On 06/11/2014 7:17, Debbie Buecher wrote:
Hi ET,
The cave myotis in southern Arizona go up in elevation and enter
hibernation in late Sept and come out in April. Myotis are the
hardest hit back east so we have real concerns for their counterparts
in the West.
Debbie
Your statement about cave myotis is deflated by the May 6, 2014 press
release from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation noting
that not only had
"scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health
Center have dropped Oklahoma from the list of areas where White-Nose
Syndrome in bats has been suspected or confirmed."
But,
*"The scientists have also removed the Cave Myotis (Myotis velifer) from
the list of bat species that have tested positive for the fungus
(Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that has been associated with White-Nose
Syndrome..."*
And,
"Wildlife Department biologists commended the U.S. Geological Survey
National Wildlife Heath Center's continued efforts *to ensure accuracy
and transparency in diagnostic results.*"
That ranks right up there with removing Oklahoma from the Chicken Little
list. It actually is refreshing because, except for the USGS, we have
seen _zero_ accuracy and transparency from any other agency or
groups-with-agendas from the get-go of this problem.
The USGS obviously holds science and professionalism in much higher
regard than various land agencies. The land agencies ought to be
embarrassed for substituting fiction for fact, but it's clear they
aren't troubled in the least by their actions, which constitute serious
lapses of judgment and professionalism. It's clear they believe they are
not accountable for their actions. And, they are not if the public does
not hold them accountable.
karstpatrol <karstpat...@gmail.com> wrote:
Tri color Bats in MN hibernate from Oct to late April. In TX I have
seen them hibernate only maybe 2 months. Why are southern states
following the same guidelines as northern states? ET
Because agencies are doing things without having an articulable (legal
definition: capable of being expressed, explained, or justified) basis
as to why, and they simply don't care that it's obvious their actions
are a total sham to everyone with the ability to think and question.
Remember, if you are a tourist at Mammoth Cave in the heart of proven
WNS cases, you not only can go into a completely open cave, where WNS
has been _*confirmed*_, but your "decon" is to stroll across some silly
bio-mat on your way out and on to the next tourist cave. However, if you
are in NM, hundreds and hundreds of miles from any WNS, caves are nearly
completely closed because they're deemed "at risk" (without so much as a
scintilla of proof) and if you can get into one you have to boil your
clothes, and jump through other hoops, repeatedly. That's hardly
science, and it certainly isn't "management." Professionalism is not the
word that comes to mind. Voodoo and "we don't care about the science, or
what anyone thinks; we're in charge" does.
Wrong on every level.
Stephen
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