Bats Need Urgent Help, Contact Fish and Wildlife

Preliminary reports this summer all tell the same story: Several species of bats are virtually gone in the Northeast. White-nose syndrome, the disease that has been wiping out bats over the past two winters, is expected to strike new areas this winter, including some of the world's largest bat caves in Tennessee, Kentucky, and other southern and midwestern states. Bats are on a clear trajectory toward oblivion.

Yet from the beginning, the nation's lead wildlife agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has failed to respond with the urgency that's desperately needed to save bats from complete catastrophe. At least a million and a half bats are already dead, but the Service has yet to develop a plan of action or create a position for white-nose syndrome coordination.

Sam Hamilton, the agency's new director, must put white-nose syndrome at the top of his list. Please: Send a message today urging him to create a white-nose syndrome plan now to prevent the complete unraveling of America's bat populations. Bats cannot afford another winter like the two we've just witnessed.

Visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27802 to take action.