This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
White-nose syndrome seems to be flying west.
Utah, Colorado and Nebraska each received $25,000 grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week to combat the disease, which devastates bat populations. The wildlife service handed out just under $1 million in grants to 35 states and the District of Columbia.
First discovered in New York in the winter of 2006-07, white-nose syndrome has spread throughout the eastern United States and parts of Canada and is moving west. The disease has been confirmed in 26 states and five Canadian provinces.
Grants will pay for research and monitoring, as well as developing science-based protocols and guidelines for land managers to help slow the spread of the disease.
"We are seeing a continent-wide focus on bat conservation because of threats to bats such as white-nose syndrome," Wendi Weber, co-chairwoman of the White-Nose Syndrome Executive Committee and Service northeast regional director, said in a statement.
A newly created North American Bat Monitoring Program will track basic data about bat populations to help state and federal wildlife managers better respond to the disease.
Funding for grants was provided through the Endangered Species Recovery and Science Applications programs. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia submitted proposals for $1,589,789. All requests were given partial awards, ranging from about $13,000 to $39,000, for a total of $998,767.
Additional information is available at http://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/.