B.C. bats face risk as U.S. funding cuts hit white-nose syndrome research

Scientists in British Columbia say bats move freely across the border with Washington state, but funding for a crossborder project to fight whitenose syndrome has been disrupted by U.S. cuts under President Donald Trump. Researchers, including bat conservation director Cori Lausen, had been testing a probiotic treatment in Washington state that showed promising early results. The U.S. had covered about a quarter of the project’s funding before a stopwork order ended federal support for the work. The concern has grown after the fungus that causes whitenose syndrome was again detected in bat guano in Metro Vancouver. While no B.C. bats have tested positive for the disease, scientists say the province is a key stronghold and could face serious losses if action is delayed.