Environment and Outdoors
QUANTICO, Va. (AP) — When the sun sets and nearby Marines wind down for the evening, Sam Freeze suits up and goes bat hunting.
Six nights a week in the summer, the doctoral student at Virginia Tech tromps through the woods at Marine Corps Base Quantico in search of northern long-eared bats — a species decimated by a mysterious disease in recent years. Most nights, the search comes up short.
Between May and August, Freeze might catch fewer than 10 northerns at his arboreal outpost just off Interstate 95. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungus that causes the fatal illness known as white-nose syndrome, has killed more than 90 percent of these bats in some parts of North America, making the nocturnal animal hard to find.
Researchers want to stop the bat apocalypse by locating them and reverse-engineering how they survived. Amid the species devastation, the search for northern long-eared bats in the Washington area can lead to two places where some have survived: Quantico in Virginia and Rock Creek Park in the District.
“We have to understand what we need to protect,” Freeze said.
This is no small undertaking. Searching for northern long-eared bats in a forest near the Marine base requires the cooperation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Tech and Quantico. Bats can echolocate, but they cannot tell when they have entered a military zone or crossed a political jurisdiction.
After the bureaucracy comes the gear. Freeze’s team hangs several “mist nets,” which look like extra-large volleyball nets rising more than a dozen feet in the air. Omnidirectional microphones catch the sound of bats that show up but elude capture.
When a bat flies into the trap, it is placed into a brown paper bag and marched about 100 yards to a folding table, where Freeze has set up an outdoor lab, and the examination begins.
Researchers record the weight and gender of the animals and take fecal samples to determine their diet. The bats are tagged with small transmitters — affixed to their backs with surgical glue at $200 a pop — as they try to bite the hands of scientists trying to help them.
Freeze is prepared for the gnawing of tiny teeth.
“I’m wearing batting gloves, ironically,” he said while handling an eastern red bat — a species in which the fungus that causes white-nose has been found but has not caused illness. Once tagged, the bats are freed and tracked with a device that resembles a Speak & Spell toy attached to an antenna.
Since the winter of 2007-08, millions of bats in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces have died from white-nose syndrome, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The effects of deaths in the bat population are not fully known. Bats eat a lot of insects, which means farmers might have to battle uneaten bugs with more pesticides or risk losing more crops. On the other hand, there are many other bats and bug predators, experts say.
“It’s tough to guess if it’s going to have a long-term effect on pest control in agricultural systems,” said Justin Boyles, a professor in the zoology department at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. “Enough species are around that we may see them pick up the slack.”
Whatever the effect on the economy, there are a lot fewer northerns, a species hit hard by white-nose syndrome.
“I have literally seen this species decline before my very eyes,” said Mark Ford, a Virginia Tech professor affiliated with the U.S. Geological Survey who oversees Freeze’s bat research.
Ford, who has studied northern long-eared bats for two decades, said he remembers a time when he would catch dozens during mist-netting sessions. Those days are done.
White-nose began to strike more than a decade ago, Ford said, originating in Europe and Asia. Eating away at the membranes in their wings, the disease left piles of dead bats marked with telltale white dots in caves where they hibernate. The sickness seems to wake them from their winter slumber earlier, depleting critical fat reserves and causing dehydration. When they leave the caves too soon, they can die from exposure or starvation.
A scientific paper published in the medical journal PLOS Pathogens called the disease “the most devastating epizootic wildlife disease of mammals in history.” The infected animals act erratically during winter hibernation, sometimes emerging from caves — where the fungus easily spreads — during the day, then not returning.
Theories abound on why some bats survive: They might avoid caves, spending the winter in trees, where the white-nose threat is lower because of less-cramped quarters. Or some might be resistant to the disease.
The challenge for researchers is to determine why and where they have survived, and what humans can do to help them along.
“We have to put the bats in the context of the landscape,” Ford said. “We have to conserve or build that environment.”
Freeze said homeowners can take actions to protect bats, such as erecting bat houses where they can sleep. When bats are found in attics, Freeze suggests calling a wildlife specialist instead of killing them.
One can even learn to love bats, he said. Freeze is already there.
“The first time I had a little squirming furry monster in my hand, I was hooked,” he said.
Even the Marines are ready to fight for the northern long-eared bat. Quantico spokesman Ken Kunze said that is part of the mission.
“Even though we’re walled away firing weapons and blowing stuff up, we want to protect and understand what’s around us,” he said.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An appeals court has sided with environmental groups who challenged the decision by federal agencies to allow construction of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline that would cut through national forests. The unanimous ruling Friday by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond cancels permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service allowing the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cut through federal land. The judges accused the agencies of ignoring environmental regulations and acquiescing to justifications offered by the pipeline company on the project’s environmental impact. Construction of the pipeline, which would run through Virginia and West Virginia, prompted protests earlier this year including people who climbing into trees on the pipeline’s path and chaining themselves to construction equipment.
