Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009 - 44

Check out penngamenews.com, and get the most out of your Game News subscription. At the website (high-speed access recommended) you’re free to check out all the back online issues, even if you’re a new subscriber, conduct searches, email stories to friends and much more. Also, the online version is often up before most magazines are mailed, so you can see Game News sooner every month. And, if your eyesight isn’t what it used to be, the zoom feature will allow you to make the type much larger and easier to read. To access the Game News, enter your 12-digit subscriber number (the number above your name on the address label) and then the password, which can be found on the login page. the remaining $431,940 will be funded by the Game Commission and the wildlife agencies of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia, and Bat Conservation International, Metro Parks Ohio, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. First and foremost, researchers hope to find the cause of WNS, how it’s transmitted and if its spread can be controlled. In addition, fieldwork will continue to monitor for new occurrences and to find ways to minimize threats to bats in adjoining regions. Proof of WNS in Pennsylvania began to appear in late winter as bats began to leave hibernacula prematurely and died. Sites where WNS has been confirmed here are two abandoned mines near Carbondale, Lackawanna County; an abandoned mine near Glen Lyon, Luzerne County; an abandoned iron mine and three limestone caves in Mifflin County; and at least one limestone cave in Centre County. 44 The Mifflin County abandoned iron mine held 2,317 wintering bats on Dec. 29, and by March 19, that number dropped to 126. An interesting aspect is this disorder’s spotty distribution. Dozens of wintering populations in mines and caves have been stricken by WNS through the Appalachians, but thousands more have not. While the sheer number of potential hibernation sites makes fine-scale WNS monitoring difficult, monitoring summer roosts is not, because the agency has been monitoring summer roosts for almost 20 years. This baseline information may prove to be invaluable for evaluating WNS effects. To reduce the spread of WNS, the Game Commission is encouraging private landowners with caves to close entry to these sites, to prevent any spread of the fungus by humans. Many privately owned caves are accessed only through small openings, which force visitors to scrape clothing and equipment against the walls and ceilings of constricted passages. This contact has the potential to transmit the fungus related to WNS from one cave site to another. This recommended closure does not apply to commercial caves because they, generally, feature large entrances in which visitors are in contact only with the ground, and visitors do not move previously used cave clothing or equipment from cave to cave. Also, commercial cave operators concerned about WNS are incorporating practices to reduce disease transmission among commercial caves. For more information on bats, visit the Game Commission’s website, select “Wildlife” and then click on the photo of the bat. To learn more about WNS, visit the USFWS’s website at w w w. f w s . g o v / n o r t h e a s t / white_nose.html. GAME NEWS

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Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009