WNS Liaison Report
to the
NSS President and BOG
October 1, 2010

Introduction:

While, as expected, there have no new reports of WNS over the summer, the management side of things has been quite active, particularly in the Western U.S.  Just before the NSS Convention, U.S. Forest Service Region 2, including Colorado, site of next year’s Convention, issued a year-long blanket closure order of all caves and mines. A national USFS memorandum directed all USFS Regions to implement decon protocols effective October 1 – including for show caves on USFS lands – and to consider closures. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also issued an Interim WNS Strategy nationwide in August, focusing on targeted identification of significant bat hibernacula and working with stakeholders, including cavers, to help prevent or contain the spread.
Last report, we spoke of the pending publication in the Federal Register of the Draft National WNS Plan.  That did not occur on the timetable U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced. The various federal agencies involved are attempting to reach agreement behind the scenes before publishing the Draft Plan for public comment.  The word we have now is that is soon to occur.
There are no new breakthroughs on the research end, despite a recent national news coverage proclaiming a scientist had found a cure. While many of the substances this scientist identified will kill the fungus, many will also kill the bats, and none have been field tested.  The only major recent published research is the announcement of the sequencing of the entire Geomyces destructans genome, and the full data and research made public via the Broad Institute.

Progress:

• Helped coordinate via numerous emails and participated in a conference call with Ray Keeler, Geary Schindel, 2011 NSS Convention planners, Colorado Cave Survey, and numerous U.S. Forest Service Region 2 personnel to collaborate on opening USFS caves for convention visitation next summer.  The USFS folks believe this will work via a permitting system, and details are in the process of being worked out with the convention planners.  USFS officials said how well this works could have a strong influence on what happens with the broader regional closure order in the future.
• As a follow up to the Conservation Section’s meeting with various government officials at the Vermont Convention, I have been coordinating with Val Hildreth-Werker and John Hoffelt to recruit NSS members with a variety of expertise to submit to the USFWS for participation in the WNS National Plan Working Groups, once they are established.
• As a follow up to the Pittsburgh Symposium, worked with Cheryl Jones and US Forest Service personnel to produce the new USFS WNS brochure.  Content largely follows the NSS WNS brochure, and the NSS logo is on it.
• Am working with the USFS Region 9 (northeast) public awareness working group on public education on WNS.
• Continue to consult frequently with cavers in many states over evolving management issues.  This included feedback and suggestions on state plans, U.S. Forest Service actions, and the USFWS caving advisory. 
• Continued to coordinate advocacy in Congress for WNS research funding.
• Continued oversight of the WNS Rapid Response Fund. As of Sept. 15, over $96,000 has been donated to the fund, and nearly $75,000 awarded. 
• Continually update entries on the NSS WNS website, including details of NSS grants, other research – both published and unpublished, maps, links, media accounts, cave closures, and related information. 
• Continue to handle media inquiries.
• Filed formal comments on behalf of the NSS to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board in response to two hastily posted emergency orders regarding WNS.  I’m in regular contact with several Wisconsin cavers and others doing other cave research in Wisconsin about the ramifications of these orders and other actions.
• Traveled to California Sept. 26-29 at the request (and expense) of the San Francisco Bay Chapter and gave two WNS lectures at the U.S. Geological Survey’s headquarters in Menlo Park.  The first lecture was part of the USGS staff brown bag luncheon series, and was web cast nationally to all the USGS offices.  It was recorded, and we’re working with USGS to have it posted on the web.  In the evening, as a special addition to the USGS evening monthly public science lecture series, a large turnout (est. 150-175) of both the public and central and northern California grottos made for an excellent interactive presentation with many excellent questions.  The NSS Western Region presented us with check for a little over $1900 for the Rapid Response Fund. 

Problems:

