Federal Lab To See If UV Light Can Save Bats From Fatal Fungus

A lab in Madison will find out if ultraviolet light can effectively kill the fungus that threatens bats, while saving Wisconsin farmers in the process. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has given a 156-thousand-dollar grant to U-S Forest Service pathologist Daniel Lindner. He’ll study whether U-V light can knock out the fungal disease that causes white nose syndrome. The disease has killed six-million bats in the eastern half of the U-S, and experts say it also threatens farmers because bats eat millions of insects that would otherwise damage crops. The bat disease has been confirmed in 24 Wisconsin counties, after first appearing in Grant County in 2014.