In a Dec. 16, 2011 photograph, a little brown bat is swabbed during a white nose syndrome study at New Mammoth Cave near LaFollette, Tenn. (AP Photo/Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel)Tennessee is among 28 states sharing a total $950,694 in grant funding for projects to combat white-nose syndrome, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service news release states.
The disease is estimated to have killed nearly 6 million bats in North America.
"These grants provide essential support to our state partners in responding to this disease," said Dr. Jeremy Coleman, the service's national white-nose syndrome coordinator. "The research, monitoring, and actions made possible by these grants have yielded valuable results and insights for our national response" to the disease.
Funding for the grants was provided through the Endangered Species Recovery program. Proposals were received from 28 states requesting $1,042,938. All eligible requests were given at least partial awards, ranging from about $7,000 to $47,500, for the total of $950,694.
Tennessee is projected to receive $47,500, but the amounts are under final review.