• The long-awaited revised cleaning and disinfecting protocols were released by the USFWS in August (dated July 31).  However, they were labeled “draft,” and continue to be labeled as such.  Some of the language in them goes beyond what is necessary for the protocols, accuses cavers of disregarding cave closures, and has some other problems.  I’ve communicated back and forth with the USFWS, and they are considering changes.  However, until they do, I have not put a link to them up on the NSS website.  As a practical matter, the only new tangible decon method is to boil submersibles for 15 minutes, so we’re not losing anything by not having the link.
• Related to that, USFWS put up a Human Transmission Poster, which also had many problems with it.  The new element was the right third of the poster links Geomyces destructans as an invasive species, and lumps it in with things like, zebra mussels, didymo, and purple loosestrife – all of which have well-documented human transmission.  Logically, then, we should expect the USFWS to issue an advisory calling for all hikers, boaters, and anglers to cease their activities.  I asked if that was coming, and USFWS pulled the poster down from their website.
• The USFWS caving Advisory is 18 months old and woefully out of date and not reflective of the science that has evolved since its original issuance. There is no formal avenue for public input on revisions, so we have struggled to have individual cavers, grottos, and cave conservancies forward comments to USFWS. We now hear that there may be a revision coming soon (heard that before), and that the USFWS is working on an ongoing formal mechanism for input from non-governmental organizations.  Until that occurs, at a minimum, this situation remains a problem.
• Actively monitoring the Wisconsin developments, which include the sealing of caves to keep out bats at the urging of state wildlife officials.  Caves long open to general public visitation on public lands have been ordered closed and sealed under threat of regulatory action.  The same is true for a show cave.  The state actions have raised many eyebrows, and staying engaged in public hearings and other developments will be key.
• Keeping cavers engaged in the numerous discussions and planning processes underway with various federal agencies – particularly in the West.  With so much land federally owned in the West, access to caves and management policies surrounding protection and study of bats by definition involves interfacing with these agencies, as well as state and other local agencies. 
• Lack of research funding is a huge problem. Attempting to gain WNS funding from Congress is a big problem.  The starting point of this year’s budget proposal was the President’s submittal, which included a domestic discretionary spending freeze.  All cost of living increases within the Department of Interior have to be absorbed.  Then, came the Gulf oil spill, which required the reallocation of funds within an already tight budget.  Now, Congress has gone home for the elections, without passing several appropriations bills, passing a continuing resolution to keep government operating for the next two months.  Thus, any new funding for WNS research will need to be included – if it is at all – in an Omnibus Budget Bill sometime in November or December.  We continue to work with key Senators to try to get some research funding.  Without it, all we’ll have is more “management,” with little new hard science.  The funding we were successful in getting Congress to appropriate in October, 2009, has yet to hit the street.  We are expecting six USFWS grants to be awarded shortly from this money.  The work will be done over the next year, and any published results likely another year later.
• Continuing to sustain and grow contributions to the NSS Rapid Response Fund, which has proven critical in plugging funding gaps and timely research needs. For the six federal grants about to be awarded, 36 proposals were submitted, totaling over $10 million.  The NSS has not awarded a grant for several months, but I expect we’ll get some requests from those not getting funded.  Without federal funding, it will fall to the NSS, BCI, and other private funding – nowhere near what is needed – to keep hard research going.

Plans:

• Coordinate the NSS response and participation in the WNS National Plan when it is published. – expected soon.
• Attend the annual North American Symposium on Bat Research at the end of October to meet with WNS researchers and report on their presentations.
• Monitor the evolving Wisconsin state situation.
• Work with the NSS Government Liaison to ensure NSS WNS Policy goals are incorporated into revised Memoranda of Understanding. Tom Evans says he is nearing completion on a draft with USFS that he’ll be sending me for comment.
• Continue to foster NSS and caver participation in WNS planning, management, field activities and public and educational outreach efforts.  It is critical for the long-term viability of caving that our membership stays involved and visible at the local level.  Maintaining and building these local and regional relationships are critical to the health of the NSS as an organization, and caving as an activity.
• Continue regular activities regarding the updating of the website, managing the WNS grants, responding to the media, and being the go-between for the caving and science and management communities.
• Monitor the awarding of USFWS research grants to coordinate appropriate NSS WNS Rapid Response Fund that meet otherwise unmet and critical research needs, within the scope of our funds. 
• Monitor congressional budget activity on WNS funding and encourage and guide individual contact with representatives and senators.
• Monitor any federal response to the CBD petitions and comment accordingly

Conclusion: 

The key developments in the coming months will be on the management side of things, with the pending release of the WNS National Plan.  Encouraging and supporting cavers throughout the country to get and stay engaged with various federal and state agencies is essential for the long term health of the NSS, broader cave conservation goals, and the future of caving itself.  Further, this winter is likely to bring another round of WNS sightings and the continuing spread of the disease.  That will continue to put pressure on cave mangers to “do something.”  The NSS and its members must continue to offer our expertise and manpower to ensure that responses to WNS are sound and balanced, and good for cave conservation in the broadest sense.  We must recognize that the USFWS has a mission to protect wildlife – not the caves, nor groundwater, etc.  The missions of other agencies do have more breadth than that, as does the NSS’s.  Our challenge and our responsibility are to ensure that balance will always be there.

Peter Youngbaer, NSS 16161
WNS Liaison
3606 East Hill Road
Plainfield, VT 05667-9547
802-272-3802 (cell)
wnsliaison@caves.org