As the fatal bat disease white nose syndrome continues to spread, leaving millions of dead bats in its wake, land managers continue working to check its spread. In an effort to prevent the human spread of the disease by clothes or equipment, most federal and state caves have been closed to the public, and the Regional Forester for the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service recently announced an extension of the closure order for all caves and mines on southeastern National Forest system lands until 2019 to help prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome.