07/03/09

TITLE: Lautenberg Announces Senate Hearing That Will Discuss Mystery Illness Killing New Jersey's Bats
DESCRIPTION:
Time: 08:42:24

ARTICLE

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced a Senate hearing on threats to native wildlife species that will emphasize a deadly illness that is affecting a majority of New Jersey’s bat population.  The illness, called White Nose Syndrome, is killing bats across the Northeast at a mortality rate of 90 to 100 percent, causing public health, environmental and economic concerns.  The hearing will take place in a joint session of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittees on Oversight and Water and Wildlife on Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at 10 a.m.
 
    “We’ve got to stop the spread of this deadly disease.  Bats play a critical role in protecting our crops from damaging insects and controlling mosquitoes, and this hearing will give us the information we need to take urgent steps to prevent the possible extinction of important species,” Sen. Lautenberg said.  “Bats in New Jersey and across the East Coast are getting sick, so we need to act fast – and we need action by the federal government.  The longer we wait, the bigger a threat this disease poses.”

    Lautenberg, a member of the Water and Wildlife subcommittee, wrote a letter to Chairman Ben Cardin (D-MD) requesting the hearing, saying “we must ensure that everything possible is being done to prevent an ecological disaster.”  Lautenberg also sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar requesting emergency funding for research into and a cure for WNS. 
 
    White Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a named for white fungal growth around the noses and on the bodies of affected animals.  It first appeared in caves near Albany, New York in February 2006 and was confirmed in New Jersey in 2009.  Since bats are slow breeders and produce only one pup per year on average, scientists fear WNS could cause the extinction of many bat species.  Over the last two winters, more than one million hibernating bats have died.  This map details the spread of WNS across the Northeast.
 
    Bats play a critical role in North American ecosystems.  They prey almost exclusively on insects such as mosquitoes, which spread disease, and moths and beetles, which damage crops.  A single bat can easily eat more than 3,000 insects a night and an entire colony will consume hundreds of millions.  Bats reduce the need for pesticides, which cost farmers billions of dollars every year and are harmful to human health.

    As more information on the hearing becomes available, it will be at this link.