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Urgent - Contact Congress Now! Your help is needed now. The first House Committee in Congress is beginning its mark-up of the Department of Interior Appropriations Bill for the coming federal fiscal year. The NSS has signed on to joint testimony with dozens of conservation organizations and a host of key WNS scientists in support of an increase to the budget of $5 million for WNS. A copy of that testimony, for your reference, can be found here: http://www.caves.org/WNS/House%20Appropriations%20Testimony%203_19_2010.pdf Please urge your Congressional representative to sign Representative Carol Shea-Porter's letter requesting $5 million in the 2011 federal budget to combat White-nose Syndrome. Representative Shea-Porter was a strong supporter of the additional funding last year, and is urging her colleagues to joint the effort this year. A sample letter is below, but feel free to tailor it to your own style. If calling is more your style than writing, then do that. Ask to speak to your Congressperson, or specifically their environmental staff person. Tell your Congressperson what the impact of WNS has meant to you. To contact your representative, go to https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml. Last year, it was largely due to our efforts that the additional funding for WNS ($1.9 million) was added to the budget. The problem is bigger now, and the need for money for hard science research is high. Thank you for your efforts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sample letter: Subject: Please Support Funding for White-Nose Syndrome Dear Representative XXXXXXXXXX, As a constituent, a caver and member of the National Speleological Society, I am writing to urge you to sign on to Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's letter to the Appropriations Committee requesting $5 million in the 2011 Interior Appropriations Bill to help combat White Nose Syndrome, or WNS. WNS has already killed over a million bats in the United States, spreading from the Northeast into the South and now heading Westward. A never-before identified fungus appears to be the primary cause of the disease, but little is known of how the fungus attacks and kills the bats. Scientists have called this the most precipitous decline in North American wildlife in the past century, with mortality rates at some caves and mines approaching 100%. Bats are a keystone species in our ecosystem. They are the only nighttime predators of insects, consuming half their body weight and more in a night of hunting. The sheer magnitude of uneaten insects raises serious concerns for the economic effects and health effects. They are vital for controlling agricultural and forest pests that can cost billions of dollars, and can carry diseases that effect humans. Congressional support is essential to fighting this devastating disease. Last year, Congress appropriated $1.9 million for WNS in the 2010 budget, which was a help but not enough. It is beyond the capacity of states' budgets to address, and the scientific research community cannot pursue critical hard science without sufficient funding. WNS has spread faster than science can keep up. Our federal and state agencies can do little more than monitor the spread of WNS without a significant boost of research funding that focuses on how the disease progresses and how it might be stopped, including treatments or vaccines. As one who spends considerable time exploring and studying the underground resources of our country, I care deeply about bats and their niche in the underground ecosystem. Bats are an important part of that system, but only one part. The impact of WNS has meant not only the death of bats, but closure of caves to further study by those who care most about them. Until we can figure out WNS, access by our citizens to these underground treasures and progress in other fields of science are at risk. Please support increased White Nose Syndrome funding in the upcoming budget. Thank you. Sincerely, _______________________________________________ NMCAVER mailing list [email protected] http://caver.net/mailman/listinfo/nmcaver_caver.net
