Vt. Group Wants More Federal Bat Funding
By Anson Tebbetts

A conservation group in Vermont wants the federal government to pump more money and effort into saving bats.

The Center for Biological Diversity in Richmond says there is mounting evidence the disease white nose syndrome is spreading. The fungus-like disease was first discovered near Albany, N.Y., 2 years ago, but it has quickly spread to other Eastern States. Researchers believe it may have already killed 1.5 million bats.

Conservationists believe the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service must take the lead to help save the bats.

"Bats are insect eaters. They keep insect populations in check. It is important for agriculture and also helpful to human well-being that inspect populations are kept under control. In some places bats are important pollinators. If we lose bats they can have ripple effects through our ecosystem," said Mollie Matteson of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Researchers say a cave in New York that once had a population of 200,000 bats now only has about 3,000 left.

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