Bug-Eating Bats Bite the Dust, Endangering U.S. Soy, Corn Crops
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Hikers may be locked out of hundreds of caves and 30,000 abandoned mines in the U.S. West and Midwest in a government plan to protect bat from man.
The cave closings may come “as early as this week,” according to U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Janelle Smith, and are the latest efforts to combat a disease called White Nose Syndrome that decimated bat communities in 13 states and two Canadian provinces. The disease, perhaps caused by a fungus, may spread to more states as hikers and tourists inadvertently carry spores on their clothing, Smith said.