HARRISBURG – With White Nose Syndrome continuing to impact bat populations throughout the northeastern United States, Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today are encouraging private landowners with caves to close entry to these sites as an added measure to prevent any spread of the fungus associated with this disease by humans. However, Calvin W. DuBrock, agency Bureau of Wildlife Management director, noted that this suggestion does not apply to commercially-operated caves.
“WNS is a serious problem that we continue to address,” DuBrock said. “As the state’s wildlife management agency, the Game Commission already has taken steps to close and gate known important bat hibernacula on State Game Lands.
“Public cooperation is critical to provide this hedge of protection for our bat population. This approach is conservative, yet reasonable and responsible given the many unanswered questions about WNS. We don’t fully-understand what causes WNS, so we cannot say with certainty that attempts to disinfect or decontaminate equipment will prevent the spread of WNS. Therefore, we feel that cave closure is the safest response at this time.”
DuBrock noted that many of these privately-owned caves are accessed only through small openings, which force visitors to scrape dirty clothing, boots, cave packs and other equipment against the walls and ceilings of the constricted passages. This contact has the potential to transmit the fungus related to WNS from one cave site to another, especially if a spelunker is using the same boots, packs or protective clothing in each cave they visit.
DuBrock also praised the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for taking the proactive steps to close access to three important bat hibernacula on their properties, specifically at Coon and Lemon Hole caves, southeast of Blairsville, Westmoreland County, and Barton Cave, near Uniontown, Fayette County.
Additionally, the Allegheny National Forest – which lies in Warren, Forest, McKean and Elk counties – has closed access to caves on its 500,000-acre property. This is part of the larger closure announcement made earlier by the U.S. Forest Service, which addressed all caves on national forest properties in the Eastern Region.
DuBrock noted that agency biologists have been working in partnership with other state agencies, as well as those in adjacent states and the federal government, to monitor WNS and search for a solution.
DuBrock stressed that this recommended closure does not apply to commercially-operated caves because of the nature of these sites.
“Commercially-run caves, generally, are ones with large openings in which visitors are only in contact with the ground and visitors to commercial caves generally do not move previously-used cave clothing or equipment from site to site,” DuBrock said. “Also, the Game Commission has briefed commercial cave operators at their recent statewide meeting. They are aware of and concerned about WNS and the impact it is having on bat populations, and many operators are taking extra precautions by incorporating footwear decontamination procedures to reduce disease transmission among commercial caves.
“In fact, with access to ‘wild’ caves on public and private lands being closed, one of the best and safest ways – for human and bat safety – to visit a cave is to visit a commercial, show cave.”
The National Caves Association highly recommends to its members that they educate themselves and their staff on WNS, and do what they can to combat the spread of WNS. To facilitate this they have created a special web page for members only on the NCA website and are encouraging members to support Bat Conservation International in its ongoing WNS research efforts.
For more information on WNS, visit the Game Commission’s Web site and click on the “Report Sick Bats” icon in the upper left-hand corner of the homepage.