Cave Restrictions Extended Over White-Nose Disease

DENVER (AP) - An order restricting access to caves and abandoned mines on national forests and grasslands in five western states has been extended for a year.

The U.S. Forest Service last year restricted cave and mine access in its Rocky Mountain region of Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas to stop the spread of a fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. Acting regional forester Jerome Thomas on Tuesday extended the restrictions one more year. Officials are concerned hikers could unknowingly transport spores from cave to cave.

White-nose syndrome has killed more than 1 million hibernating bats in eastern North America since it was discovered near Albany, N.Y., in 2006. Scientists plan to watch for signs of it in the West over the next year.

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