WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that funding to protect bat populations in New Jersey and throughout the region has been increased from $500,000 to $1.9 million in the final version of the FY 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.  As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Lautenberg successfully fought to increase the funding for research into a mysterious and deadly illness called White Nose Syndrome (WNS) that is destroying bat populations in New Jersey and the Northeast Region.  The legislation will now head to the White House where it is expected to be signed into law. 

    “This dramatic increase in funding will provide scientists and wildlife experts with the resources they need to research and prevent the steep decline of New Jersey’s bat population,” stated Lautenberg.  “Bats play a vital role in our ecosystem by preying on insects that destroy crops and carry disease.  There is an urgent need to fund WNS research so that bat populations in New Jersey and throughout the region are not further threatened by this illness.  This funding is a smart investment in critical research and an encouraging commitment from Congress in our fight against WNS.”      

    WNS is named for white fungal growth around the noses and on the bodies of affected animals.  It first appeared in caves near Albany, New York in February 2006 and was confirmed in New Jersey in 2009.  Since bats are slow breeders and produce only one pup per year on average, scientists fear WNS could cause the extinction of many bat species.  Over the last two winters, more than one million hibernating bats have died.  This map details the spread of WNS across the Northeast.
 
    On July 8 Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, highlighted the threat of WNS on bat populations during a Senate hearing that he called for to examine threats to native wildlife species.

    Bats play a critical role in North American ecosystems.  They prey almost exclusively on insects such as mosquitoes, which spread disease, and moths and beetles, which damage crops.  A single bat can easily eat more than 3,000 insects a night and an entire colony will consume hundreds of millions.  Bats reduce the need for pesticides, which cost farmers billions of dollars every year and can be harmful to human health.

    In addition to funding research for WNS, the FY 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations funding measure includes more than $15 million in additional federal funding for New Jersey, including the Great Falls National Historical Park and programs to preserve open space and help local communities provide clean water. 

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