Dear Cavers,
I recently was asked to reply to some questions as to what role the
NSS has been playing in working for an end to the blanket closure of
caves in the western regions of the US, specifically NFS Region 2, and
in reporting WNS developments in general. Several people suggested
that it might be good to assure NSS members and other cavers more
broadly that the NSS is fully actively in addressing these issues.
Since April of 2008 I have served as the official Liaison between the
NSS and the academic scientific research community and the wildlife
management community, which includes both state and federal agencies,
and occasionally county and municipal governments, as well as other
non-governmental organizations. In this capacity I have worked to
report on changes in the status of WNS as it occurs - unfiltered. I
have consciously avoided reporting rumors, only confirmed information.
That said, I have concerns with the reports of new WNS sites, which
are usually sent out by the wildlife agency of the affected state, as
they are legally responsible for the wildlife in their states. They
are also accountable for the information they put out to the public,
and should be held as such. It would be inappropriate for the NSS to
"color" their news releases, as that would cause the NSS to assume
some of the responsibility for someone else's work.
On behalf of the NSS, I have been consistently critical of the
reporting by states, when the reports do not give a context for the
WNS-related news. The reports typically state that a bat or two were
confirmed for the disease or the presence of the fungus, but little
else. Most often, the size of that affected colony, the percentage
affected, whether or not mortalities have taken place, etc. are not
given.
Most of these state press releases are co-authored by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and coordinated in their public release with
USFWS. As such, USFWS shares in the responsibility for the quality and
impact of the news releases.
It is for this reason that the NSS filed its recent letter to U.S Fish
and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe, critical of the news release on the
new estimate of the number of bat deaths. In that letter, we cited the
string of new WNS reports that fail to give sufficient contextual
information to allow for a scientific understanding of the rate and
spread of the disease. This created a media and public reaction that
there was a sudden explosion of bat deaths, when the reality is far
different. Rather, the deaths in question have occurred over several
years. There were, of course, other technical issues with USFWS
estimates, and those have still not been responded to by the Service.
If you have not already read the NSS letter, you can find it here:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/Ashe_Bat_Estimate_Letter_1-24-12.pdf
This is your NSS working for you.
In terms of U.S. Forest Service Region 2, the NSS has been working
steadily on this issue since before the closure order was issued in
2010. We completely agree that closure is an inappropriate,
unnecessary, and counterproductive overreaction and said so in a
letter I wrote, signed by NSS President Gordon Birkhimer, to the U.S.
Region 2 Director at the time:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/USFS%20Region%202%20Rick%20Cables%20WNS%20Letter-1.pdf
This is your NSS working for you.
This letter prompted a response from none other that the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, under whose agency the Forest
Service resides:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/USDA-WNS%20Response-1.pdf
It was this letter, elicited by our action, from no less than the
Secretary of Agriculture himself, that prompted the Region 2 U.S.
Forest Service personnel to agree to a September conference call with
the NSS - myself and Ray Keeler, then one of the Vice Presidents -
state wildlife officials, Bureau of Land Management, local grotto
reps, and the Colorado Cave Survey. This call initiated a series of
meetings and other preparations necessary to open caves for the NSS
Convention in Colorado in 2011. Of course, we expected a challenge
from the Center for Biological Diversity, which came the week before
Convention in the form of a lawsuit against BLM. The BLM and NSS were
ready, and responded and testified in a Washington, DC federal court,
and were rewarded with a total legal victory: Not just a dismissal,
but a ruling against the CBD.
This is your NSS working for you.
Caves were opened for Convention, and all went well. Our Convention
demonstrated excellent cooperation with federal and state officials,
had a prominent and effective decon station, and, most importantly,
didn't bring WNS to Colorado's caves. This was no surprise to us, but
nevertheless was a worry on the part of local, state, and federal
officials.
At Convention during the special WNS session, groundwork was laid for
continued negotiations to alter, revise, or allow to expire the Region
2 Closure order. These meetings have been going on for months, and
have recently ramped up as USFS Region 2's order is set to expire July
25. There have been dozens of phone calls and emails among the
Colorado cavers working and attending these meetings, myself, the NSS
Board of Governors, and the NSS legal committee. These are sensitive
discussions, and do involve new federal personnel in some cases, which
means having to educate them about many things scientific,
bureaucratic, and political as we move forward.
This is your NSS working for you.
For NSS members who want more detailed information on these issues,
the (April) 2012 NSS News Conservation Issue includes my speech given
to the National Caves and Karst Management Symposium in Utah back in
October. This was an entire conference of almost exclusively western
cave and karst managers from all sorts of federal and state agencies.
The details in that speech explain how we are working to educate about
the science, the unintended consequences of cave closures, the
mutually-beneficial relationship managers should be nurturing with the
caving community, and the balance needed to move forward.
As they did before the closure order, the U.S. Forest Service Region 2
is going to be taking public input. We're sure the CBD will give their
opinion, as they recently did again with yet another petition to yet
another federal agency. Frankly, they and their tactics are well-known
to the Feds, so take that for what it's worth. In the meantime, this
story appeared last week in the local media:
http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_20407908/forest-service-considers-opening-bat-caves
We have gotten to this point through the collaborative efforts of
many, many NSS members and its leadership - people who are making
reasoned, timely, and targeted efforts - firm and rapid, when
necessary, and understanding that what we do here will have national
implications. There are no guarantees that the Order will be lifted or
altered, but we have been vocal and persistent, yet professional and
scientific, and unhesitant to involve the highest levels of
government, as deemed appropriate.
What we have not done is copy CBD's tactics and file lawsuits and FOIA
requests willy-nilly. Those tactics have annoyed and disrupted
everyone, taking people and resources away from doing what they should
be doing to protect bats, caves, and cave access.
So, this is what your NSS is doing for you. We understand that WNS is
a national issue, affecting people differently in different states,
and in their relationships with landowners both public and private, in
WNS-decimated areas and in areas where WNS may never arrive. It is
essential that we keep this in mind as we advocate for various actions
in response to WNS and others' reactions to it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Peter Youngbaer
White Nose Syndrome Liaison
National Speleological Society
[email protected]
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