![\"Bats](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/TLNKFF25ZVC3LJN6UYO5PTWK2E.jpg\")
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Bats roost in a cave in Dorset, Vt., on May 2, 2023. A fungus that\u2019s devastated bat populations across much of North America over the past two decades has arrived in Oregon.<\/p>\n
Hasan Jamali \/ AP<\/p>\n
A fungus that\u2019s devastated bat populations across much of North America over the past two decades has arrived in Oregon.<\/p>\n
Staff at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Friday they haven\u2019t seen infected bats in this state yet. But the white-nose syndrome fungus was recently found in bat poop \u2013 known as guano \u2013 at a bus stop at the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park near Astoria.<\/p>\n
White-nose syndrome isn\u2019t dangerous to people, but we can spread it if the fungus gets on our shoes or clothes. And it kills many species of hibernating bats, in part by causing them to wake up too often and burn critical fat reserves so that they die of hunger and dehydration before winter is over.<\/p>\n
Wildlife officials are asking people to take extra precautions if they enter any caves or mines, or if they hike in any areas where bats might roost.<\/p>\n
Bats play an important – but often invisible – role in maintaining ecosystems and supporting agriculture, according to a state Fish & Wildlife assessment<\/a>. They eat so many bugs that they save U.S. farmers billions of dollars in pesticide costs each year, the agency says.<\/p>\n