WNS Panel of Experts at UNCA March 10

[Scott McCrea]

The Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA) hosts a panel of experts from state and federal organizations, universities, and non-profits to create conversation around White Nose Syndrome (WNS) in bats, how it is being treated at each level of involvement, implications of infestation, and what it means to the rest of us. Audience question & answer to follow panel.

Our panel includes:
• Bill Stiver – Wildlife Biologist, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Chris Nicolay – Associate Professor of Biology, UNC Asheville
• Dan Henry – Caver, National Speleological Society & Flittermouse Grotto of WNC
• Susan Loeb – Research Ecologist, U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station
• Ben Prater – Associate Director, Wild South
• Gabrielle Graeter - Wildlife Diversity Biologist, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
• Sue Cameron – Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Panel moderated by Susan Sachs, Education Coordinator, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

When: Thursday, March 10 6:30-8pm

Where: UNC Asheville, Humanities Lecture Hall, building #7 on this map, http://www2.unca.edu/campusmap/

Join WNCA and local experts to learn about White Nose Syndrome that's affecting bats and what, if anything, can be done about it.

Recently, WNS has been found in Western North Carolina, the first appearances of the illness in this state. WNS is a disease believed to be caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans and is estimated to have killed over one million bats in the eastern United States between 2006 and 2010. The disease can kill up to 100 percent of bat colonies during hibernation and could lead to the extinction of numerous bat species. The fungus and disease are spreading rapidly across North America towards the West and into Canada.

We'll spend the evening discussing why bats are so important to ecosystems, what we know about WNS, how it is being studied in WNC and implications of the disease. Join us for an evening with the experts to learn more about what Gabrielle Graeter, Wildlife Diversity Biologist with NC Wildlife Resources Commission calls "one of the most devastating threats to bat conservation in our time."

During its 28-year history, WNCA has risen to a vast array of challenges that threatened Western North Carolina, from oil, gas, and mineral mining, to clear-cutting, to unhealthy levels of air contaminants. Today the group empowers citizens to be advocates for livable communities and the natural environment of Western North Carolina.

For more information, contact WNCA at 828-258-8737 or email WNCA AmeriCorps Outings & Education Coordinator Lori Wilkins at lori@wnca.org.

[Cheryl Jones]

• Dan Henry – Caver, National Speleological Society & Flittermouse Grotto of WNC

[Scott McCrea]

This is tonight. Hope to see a bunch of cavers there.