[Dirtmail] FW: [PBSS] Fw: NSS WNS Urgent

[Dustin G]

Just for awareness' sake, I'd like to keep posting the news and events we've been seeing about WNS. WNS has been seen as a huge problem by those who have kept up with it, but the story is just on the verge on gaining public attention. As ASU's caving community, I think it is imperative that we know as much as we can about what is happening. 

 

-Dustin










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> From: jlrbills at sonoratx.net
> To: Pbss at caver.net
> Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:04:55 -0500
> Subject: [PBSS] Fw: NSS WNS Urgent
> 
> Forwarding the latest from NSS on White Nose Syndrome (WNS). Jacqui
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Keith D. Wheeland" <kwheeland at verizon.net>
> To: <undisclosed-recipients:>
> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 9:00 AM
> Subject: NSS WNS Urgent
> 
> 
> > Hi All IOs,
> >
> > Please share this with your IO.
> >
> > Today I have two items concerning WNS, one from the NSS President and one 
> > from the NSS Liaison for WNS. Peter Youngbaer has this to say.
> >
> > Could you please forward this link to the NSS policy statement on WNS to 
> > the IOs? It's the top link under Resources on the NSS WNS website:
> >
> > http://www.caves.org/WNS/WNS%20Info.htm
> >
> > In addition, here is one of the more moving pieces of video I've seen 
> > showing the devastation of WNS - shot at Vermont's Mt. Aeolus Bat
> > Cave. For those outside the WNS region, this is what it's all about.
> >
> > http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4920589n%3fsource=search_video
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Peter
> > --------------------------------------------------
> > And this from Gordon Birkhimer our President.
> > --------------------------------------------------
> > INTRODUCTION
> >
> > Fellow Cavers and National Speleological Society Members,
> >
> > Never in history of the NSS has any President been confronted with a
> > situation that threatens to change caving as drastically as we used to
> > know it. I'm certain you understand the devastation WNS has caused the
> > bat population in caves in the North Eastern United States. The NSS
> > Leadership has sent a letter requesting U.S. Senate Hearings in an
> > appeal to obtain adequate research funding.
> >
> > I am now appealing to our NSS Internal Organizations and individual
> > members to get involved and join in the fight against White Nose
> > Syndrome (WNS). Please use my letter as a template and change the
> > addressee to your own Senator or Congressperson. The E-mail addresses
> > can be found at http://www.senate.gov/ or http://www.house.gov/ to
> > forward your own personalized letter to your Senator or Congressional
> > Representative.
> >
> > Remember, the sooner we solve WNS, the sooner we can get caving back to
> > normal. The NSS Leadership has also recently released our Policy
> > Statement in an attempt to contain WNS and it can be found here:
> > http://www.caves.org/WNS/NSS%20WNS%20Policy%20Stmt%20090408.pdf
> >
> > Thank you for your participation,
> >
> > Gordon Birkhimer
> > President National Speleological Society
> > ------------------------------------------
> > SAMPLE LETTER
> > April 16, 2009
> > Dear ,
> >
> > The National Speleological Society requests a Senate hearing with the
> > Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Fish,
> > Wildlife and Water, and requests immediate emergency funding to address
> > the White Nose Syndrome affecting cave bats.
> >
> > As the nation's largest organized caving and cave conservation
> > organization, with nearly 12,000 members, we are deeply concerned about
> > the loss of bats to our ecological system. Bats are our primary
> > nocturnal insectivores, eating up to their own body weight in insects
> > every night. The loss of bats to our ecosystem would mean a huge
> > increase in pests that destroy agricultural crops, gardens, and carry
> > potentially threatening diseases for humans, such as West Nile Virus.
> >
> > White Nose Bat Syndrome (WNS) has already devastated the cave dwelling
> > bat populations of the northeastern United States, causing 95% to 100%
> > bat mortality at affected sites. This phenomenon has spread quickly
> > over the past two years. It is estimated that more than a million bats
> > are known to be dead. The states currently documented as being affected
> > are: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New
> > Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The nation's major 
> > hibernacula are west of West Virginia; if this
> > disease is not stopped we may experience extinction of several cave
> > dwelling bat species in a very short time period. This phenomenon was
> > initially documented in New York in 2006 and is thought to be an
> > introduced fungus of unknown origin. In addition, if WNS spreads to
> > threaten bats in the western U.S., additional impacts to farmers and
> > orchardists could face severe losses as several of these bat species are
> > major pollinators of fruits and vegetables.
> >
> > The NSS itself has raised over $40,000 from our members in support of
> > five different research projects, but that is a fraction of the total
> > need. Some other private sources, such as Bat Conservation
> > International, have also stepped forward with funding in the short term,
> > and some USFWS funding has been able to be directed to WNS. However,
> > the WNS situation has escalated to a crisis point where significant
> > financial resources from Congress are urgently needed.
> >
> > We can't underscore enough the critical need for research funding for
> > this summer season. With bats ending their hibernation, follow-up
> > activities as they emerge, as they give birth and nurse in their
> > maternity colonies, as they consume insects over the summer and begin to
> > put on weight for next fall's mating and hibernation season, and as they
> > fly many miles to summer roosts, it is absolutely vital that researchers
> > have the funds to conduct tests over the summer season. Without those
> > resources, another year will go by, and WNS will continue to spread
> > without information that could be obtained this year.
> > Following is a link to a story by Beth Daley from The Boston Globe,
> > where researchers describe the scope of the problem, and tell of the
> > funding issues: 
> > _http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/06/sick_bats_pr_problem_could_prove_to_be_deadly/_
> > For the past year, the NSS has had a Liaison on White Nose Syndrome, who
> > is in daily communication with the federal and state wildlife officials
> > and scientists working on WNS. From our discussions with scientists and
> > wildlife officials, we believe that something in the range of $6 million
> > in priority research funding for WNS is needed. We ask that it be spread
> > roughly equally among several entities: the US Fish and Wildlife
> > Service, the US Geological Survey, and the National Science Foundation.
> > Those would be the three most important agencies for funding, but
> > others, such as the United States Forest Service, the National Park
> > Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and even the Department of
> > Defense, are all involved.
> > It is important to have funding in different areas in order to keep a
> > check and balance in the research system and to afford direct access to
> > the parties intimately involved in the research. For the National
> > Science Foundation, it is very important that they have a source of
> > funds for academic researchers to apply to competitively.
> > We also ask that specific language be included that directs a
> > significant portion of the money to get to the field this summer season.
> > Timing is of the essence, and the normal internal processes are not
> > sufficiently responsive to address the realities of the progress of this
> > devastating illness. For example, the NSF has a "RAPID" grant program,
> > but in actuality it takes more than nine months for funds to hit the
> > street. We urge you to expedite that process with emergency language.
> > Thank you very much for attention to this major environmental concern.
> > We are happy to offer our expertise to help in any way.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > END OF SAMPLE LETTER
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> >
> > -- 
> > Keith D. Wheeland, NSS 2878, Chair NSS IO Committee
> > 2191 Mt. View Ave.
> > State College, PA 16801-7214
> > 814-238-2057
> > kwheeland at psualum.com (Use this forwarding address in your address book)
> > IO Website - www.caves.org/committee/i-o/
> > Annual Report & Updates- www.nssio.org
> >
> > 
> 
> 
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