Jenny Dickson, a wildlife biologist at the DEEP office in Burlington, said the situation has become dire. "We have nine different species of bats in Connecticut and most of those effected by White Nose Syndrome their populations have declined by 95 percent or more."
The state now has a "Bat Patrol" where DEEP employees and volunteers periodically go out into the woods to track and tag bats. "Basically this is a program to record the echo location calls of bats," Dickson said. "It also helps us identify the bats by species." Dickson said the fungus that is killing off the bats came from Europe and, thus far, there is yet to be a cure. "It has been a tough conservation challenge," she said.
To find out more about the volunteer Bat Patrol Program with the DEEP email inquiries to