ShareMDC confirms White-Nose Syndrome in bats from two caves in Lincoln County.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently received confirmation that a deadly disease in bats called “White-Nose Syndrome” (WNS) has been found in three bats from two caves in Lincoln County. The name describes a white fungus, Geomyces destructans, typically [...]

ShareAccording to an article in the Quad City Times, Iowa DNR will be reopening the caves in Maquoketa Caves State Park effective April 15.
he caves, which will be accessible using a wristband system, will remain open until Oct 1. The caves have been closed for two years to prevent the spread of white nose [...]

ShareThe United States Geological Service announced today that the fungus Geomyces destructans causes WNS in little brown bats, according to agency research published today in the journal Nature.
The study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners, conducted at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisc., provides the first direct evidence [...]

ShareThis well-researched article in the Columbia Missourian contains much information about the current state of white nose syndrome in Missouri bats, and its effects on caves, cave management and cavers.
In short, the story is: After discovering bats with Geomyces destructans fungus and scarring evidence on their wings in two caves, one in Pike County [...]

ShareROLLA, Mo. — Mark Twain National Forest will continue to keep its caves closed to the public through April 2016.
Geomyces destructans, the fungus responsible for White Nose Syndrome, was detected at two sites in Missouri in the spring of 2010. White Nose Syndrome has not yet been confirmed in the state.
Mark Twain National Forest [...]

ShareOfficials on the Poplar Bluff Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service are calling for public comment on two proposed projects, one to enhance habitat for the Indiana bat near Greenville, and one to salvage black and scarlet oak trees on a 246 acre tract in western Wayne County.
The Brown’s Hollow Project is intended [...]

ShareIt’s not been a good couple of years for cave enthusiasts, both dedicated amateurs and casual visitors.
by Jo Schaper
The United States Forest Service closed their wild caves to casual visitation in 2009. Last year, with the discovery of two suspected cases of white nose syndrome, a fungal infection, in Missouri bats — [...]

ShareThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be accepting comments on a draft national management plan for white nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease fatal to most cave dwelling bats. The draft plan was issued Oct. 27, and the agency will be accepting comments until December 26.
WNS has shut down recreational caving on most state [...]

ShareA few more dollars have been distributed to research white-nose syndrome, the fungal bat disease which showed up in the United States in 2006, and which has halted nearly all state and federal land caving in Missouri. For more on WNS, visit http://www.caves.org/WNS/ .
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it has awarded nearly $1.6 [...]

ShareToday the Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources announced that the wild cave closures now in effect will be extended to September 1, and that wild tours of the Devil’s Icebox at Rockbridge Memorial State Park have been cancelled for this fall. Devil’s Icebox is home to federally endangered gray and Indiana bats. At the [...]