White Nose Syndrome
On the east coast of the United States, a fungus is infecting bats and populations back east have declined. The disease is called White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) and it's made it to the west coast in Washington and California. To date, the majority of evidence suggests that bats are the primary vector for spreading WNS. Caution is advised for humans in case they are inadvertantly spreading the disease. To combat WNS, caves with bat habitats at risk are being closed in an effort to stop the spreading of the fungus.
To learn more about the disease, please visit the Bat Conservation and Management page on WNS.
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The Oregon High Desert Grotto is an internal organization of the National Speleological Society. We are dedicated to the study and preservation of caves.
Membership in the Grotto is $15 a year and comes with an invitation to the Google Group forum, access to the Grotto library, issues of the Oregon Underground newsletter, and information on yearly caving activities and trips.