BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The application for North Dakota’s “unofficial holiday” is approaching fast.

Deer applications are due to the North Dakota Game & Fish Department by June 3rd. Wildlife Biologist Doug Leier reports that there are more licenses available this year for hunters.

Leier reminds everyone who applies to make sure they apply for the unit they want a tag in.

In other Game & Fish news, Leier says some bats have been tested and found positive to have the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a deadly disease of hibernating bats that has caused dramatic population declines in eastern states.

It’s also referred to as “White-nose Syndrome.”

“The discovery of white-nose syndrome in these bats signals the continued expansion of this invasive pathogen through North America,” said Jeremy Coleman, National White-nose Syndrome Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which leads the national response to WNS. “It also highlights the need for continued vigilance to track the spread of the disease and the impact it is having on native bat populations so we may better focus our conservation efforts.”

State and federal agencies are asking for help to monitor the spread of this disease. Anyone seeing a dead or sick bat is asked not to handle it, but to notify health officials or state biologists who can provide further guidance.

For more information visit https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/.

You can view more information and news from the North Dakota Game & Fish Department at gf.nd.gov.

Listen to Doug Leier each Thursday at 7:35 AM on Big Dog 95.5 FM with JD in the Morning.