HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) - U.S. regulators are stepping up their efforts to block the spread of a skin fungus fatal to salamanders.

The U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement Monday that the Pacific Coast and the Appalachian Mountains could see significant declines in salamander populations if the fungus known as Bsalenters the country. The agency says the risk is particularly high in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service banned imports of 201 salamander species to try to prevent the disease from reaching the United States.The fish and wildlife agency says Bsal has caused major die-offs of salamanders in Europe and poses an imminent threat to U.S. native salamander populations.