“This [white-nose syndrome] is the worst wildlife catastrophe the country has seen since the extinction of the passenger pigeon,”

Here is a link to an article about a recent initiative of the Center of Biological Diversity to petition the federal government to close all bat caves under federal jurisdiction to caving.  As you see, I completely agree with their position on this issue. This seems like an extremely reasonable request given the huge uncertainty about the transmission of white-nose syndrome.  We should do whatever is possible to prevent its spread, even if it means a temporary national ban on the sport of caving.