Update on Bat Die-Off and White-Nose Syndrome

Hundreds of thousands of dead bats throughout the Northeast—a (sad, depressing, fascinating) update from NPR.

Bat Conservation International—an excellent organization that's been in the vanguard of protecting bat habitat and educating the public about the ecological importance of bats, has this article on the bat die-off and is helping to coordinate the efforts to obtain funding to try to identify the cause(s) of white-nose syndrome. (Sure to be an uphill battle in the current economy.)

If you're looking for a place to donate to this important cause, BCI is a fine place to start. By the time the federal government gets around to funding research on white-nose syndrome, there'll be nary a bat left to study.