<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h1
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.Heading1Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 1 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 1";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
p.copy, li.copy, div.copy
{mso-style-name:copy;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="2050" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=WordSection1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img
width=145 height=90 id="Picture_x0020_1"
src="cid:image001.gif@01CBCCF8.03D668D0" alt=nj.com></span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span
style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Bill would
create federal plan to respond to wildlife emergencies and diseases<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Published:
Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 12:23 PM Updated: Tuesday,
February 15, 2011, 12:24 PM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>By
<b>Jessica Beym/Gloucester County Times </b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>http://blog.nj.com/gloucestercounty_impact/print.html?entry=/2011/02/bill_would_create_federal_plan.html<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>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.<br>
<br>
“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.” <br>
<br>
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.
<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>© 2011 NJ.com. All
rights reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>*************************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Scott
Hoffman Black<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Executive
Director<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>The
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>IUCN
(International Union for Conservation of Nature) Butterfly <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Specialist
Group<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>4828
SE Hawthorne<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Portland,
OR 97215<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Direct
line (503) 449-3792<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><a
href="https://webmail.integra.net/src/compose.php?send_to=sblack%40xerces.org"><span
style='color:blue'>sblack@xerces.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>The
Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>protects
wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>To
join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>please
visit <<a href="http://www.xerces.org/" target="_blank"><span
style='color:blue'>http://www.xerces.org/</span></a>>www.xerces.org.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>