What is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doing to help?
The focus of current efforts among conservation agencies and organizations is on determining the cause of bat deaths. Until the cause is known, it is not possible to determine how the ailment is spread and evaluate possible treatments. The Service is working closely with the affected states, where biologists are investigating the geographic extent of the outbreaks and collecting samples of affected bats. Many laboratories, including government, university and private facilities, are coordinating their efforts to analyze samples to help determine the cause of the bat deaths. In addition, the Service is developing a geographic database to track the location of sites where WNS has been found, and is collecting information at each site, such as the number of bats affected. This information will be critical in tracking the extent and spread of WNS and in coordinating research efforts. The Service is also partnering with the Northeastern Cave Conservancy to track movements of cavers that hav