COVINGTON, Va. (AP) – Operators at Gathright Dam are scheduled to conduct a pulse release of water from Lake Moomaw.
The pulse will begin at approximately 6 a.m. and end at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It will be conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
At the peak of the pulse, the dam will release 3,500 cubic feet (99 cubic meters) per second and will increase Jackson River water levels by 3 feet to 4 1/2 feet (1 meter).
The agencies advise people who use the river to be aware of the fluctuations caused by the pulses.
Pulses are also scheduled for Aug. 15, Sept. 5, Sept. 26 and Oct. 17.
You’ve probably heard of a Spartan Race — well there’s one this weekend in Salem that’s scaled to kids. Details from WFIR’s Ian Price:
Click here to find out more about Virginia’s Blue Ridge Spartan Kids Race
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A teen landscaper pulling weeds ran into one that should have come with a “Don’t touch me!” warning. His literal brush with what was believed to be the “giant hogweed” plant earlier this week left him with serious burns on his face.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports 17-year-old Alex Childress came in contact with the towering plant on Tuesday. He ended up with second- and third-degree burns to his face and left arm. Giant hogweed exudes a sap that can cause burns, blisters and blindness.
Jordan Metzgar is a curator with Virginia Tech’s Massey Herbarium. He said Friday that reported sightings of the giant hogweed plant have increased since its presence in the state was confirmed last month. But he says most reports have been unfounded.
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A California man has pleaded guilty to shooting a U.S. diplomat in Mexico. Zia Zafar entered guilty pleas in a Virginia federal court Friday to attempted murder of an internationally protected person and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Continue reading
A rescue call this week near McAfee’s Knob is just the latest of many that Roanoke County Fire and Rescue calls handle each year. So many, in fact, that going there is now a routine part of new recruit training. The department now has all its new personnel hike the trail to become familiar with it. The latest rescue came this week when a 13-year-old girl fell and was unable to walk back on her own. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a “notice of violation” to Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC for alleged violations of several state regulations regarding stormwater management, erosion and sediment control. The DEQ alleges that corrective actions were not taken within the required time frames in Roanoke, Franklin, Montgomery and several other counties. MVP has 10 days to respond to the charges.
Statement from Appalachian Voices Virginia Program Manager Peter Anderson: Citizens have been arguing for years that the Mountain Valley Pipeline cannot be built without violating state and federal law. This is a step in the right direction, but we are alarmed that it has taken this long for DEQ to take enforcement action. Citizen water monitors have reported evidence of dozens of violations, and nearly two months have passed since spring rains wiped out erosion controls along the construction route. We are still calling on the governor and DEQ to order a work stoppage on the Mountain Valley Pipeline until the agency conducts the thorough stream-by-stream review that Virginians deserve.”
Virginia DEQ news release: RICHMOND, VA. – The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP) for alleged violations of the Virginia Stormwater Management Act and Regulations, the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Law and Regulations, the Virginia Water Protection Permit Program and Regulations, and Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification No. 17-001 at locations where land disturbing activity is occurring along the MVP pipeline project.
The alleged violations include failure to take corrective actions within required timeframes, failure to install (and improperly installed) best management practices in accordance with approved erosion and sediment control plans, release of sediment off the right-of-way, and sediment deposited in surface waters. These issues are located in Craig, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pittsylvania and/or Roanoke counties.
The issuance of an NOV is the first step toward generating enforcement action by DEQ.
The NOV requires MVP representatives to contact DEQ within 10 days to discuss how to remedy the situation and how they will prevent future violations. Enforcement actions are frequently resolved with payment of civil charges and required actions to correct the violations.
“The Notice of Violation process is standard procedure for DEQ to formally and publicly announce violations and determine a path forward for resolution,” said DEQ Director David Paylor. “The specific results of the NOV will be developed over the coming weeks and once finalized, shared with the public. We are concerned about these alleged violations and we are holding MVP accountable. We expect MVP to abide by the highest environmental standards, and we plan to resolve these issues fully in order to protect Virginia’s water quality.”
This NOV does not constitute a stop work order. While the NOV is not directly associated with the ongoing MVP suspension of work, some of the inspection results cited in the NOV did contribute to the voluntary work suspension first announced on July 29. Some areas of concern listed in the NOV have since been corrected through these ongoing enhancements.
DEQ is continuing inspections of the MVP project and releasing segments to resume work once they reestablish erosion and sediment control measures in accordance with all requirements.