Caves located on state lands in Tennessee will be closed for another year in an effort to slow the spread of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) among the state’s bat population.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is among the state agencies which agreed to close all caves on public property beginning July 1, 2009 for a period of one year. That closure has now been extended for one more year. The Nature Conservancy has also agreed to follow the state’s lead to extend the closure on all caves located on Nature Conservancy property.
The voluntary action closes public access to all caves, sinkholes, tunnels and abandoned mines on land owned by the TWRA, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Division of Forestry, and the Department of Agriculture. The closures are being extended through June 30, 2011.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. Forest Service and Tennessee Valley Authority have also closed caves to public access on their lands.
White Nose Syndrome, or WNS, is named for a white fungus that appears on the faces, ears, wings and feet of hibernating bats. Scientists are trying to determine the cause of WNS and its effects. Once a colony is affected, the fungus spreads rapidly and may kill 90 or more percent of the bats at the hibernation site in just two years.
Scientists believe WNS is primarily spread bat-to-bat as they cluster in caves and mines, but that it may also be unknowingly transferred from one cave or mine to another on the footwear, clothing and gear of humans visiting caves. Infected caves and mines may not show obvious signs of its presence.
Tennessee’s first WNS positive cave was recorded in February 2010, from Sullivan County. Additional occurrences have been recorded this spring from caves in Carter, Fentress, Van Buren and Montgomery counties. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park has also documented WNS from a Blount County cave within the National Park.
For more information on WNS visit www.fws.gov/northeast_whitenose.html.