[Pollinator] Bill would create federal plan to respond to wildlife emergencies and diseases

[Scott Black]

nj.com

Bill would create federal plan to respond to wildlife emergencies and
diseases

Published: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 12:23 PM     Updated: Tuesday,
February 15, 2011, 12:24 PM

By Jessica Beym/Gloucester County Times 

 

http://blog.nj.com/gloucestercounty_impact/print.html?entry=/2011/02/bill_wo
uld_create_federal_plan.html

U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today introduced legislation to
create a federal plan for responding to wildlife disease emergencies.
Lautenberg's legislation would help to better understand and address
wildlife diseases like the mysterious and deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS)
that is decimating bat populations in New Jersey and throughout the
Northeast Region.

 "We must ensure that the Fish and Wildlife Service and environmental
scientists have every tool available to them as they fight devastating
wildlife diseases like white-nose syndrome," Lautenberg said.  "Bats play a
vital role in our ecosystem by preying on insects that destroy crops and
carry disease.  There is an urgent need to research this problem so that bat
populations in New Jersey and throughout the country are not decimated.
Without a quick response, white-nose syndrome could have a ripple effect
that hurts the economy, environment, and public health." 

 The "Wildlife Disease Emergency Act" focuses much-needed resources and
attention on diseases like White Nose Syndrome.  Lautenberg's bill would
provide the Secretary of the Interior with the authority to declare wildlife
disease emergencies, establish a dedicated Wildlife Disease Emergency Fund
to understand and address disease emergencies, and provide for a coordinated
response across state and federal agencies.  

White-nose syndrome is named for white fungal growth around the noses and on
the bodies of affected animals.  It first appeared in caves near Albany, New
York in February 2006, and was confirmed in New Jersey in 2009.  Since bats
are slow breeders and produce only one pup per year on average, scientists
fear the disease could cause the extinction of many bat species.  Since its
discovery in 2006, white-nose syndrome has killed more than a million bats
in eastern North America and has spread rapidly across the United States and
into Canada.
  
The legislation is supported by wildlife advocacy groups, including The
Wildlife Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife
Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, Pollinator Partnership, American Bird
Conservancy, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Animal
Welfare Institute, EcoHealth Alliance, and Bat Conservation International.

C 2011 NJ.com. All rights reserved.

 

 

*************************

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Butterfly 

Specialist Group

4828 SE Hawthorne

Portland, OR 97215

Direct line (503) 449-3792

 <https://webmail.integra.net/src/compose.php?send_to=sblack%40xerces.org>
sblack at xerces.org

 

The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that 

protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their
habitat.

 

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work,

please visit < <http://www.xerces.org/>
http://www.xerces.org/>www.xerces.org.

 

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