The Friends of the Dyken Pond Center held their annual dinner on Wednesday, October 27. Carl Herzog, Wildlife Biologist with NYS DEC, gave a sobering talk on the effects white-nose syndrome is having on local bats. The little brown bat, our most common bat in Rensselaer County, has been decimated by the disease with a 98% mortality rate since 2007. White-nose syndrome was first noticed in Howes Cave in 2007 and has spread quickly throughout the eastern US since then. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has the best website for more information on bats and white-nose syndrome at http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/.
