Save America's Bats: Implement USFWS's WNS National Plan
White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is a disease effecting bats that has killed more than one million bats in the past four years. Many biologists are describing it as the most precipitous decline of North American wildlife in the past century.
The loss of bats from WNS may impact the economy, the environment and human health. As primary predators of night flying insects, bats eat agricultural pests that damage crops and decrease the use of pesticides. They also eat insects that pose risks to human health.
The disease is spreading quickly. Since 2006, the disease has spread from New York to 14 states and two Canadian provinces. The fungus' reach extended nearly 500 miles in the last two winters. And a recent study published in the journal Science predicts the Northeast population of little brown myotis (one of the most common US bats) will become regionally extinct within two decades due to White-nose Syndrome.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has developed the National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies and Tribes in managing White-nose Syndrome in Bats, which is currently open for public comments. We applaud USFWS for taking this important first step to protect bats. However, they must act swiftly to fund and implement the plan in order to slow the spread of this deadly disease.
Please urge the US Fish and Wildlife Service to expedite the implementation of the plan and to ensure all agencies provide adequate funding and staffing to execute the plan before it is too late.
Dear Dr. Coleman,
We the undersigned request that you expedite the implementation of the draft National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats currently open to public comment.
Bats are an important part of our ecosystem and we're glad to see the USFWS and other federal and state agencies considering it a serious threat and responding at a national level. The plan is a great first step toward coordinating a national response. Please request each agency to provide enough funding and staff to move quickly to implement the plan as this will be critical to save bats and slow the spread of this awful disease.
Please continue to involve university researchers, conservation organizations, and the interested public as you develop strategies to implement the National Plan. One of the most critical questions still involves how WNS is transmitted. This needs to be answered quickly to help our wildlife and land management agencies make decisions about protecting the bats under their care.
There is an overwhelming need for funding. We hope that the USFWS will put adequate funds in their annual budgets for WNS response and continue to keep WNS in the list of top priorities for the agency.
Thank you for considering our comments.
