Matt & Tracy DeBarber !!

So I recently attended the National Trappers Association regional convention in Greenwich, NY and on the last day of the show I was standing at my booth when all of a sudden I picked up my head and lo & behold Matt DeBarber was standing in front of me ! If that wasn't enough of a surprise I turned my head and there was his wife, Tracy !

I hadn't seen these two folks for YEARS and they've done an awfully good job of "flying under the radar" ! These two go back to the early days of the CT NWCO Assoc.. Tracy was even the treasurer for a period of time. Matt went to Las Vegas with Eric Shaffer and myself the first year WCT was held out there.

Matt is still involved in wildlife control work, they enjoy their time in the country, and they both agreed to attend a future CT NWCO meeting, as I assured them everyone will be happy to see them and know they are doing well.

Heartbreaking News regarding White-Nosed Syndrome found in gray bats

It is with great sorrow that I report the White-nose Syndrome fungus has been found on gray bats. Friday, we received word that five bats tested positive in a genetic test for the White-nose Syndrome fungus outside a cave in Shannon County, Missouri-one of only a handful of gray bat hibernacula.

Gray bats are very near and dear to Bat Conservation International's heart. For decades, we have worked to recover the declining gray bat populations and the species was well on the road to being removed from the Federal Endangered Species List.

That was until White-nose Syndrome showed up in New York four years ago. BCI and bat scientists around the country have been nervously monitoring the spread of this devastating disease that has killed more than one million bats since 2006. This winter, the White-nose fungus spread to Tennessee, the epicenter of gray bat territory, and we feared the gray bat would be the seventh bat species and the second federally endangered species to be affected by the disease. At the end of winter, the Tennessee Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Bat Conservation International's Caves Coordinator, Jim Kennedy, returned from surveying Hubbard's Cave-one of the largest gray bat hibernacula-with hopeful news; the colony was stable with no sign of White-nose Syndrome. But now, the future isn't looking as bright.

Because of Bat Conservation International's strong emotional tie to this species, the gray bat was one of the first four Adopt-A-Bats to be released this past holiday season. If you'd like to support gray bats and the work we do, consider adopting a gray bat or donating online.

CAHABA Snake Trap Recieves Patent

The Cahaba Snake Trap has received United States Patent no.7726063 which covers their durable, indoor/outdoor collapsible snake trap.