]

Yes, it's bad news for sure, and TAG's been buzzing ever since the announcement. The law makers are on one side of the fence, to a degree, with cavers on the other, regardless of procedures, and any scientific resolve. NSS promotes caving, so I understand that if greatly affects their livelyhood, and the real concern has to be the planet, right? Deconning equipment has been nothing but a hassle, but we're doing our job. I think the rains, and early summer temps. will really cause insect problems this year, regardless of bats to help support our efforts. It's a real shame.

We're all concerned about closures in CA, even though the epidemic hasn't approached here. If the bats get decimated in the southeast, though, think of the mosquito problems and the diseases they carry. Not a good thing at all. And I feel bad for our bats.