Bat syndrome fears could close caves

MISSOULA – Officials with the Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service are considering closing caves under the agency’s jurisdiction starting May 1 because of a disease that has killed millions of bats, mainly in the Northeast.

But cavers say the move is unwarranted in the Rocky Mountains where bat populations aren’t showing signs of white-nose syndrome. The closure would include Montana and northern Idaho.

The disease causes a white fungus to grow on a bat’s muzzle and skin. It doesn’t let bats hibernate, which can fatally weaken them. Officials fear humans might be spreading the disease.

The Northern Region of the U.S. Forest Service has 16 bat species, 12 of which hibernate. Six of the species are on the agency’s sensitive species watch list.

Officials at Boulder Cave, near Chinook Pass in central Washington, recently cut back the cave’s open season to help protect bat colonies there.