muddyface wrote: However, I would like to know if other states besides New York were conducting WNS surveys in the winter of 2006-2007, because Schoharie and Albany counties do not encompass the entire maximum annual flight range of bats. So I believe the disease had already spread much further the New York and bordering states by the winter of 2007-2008, it just was not documented yet.
Short answer: No. No one, not even NY, was doing WNS surveys in 2006-2007. What was being done were biennial Indiana bat surveys. As a federally-endangered species, it has a recovery plan, and part of that plan calls for these surveys. As such, there is documentation prior to 2007-2008, including photographic evidence. Additionally, there are other bat sites in the region that were the subject of ongoing bat research. There is no evidence to support the existence of WNS prior to the Paul Rubin photos from Howes Cave, NY. No photos, no unusual bat mortalities, no reports of unusual bat behaviors.
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