Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) biologists recently confirmed the presence of a fungal disease deadly to bats in a Cascade County cave.
State biologists recently found evidence of the powdery, white fungus which causes White Nose Syndrome in Lick Creek Cave. White Nose Syndrome severely damages bat populations and has been found in 16 Montana counties.
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest spokesperson Chiara Cipriano said to mitigate the disease, Lick Creek and neighboring caves will be closed to the public for up to two years.
“This is very much to prevent those fungal spores from being tracked to other caves, and basically it's the best recommendation for controlling the spread,” Cipriano said.
Lick Creek Cave is one of few in Montana that supports large numbers of hibernating bats. White Nose Syndrome can wipe out entire colonies of bats, caused dramatic population declines in eastern North America and has killed over 6 million since 2006.
For more information about the disease and how members of the public can prevent its spread, visit whitenosesydrome.org.