Caver family -
Sadly, we learned today of the presence of White Nose Syndrome in Washington State. WNS has devastated millions of bats across the eastern USA. While many western cavers thought it was just a matter of time, we'd hoped we had more time than this...
Please know - this changes nothing for the cave trips being offered at the NSS 75th Anniversary Convention this summer in Ely, Nevada.
From the beginning, we have always planned for WNS decontamination to be mandatory before anyone will be allowed on trips. The convention team is working with the Bureau of Land Management to have a mobile decon station on site at the convention this summer. It will follow USFWS protocols.
Additionally, it's important to know that most bats in Nevada prefer to roost in mines rather than caves. Our state has thousands of abandoned mines that are used by bats throughout the year. The convention is not planning any underground mine trips.
Finally, we ask that you not bring cave gear into the state from infected areas. Most of the caves on our trip schedule are warm enough that you won't need coveralls anyway. Please leave them at home and plan to decon everything else before you sign up for cave trips during the convention. We will have the decon station operable on the weekends around our convention for those of you arriving early or staying late.
The NSS 2016 Convention firmly believes that cavers have never been a transmission vector for this syndrome. Let's keep it that way!
We will post additional information as it becomes available.
NSS 75th Anniversary Convention
July 16-23, 2016 ~ Ely, Nevada
http://nss2016.caves.org
#nss75th