Letter from WNS Liason, Peter Youngbaer
Doug Viner
public relations chair, Dean Wiseman, has been working to set up a quick
network that reaches all known list serves. This message was the first
test, I believe, of that network." I didn't see this message on the NSS
West listserv, so I presume it's not [yet?] part of that net.)
Cheers,
- doug viner
-----Original Message-----
From: varlist Discussion List On Behalf Of NSS Announcements
Sent: 20 April 2012 07:57
Subject: Letter from WNS Liason, Peter Youngbaer
Dear Cavers,
I recently was asked to reply to some questions as to what role the NSS has
been playing in working for an end to the blanket closure of caves in the
western regions of the US, specifically NFS Region 2, and in reporting WNS
developments in general. Several people suggested that it might be good to
assure NSS members and other cavers more broadly that the NSS is fully
actively in addressing these issues.
Since April of 2008 I have served as the official Liaison between the NSS
and the academic scientific research community and the wildlife management
community, which includes both state and federal agencies, and occasionally
county and municipal governments, as well as other non-governmental
organizations. In this capacity I have worked to report on changes in the
status of WNS as it occurs - unfiltered. I have consciously avoided
reporting rumors, only confirmed information.
That said, I have concerns with the reports of new WNS sites, which are
usually sent out by the wildlife agency of the affected state, as they are
legally responsible for the wildlife in their states. They are also
accountable for the information they put out to the public, and should be
held as such. It would be inappropriate for the NSS to "color" their news
releases, as that would cause the NSS to assume some of the responsibility
for someone else's work.
On behalf of the NSS, I have been consistently critical of the reporting by
states, when the reports do not give a context for the WNS-related news. The
reports typically state that a bat or two were confirmed for the disease or
the presence of the fungus, but little else. Most often, the size of that
affected colony, the percentage affected, whether or not mortalities have
taken place, etc. are not given.
Most of these state press releases are co-authored by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and coordinated in their public release with USFWS. As
such, USFWS shares in the responsibility for the quality and impact of the
news releases.
It is for this reason that the NSS filed its recent letter to U.S Fish and
Wildlife Director Dan Ashe, critical of the news release on the new estimate
of the number of bat deaths. In that letter, we cited the string of new WNS
reports that fail to give sufficient contextual information to allow for a
scientific understanding of the rate and spread of the disease. This created
a media and public reaction that there was a sudden explosion of bat deaths,
when the reality is far different. Rather, the deaths in question have
occurred over several years. There were, of course, other technical issues
with USFWS estimates, and those have still not been responded to by the
Service.
If you have not already read the NSS letter, you can find it here:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/Ashe_Bat_Estimate_Letter_1-24-12.pdf
This is your NSS working for you.
In terms of U.S. Forest Service Region 2, the NSS has been working steadily
on this issue since before the closure order was issued in 2010. We
completely agree that closure is an inappropriate, unnecessary, and
counterproductive overreaction and said so in a letter I wrote, signed by
NSS President Gordon Birkhimer, to the U.S.
Region 2 Director at the time:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/USFS%20Region%202%20Rick%20Cables%20WNS%20Letter-1.
pdf
This is your NSS working for you.
This letter prompted a response from none other that the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, under whose agency the Forest Service
resides:
http://www.caves.org/WNS/USDA-WNS%20Response-1.pdf
It was this letter, elicited by our action, from no less than the Secretary
of Agriculture himself, that prompted the Region 2 U.S.
Forest Service personnel to agree to a September conference call with the
NSS - myself and Ray Keeler, then one of the Vice Presidents - state
wildlife officials, Bureau of Land Management, local grotto reps, and the
Colorado Cave Survey. This call initiated a series of meetings and other
preparations necessary to open caves for the NSS Convention in Colorado in
2011. Of course, we expected a challenge from the Center for Biological
Diversity, which came the week before Convention in the form of a lawsuit
against BLM. The BLM and NSS were ready, and responded and testified in a
Washington, DC federal court, and were rewarded with a total legal victory:
Not just a dismissal, but a ruling against the CBD.
This is your NSS working for you.
Caves were opened for Convention, and all went well. Our Convention
demonstrated excellent cooperation with federal and state officials, had a
prominent and effective decon station, and, most importantly, didn't bring
WNS to Colorado's caves. This was no surprise to us, but nevertheless was a
worry on the part of local, state, and federal officials.
At Convention during the special WNS session, groundwork was laid for
continued negotiations to alter, revise, or allow to expire the Region
2 Closure order. These meetings have been going on for months, and have
recently ramped up as USFS Region 2's order is set to expire July 25. There
have been dozens of phone calls and emails among the Colorado cavers working
and attending these meetings, myself, the NSS Board of Governors, and the
NSS legal committee. These are sensitive discussions, and do involve new
federal personnel in some cases, which means having to educate them about
many things scientific, bureaucratic, and political as we move forward.
This is your NSS working for you.
For NSS members who want more detailed information on these issues, the
(April) 2012 NSS News Conservation Issue includes my speech given to the
National Caves and Karst Management Symposium in Utah back in October. This
was an entire conference of almost exclusively western
cave and karst managers from all sorts of federal and state agencies.
The details in that speech explain how we are working to educate about the
science, the unintended consequences of cave closures, the
mutually-beneficial relationship managers should be nurturing with the
caving community, and the balance needed to move forward.
As they did before the closure order, the U.S. Forest Service Region 2 is
going to be taking public input. We're sure the CBD will give their opinion,
as they recently did again with yet another petition to yet another federal
agency. Frankly, they and their tactics are well-known to the Feds, so take
that for what it's worth. In the meantime, this story appeared last week in
the local media:
http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_20407908/forest-service-considers-opening-b
at-caves
We have gotten to this point through the collaborative efforts of many, many
NSS members and its leadership - people who are making reasoned, timely, and
targeted efforts - firm and rapid, when necessary, and understanding that
what we do here will have national implications. There are no guarantees
that the Order will be lifted or altered, but we have been vocal and
persistent, yet professional and scientific, and unhesitant to involve the
highest levels of government, as deemed appropriate.
What we have not done is copy CBD's tactics and file lawsuits and FOIA
requests willy-nilly. Those tactics have annoyed and disrupted everyone,
taking people and resources away from doing what they should be doing to
protect bats, caves, and cave access.
So, this is what your NSS is doing for you. We understand that WNS is a
national issue, affecting people differently in different states, and in
their relationships with landowners both public and private, in
WNS-decimated areas and in areas where WNS may never arrive. It is essential
that we keep this in mind as we advocate for various actions in response to
WNS and others' reactions to it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post.
Peter Youngbaer
White Nose Syndrome Liaison
National Speleological Society
wnsli...@caves.org