Bats are on a clear trajectory toward oblivion. For months, the Center for Biological Diversity has warned that the bat crisis is dire while calling for more funding to try to determine what, exactly, is killing America's bats -- and how the disease can be stopped.

We spearheaded an effort to send a letter to every member of Congress, pleading for action and more resources for this wildlife catastrophe. More than 60 groups, including other national conservation organizations, agriculture and public-health groups, businesses, and leading bat scientists, signed on to our letter. And Congress held three committee hearings on white-nose syndrome, displaying an unusual degree of interest in the plight of species that have traditionally had a bit of a public-relations challenge.

Sadly, much of this work has come to naught. The House voted to direct just $500,000 to the white-nose effort. That's about a tenth of what biologists testified was needed to research and manage white-nose syndrome in its current geographic range. (More will be needed if the disease spreads, which it's expected to do, again, this winter).

It's unclear what will happen to white-nose funding on the Senate side, but one thing is obvious. The Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to lead during this crisis, and the result appears to be that precious few resources will be available to grapple with "the worst wildlife crisis documented in North America in the last century" (in the words of renowned bat expert Merlin Tuttle). Please send a message today urging Fish and Wildlife Service director Sam Hamilton to create a white-nose syndrome plan immediately to prevent the complete unraveling of America's bat populations.