GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.—A court upheld a special recreation permit Friday for a Colorado caving expedition that was challenged by a group concerned about the effects on bats, federal officials said.
The Bureau of Land Management in Colorado said the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ruled in support of the decision granting the permit to the National Speleological Society to lead tours in three caves during its convention that starts Saturday in Glenwood Springs.
The caves are in Garfield and Eagle counties in western Colorado.
The Center for Biological Diversity office in Richmond, Vt., sued to block the expeditions to try to slow the spread of a fungus that has killed more than a million bats in the South and East. Caves on some federal lands in the West have been closed to the public to prevent the spread of the disease, called white-nose syndrome.
“Of course we’re disappointed. We still have concerns,” said Mollie Matteson of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The bigger picture for us is that we still feel that it’s really important to take a precautious approach to the syndrome.”
Colorado wildlife officials expressed concerns about the BLM opening the caves to the tours, Matteson said.
“We and others have been urging agencies to take proactive measures to close caves to nonessential access,” she added.
The fungus grows on the bat’s nose, wings and ears, and one theory is that it irritates these membranes. Scientists don’t know how the disease is transmitted or how it kills the bats.
