The nine New York caves owned and managed by the Northeastern Cave Conservancy will open for summer visitation as scheduled on May 15. Caves are open according to the normal conditions, which may be found on the NCC website: http://www.necaveconservancy.org.
 
These caves include the highly popular Clarksville Cave and Knox Cave, used by many youth groups. Also opening are Onesquethaw Cave, Crossbones Cave, Ella Armstrong Cave, Ladder Cave, Selleck’s Cave, Cave 575, and Levy’s Cave.
 
Cavers are asked to continue the decontamination of clothing and gear according to the protocol advisory issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These may be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html
 
The NCC caves had been closed since February 10, due to White Nose Syndrome, which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of bats in the Northeast. The NCC has been collaborating with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service with investigations and bat surveys over the winter.
 
May 15 marks the historical end of hibernation in this region, and the bats will have gone to their summer roosts. There is no evidence that WNS is harmful to humans. There is also no evidence at this point that humans are responsible for spreading WNS, but scientists are not ready to completely rule it out, and continue to be extremely cautious about the potential for WNS to spread beyond the northeast region of the US.
 
There is general consensus that there is no reason to restrict cave visitation in the NCC caves for the summer, as long as decontamination protocols are followed. Detailed instructions on the proper sanitation of various types of equipment are provided on the USFWS web site (see above). Alternatively, individuals should dedicate separate sets of equipment for use in affected and non-affected caves.
 
A letter is going out to more than 80 groups who have historically used the caves to explain the visitation process and decontamination protocols.
 
Cavers and the public are advised that the caves will remain open for the summer months, provided no evidence is found that cave access by humans during this time period is having a negative effect on the bat populations.
 
While no decision has been made at this time, it is possible that caves in the Northeast harboring bats, which are usually open for visitation in winter, may close this year by October 15th. This is the accepted standard date for the beginning of winter hibernation season in the northeast.

Press release can be found at: http://www.necaveconservancy.org/files/press_release/NCCWNSmediarelease.pdf

The NCC board met on Feb 10 2008 to discuss the white-nosed bat issue, and have decided to close all the caves owned by the NCC until at least May 15, 2008 to prevent potential spread and cross contamination of caves.

The agencies tasked with investigating WNS have requested that anyone who has been to the originating sites of WNS --Knox, Schoharie, Gage, and Hailes caves-- since January 2007 submit information on their caving trips to date so that they can better understand and track the potential spread of WNS as it relates to cavers. An online form has been made available at:
 
http://www.necaveconservancy.org/add_wns_data.php

During the winter of 2006-2007, a large number of dead bats were discovered in 4 Albany NY area caves (Hailes and Knox Caves, Schoharie and Gages Caverns ). Although it has not yet been confirmed, it seems likely that this event was related in some way to a fungus that was observed around the noses of roughly half the bats in Hailes Cave (see attached photograph). None of the many bat researchers that were sent the photograph had seen anything like it before.

We do not yet understand exactly what happened, or why, and are not even sure that the fungus and the mortlaities are related. We do know that bats died by the thousands and that there is a chance that this problem can be carried to other sites by either bats or cavers.

We need your help. We ask that when caving, each of you keep an eye out for bats exhibiting this white nose condition or any unusual numbers of dead bats. If you encounter either situation, please call Alan Hicks at the NYSDEC as soon as possible (cell 518-451-4632, office 518-402-8854).

 
Recent News on the White Nose Syndrome (WNS):

• http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html
• http://www.dec.state.ny.us/press/41621.html(1-30-2008)
• http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/Detail.cfm?Agency__ID=1273 (1-30-2008)

Your donations to the NCC are tax deductible and particularly useful to those who itemize their returns. Letters thanking you for your 2007 donations will be sent out in early January and if you don't receive it, email emily@Speleobooks.com to request one. Due to their travel plans, the second wave of donation letters will come out late January or the first part of February in plenty of time to include in your taxes.

General permit information for all the NCC managed caves can now be found on the resources page of the website.