Stopping White Nose Syndrome at the Border
This is Passport to Texas
White Nose Syndrome is headed to Texas.
O6—This disease has the potential to impact over half of our North American bat species.
Mylea Bayless is a conservation biologist with Bat Conservation International, also called BCI. Little is clear about the disease, other than it’s a fungus that’s killed about a million hibernating bats, mostly in the northeast, since its discovery in NY State in 2006.
As of June 15, the disease had affected nine species of bats, in 14 states. In May, it was confirmed in Oklahoma, poised on Texas’ doorstep.
O3—So what we’re trying to do right now is to implement a surveillance plan.
John Young is a non-game mammalogist for Parks and Wildlife. He’s enlisting the help of BCI, the Texas Department of Health, Universities and others to help monitor the diseases’ progression. So far, it’s not been found in Texas.
16—We have taken a bit of a proactive stance on our wildlife management areas and some of out state parks where we’re looking at closing cave access if there’s bats present. But that won’t be all of the caves that we have because some don’t have bats, and it will only be a select number of caves.
Find detailed information about your role in limiting the spread of this disease at passporttotexas.org.
The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our show.
For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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