Bat disease could lead to cave closures

U.S. Forest Service officials are considering whether to close bat caves in several states including Colorado to help prevent the spread of a disease that is fatal to the mammals.

The bats are dying of white-nose syndrome, possibly caused by a fungus that invades the skin of hibernating bats and appears as white fungus on their muzzles, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

There is some evidence that fungus spores can be spread between caves by hitching a ride on clothing and equipment of people who venture into the caves, so the Forest Service is considering cave closure, said Janelle Smith, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.

Forest Service officials are still discussing which caves might close. There are more than 30,000 abandoned mines and hundreds of caves in the Pikes Peak region that could be bat habitats and face closure, Smith said.

“It’s spread so quickly, so far, that we want to prevent the spread as much as we can,” Smith said. “We do feel a sense of urgency because it is at our back door.”

Officials with the agency’s Rocky Mountain and Southwest region offices say they have been discussing the matter with other federal and state agencies.

Rocky Mountain region spokesman Dave Steinke says the office in Denver hopes to have a decision on the bat caves within a couple of weeks.

The Rocky Mountain regional office consists of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and most of Wyoming. The Southwest Region includes New Mexico and Arizona.

More than a million hibernating bats have died since white-nose syndrome was first documented in upstate New York in 2006.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.