• White-Nose Syndrome

State of Concern

The emergence of white nose syndrome (WNS) poses a significant threat to bat populations in the eastern United States. In only three years WNS has spread from central New York southward into Virginia, killing hundreds of thousands of hibernating bats. As WNS continues to march southward, the SBDN membership is preparing for WNS to affect new species and populations in the very near future. SBDN stands with other conservation organizations in supporting research, education, and management which will assist in understanding and stopping impacts and progression of this deadly syndrome.

Call To Arms

SBDN recommends that the membership take an active and coordinated role in the following efforts:

Work closely with state and federal agency contacts, and with partnering organizations, particularly regarding recommended protocols and restrictions.

Educate yourself on WNS and stay current on all advisories, protocols and opportunities to contribute. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife WNS webpage should be consulted regularly for up-to-date official protocols.

Contribute to regional WNS monitoring efforts and regional data coordination to facilitate the development of a broad geographic understanding of WNS in the southeast.

Collection of data using the Wing Damage Index to monitor the spread and range-wide effect of WNS through direct measurement of affected bats.

Contribute your current bat handling and survey data to the SBDN/NEBWG bat database to allow regional assessment of parameters relevant to spread of WNS. This database is a repository for bat field data for the eastern United States.

Participate in coordinated survey efforts through incorporation of WNS data collection requests and protocols into on-going field work. 

SEAFWA Posters

Prepared by Southeastern Bat Diversity Network’s White Nose Committee, these WNS informational posters were presented at the 66th and the 68th Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife 

SBDN 2014 SEAFWA Poster

SBDN 2012 SEAFWA Poster