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 [...]

ShareI am sending this letter to news organizations and publications that have covered WNS (white nose syndrome, a newly identified fungal and fatal bat disease) in the hopes of presenting a different perspective. I have seen a lot of misinformation going around, especially the statements that humans are a known or probable vector for WNS, [...]

ShareBat experts meeting in St. Louis on White Nose Syndrome. Sometimes the interviewer becomes the interviewee…especially when it involves caves, rocks or bats.
( I am not a bat expert, nor attending the meeting, but I do care about Missouri bats, caves, and continued cave access for all responsible outdoors people. Apparently someone from [...]