SUPPORT FUNDING to COMBAT WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME an Ecological Disaster and Threat to American Agriculture, Timber, and Health

The Honorable Barbara Mikulski The Honorable Richard Shelby 503 Hart Senate Office Building 304 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Jack Reed The Honorable Lisa Murkowski 728 Hart Senate Office Building 709 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

SUPPORT FUNDING TO COMBAT WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME An Ecological Disaster And Threat To American Agriculture, Timber, And Health

June 20, 2013

Dear Senators,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to express our support for fiscal year 2014 funding to combat White-nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease decimating North American bats. We appreciate the commitment Congress has demonstrated to fighting WNS in previous years. Despite our challenging financial climate, the WNS fight still needs and merits your support.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that WNS has killed at least 5.7 million bats since its 2006 outbreak. Caused by the invasive Geomyces destructans (Gd) fungus, WNS is now present in 22 states and Gd is in an additional two. The disease currently affects seven bat species including the endangered Indiana and gray bats. Three other bat species, including the endangered Virginia big-eared bat, have been found with the Gd fungus present on them, but have displayed no signs of disease yet. More than half the nation's bat species may be at risk. Declines have been so steep that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing three additional bat species for endangered species listing.

The loss of bats from WNS has serious implications for our economy and environment. Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, including agricultural pests that attack corn, soybeans, cotton, and other crops. By eating these pests, bats reduce the need for pesticides, lower food costs, and save farmers an estimated $22.9 billion per year. Bats also keep a check on insects that attack tree species, many of which are valuable for timber. The food habits of bats may also benefit humans by reducing the number of insects that plague us on warm nights outdoors and sometimes carry disease. In addition, regulations stemming from listing more bat species may impact such industries as forestry, energy, defense, mining, construction, transportation, and outdoor recreation.

Significant progress has been made in understanding the basic science of WNS, a disease that was unknown just a few years ago. Now, federal agencies are ready to take this research to the next level, addressing questions of resource management and disease containment such as what are the effects of environmental factors on WNS? How feasible are biological controls? And, what is the possibility of silencing Gd’s harmful genes? But these crucial next steps toward finding a long-term solution cannot happen without adequate funding.

Please support: $1.5 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to direct and coordinate WNS research and management $1.505 million for the U.S. Geological Survey, for scientific investigation into the cause and possible cure for WNS $3 million for the National Park Service, for protection of caves and bat colonies as well as public education about WNS and the importance of bats $500,000 for the Bureau of Land Management, for WNS response $1 million for the U.S. Forest Service, to conduct applied research on WNS to assist in management, and to protect bats from WNS

We ask that you recognize the wise investment Congress has made in safeguarding the agricultural, timber, and other economic sectors from the impacts of WNS and the catastrophic loss of bats. By keeping potentially harmful insect populations in check, North American bats also play an important role in human health and the greater web of life. Please support this continued effort and provide robust cross-agency funding to fight WNS in FY 2014.

Sincerely,

Adirondack Council Louisiana Audubon Society William Janeway, Exec. Director Barry Kohl, President Elizabethtown, NY Baton Rouge, LA

Adirondack Mountain Club Massachusetts Forest Watch Neil Woodworth, Exec. Director Chris Matera, PE, Founder Lake George, NY Northampton, MA

Allegheny Defense Project Midwest Bat Working Group Ryan Talbott, Exec. Director Rob Mies, President Kane, PA Terre Haute, IN

Animal Welfare Institute Natural Resources Defense Council Nancy Blaney, Senior Policy Advisor Sylvia Fallon, Senior Scientist Washington, DC Washington, D.C.

Audubon Society - Maryland-D.C. Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society Jacquelyn Bonomo, Exec. Director William A. Powers, Exec. Director Baltimore, MD Ceresco, NE

Bat Conservation International New Hampshire Audubon Andrew Walker, Exec. Director Michael J. Bartlett, President Austin, TX Concord, NH Bat World Sanctuary Northeast Organic Farming Assoc. – NY Amanda Lollar, Founder and President Kate Mendenhall, Director Mineral Wells, TX Rochester, NY

Bats Northwest Organization for Bat Conservation Meg Lunnum, Board Member Rob Mies, Exec. Director Seattle, WA Bloomfield Hills, MI

Biodiversity Conservation Alliance Predator Defense Duane Short, Wild Species Prog. Director Brooks Fahy, Exec. Director Laramie, WY Eugene, OR

BioDiversity Research Institute Protect the Adirondacks! Dave Yates, Mammal Director Peter Bauer, Exec. Director Gorham, ME Lake George, NY

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Rachel Carson Council Richard S. Ostfeld, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Dr. Diana Post, President Millbrook, NY Silver Spring, MD

Center for Biological Diversity RESTORE: The North Woods Mollie Matteson, Conservation Advocate Michael Kellett, Exec. Director Richmond, VT Concord, MA

Conservation Law Foundation Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, Inc. Sean Mahoney, Exec. Vice President Ron Whitehurst, President Boston, MA Ventura, CA

Conservation Northwest Rocky Mountain Wildlife Dave Werntz, Science/Conservation Dir. Megan Mueller, Conservation Biologist Bellingham, WA Denver, CO

Cranbrook Institute of Science Save Lucy Campaign Rob Mies, Bat Zone Director Leslie Sturges, President Bloomfield Hills, MI Annandale, VA

Dietrick Inst. for Applied Insect Ecology Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter Jan Dietrick, Director Kenneth Johanson, Chapter Chair Ventura, CA Trenton, NJ

Endangered Species Coalition Southeastern Bat Diversity Network Leda Huta, Exec. Director Joy O'Keefe, President Washington, DC Muncie, IN

Forest Ecology Network The Wildlife Society Jonathan Carter, Director Winifred Kessler, President Lexington Twp., ME Bethesda, MD

Friends of Blackwater Wildlife Conservation Society Judy Rodd, Exec. Director Kelly Keenan Aylward, Washington Dir. Charleston, WV Washington, DC

Global Wildlife Conservation Dr. Winifred Frick, bat biologist Weston Secrest, CEO Santa Cruz, CA Austin, TX

Great Old Broads for Wilderness Dr. Tanya Dewey, ecologist Shelley Silbert, Exec. Director Ann Arbor, MI Durango, CO

Green Berkshires Dr. Gary G. Kwiecinski, bat researcher Eleanor Tillinghast, President Scranton, PA Great Barrington, MA

Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History Dr. Bill Hilton Jr., Exec. Director York, SC

The Honorable Harold Rogers The Honorable Nita Lowey 2406 Rayburn House Office Building 2365 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mike Simpson The Honorable Jim Moran 2312 Rayburn House Office Building 2252 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

SUPPORT FUNDING TO COMBAT WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME An Ecological Disaster And Threat To American Agriculture, Timber, And Health

June 20, 2013

Dear Representatives of Congress: