Tomorrow, June 4, Merlin Tuttle (BCI), Peter Youngbaer (NSS WNS Liaison), Scott Darling (Vermont Fish and Wildlife Dept.) and Tom Kunz (WNS researcher, Boston University) will present testimony at a joint House subcommittee hearing on WNS. Also scheduled are Secretary Salazar (Department of the Interior) and Secretary Vilsack (Department of Agriculture). (It is unclear if Secretary Salazar or Vilsack will actually be there or proxies.) ***The hearing will be webcast live on the Committee's Web site at: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/. The info below is from the Committee on Natural Resources Weekly Preview http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/images/newsletter/09_06_01_newsletter.pdf On Thursday [June 4], the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife will hold a joint oversight hearing on "White-Nose Syndrome: What's Killing Bats in the Northeast?" The hearing will explore the profound public health, environmental, and economic implications of white- nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, which, to date, has spread to at least nine states, from New Hampshire to West Virginia. Bats, which can eat their body weight in insects each night, provide important ecosystem and economic services in suppressing insect populations, which can spread diseases and damage crops. This oversight hearing will highlight the work of the Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with state and local partners, to research, manage, coordinate, and educate the public on WNS. ***Visit the Committee's Web site to access witness testimony following the conclusion of the hearing. http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=27&extmo de=view&extid=259 (Feel free to circulate this message to cavers)
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