Nolan Applauds $40,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grant to Combat White-Nose Syndrome in Minnesota’s Bats

US Rep Rick Nolan today applauded a $40,000 grant awarded to Minnesota from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to research and develop a response to white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that is killing millions of bats in Minnesota and across the country. Minnesota’s first confirmed cases of WNS were reported in March 2016 at Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

The grant will fund efforts to look for the fungus that causes the disease, carry out decontamination procedures at state caves and mines, monitor bat populations and write bat conservation plans. The Minnesota grant announced today by USFWS is a part of nearly $1 million to natural resources agencies in 34 states and the District of Columbia to combat the disease.

“Anyone who has spent time in the woods of Minnesota and returned home covered with the bug bites understands the value of bats to our region – especially creatures like the Northern Long-Eared Bat that can eat three times their weight in mosquitoes in a single night,” Nolan said. “However, the true importance of these bats runs much deeper than that – they are critical to our ecosystem and agriculture in Northeastern Minnesota, and I applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s commitment to combat the disease with this funding.”