CWD, FWP, BHA, MT Outdoor Rec & Adverse Economic Impact

[Sytes]

A good read for those interested. I imagine our fellow states involved in the battle against CWD face the same challenges.

Chronic Wasting Disease’s Potential Economic Impacts - Flathead Beacon

Every autumn for 24 years, Kalispell resident and Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Board Chairman Ryan Busse has traveled to the wide-open spaces of Northern Montana’s Hi-Line to hunt, where few people reside and healthy wild game populations roam. He’s scaled the entire remote Hi-Line in search of...

flatheadbeacon.com

FWP also requires hunters to stop at check stations to test their game for CWD presence, a hassle that Busse avoids by hunting in areas where the disease is not present.

A hassle to stop at required check stations for a CWD check?
With or w/o game, someone traveling to locations, stay at hotels, etc will inevitably cross required stop points at check stations...
Hunters are likely the key tool towards identifying CWD presence. Encourage hunters to have their deer tested, be it voluntary (outside CWD zones) or within a CWD zone where required would be a value, IMO/E. A hassle? Sure... it may take a bit of time though I typically enjoy the chat with our FWP, Intel gathering as well as expressing appreciation for their responsibilities.

Outside Busse's stance to avoid CWD Check Stations, I agree with his opinions as equally shared by Anderson (R1 Wildlife Mgr) and VandeVoot (MT Outdoor Recreation Director).

VandeVoort is concerned that CWD will impact the already declining participation in hunting, which may have even broader and more long-term consequences on the country’s public lands.

Long term health of deer, elk, and even moose within the CWD context has a gripping reach on public land and conservation as a whole...

Pretty challenging future for the various <insert your State> conservation funding and the future #'s of hunters.

 

[406LIFE]

There is some real concern past just deer populations being impacted by CWD. The financial mechanism for funding could really be impacted for management. If less hunters are hunting due to CWD concerns, less licenses are sold. Fewer licenses sales impacts PR dollars the state receives. When funding decreases, so do boots on the ground looking for CWD. As it is already impacting some areas (Region 7, perhaps?) and hunters saying they are avoiding an area because of CWD, what happens if there is ever a species barrier crossed into humans? That is truly scary. How many would hunt any cervid knowing that was a risk? A 'what if" game for now, and hopefully forever, but a discussion worth considering.

 

[ImBillT]

I get my animals tested for CWD for my own personal concerns. In TX, even inside containment zones, there aren’t many check stations, and unfortunately, if you hunt where you live, even inside the containment zones, it could easily be considered a hassle. Furthermore, there is a small fee at the check stations. The state doesn’t charge the fee, the check station operator does. It’s compensation for staying open 24/7 during the season, harvesting the samples, and keeping them in the proper condition until the state can collect them. I can’t remember if it’s $15 or $30. I had to drive 3hrs to turn one in last year. Luckily I found out that the nearest biologist goes to various processors to take samples from people bringing their deer in, and that I could call and find out which processor he was at and just meet him there. Also, I live near and work in a metropolitan area, and most of the processors with high traffic are nearby. This year I just took my skulls to a processor on the way to work, the bio took the lymph nodes, gave me a card with a tracking number on it, and didn’t charge me a penny. Still, I can see how hunters who didn’t fear catching it themselves could consider it a hassle.

 

[Northwoods Labs]

I think it might have economic impacts. I know that if my area of Wisconsin gets infection rates that the SW part of our state has, then I am really going to have some thinking to do. At this stage in my life, I am not ready to be a guinea pig and play the "what if?" game of eating infected meat. Might very well man I quit deer hunting and just focus on ducks, geese, and grouse

 

[Western Traveler1]

I don’t know if this was covered here but I found this in my mailbox. Just had to choose which CDW thread to place it in...sorry if it has already been covered...

Dear Montana Hunter,

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks needs your help in managing and monitoring Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD is a fatal disease of deer, elk, and moose that was first found in wild deer in Montana in 2017.

This year FWP will continue CWD surveillance in specific areas known as Priority Surveillance Areas in northwest, southwest and eastern Montana. Hunters who harvest a deer, elk or moose in these areas are asked to voluntarily submit their animal for sampling to help gather additional data for that area. This information will be used to help inform the best management strategies for the affected hunting districts.

FWP is paying for the testing of samples and can help hunters get their deer, elk, or moose tested. Hunters can take the samples themselves, fill out the online hunter submission form available on our website and mail them to our Wildlife Health Lab in Bozeman. Hunters also can bring the animal (or head) to a CWD Sampling Station or to most FWP offices. If you intend to donate your deer, elk, or moose to a food bank, FWP strongly recommends that it be sampled for CWD testing beforehand. Due to the COVID pandemic, staff presence in FWP offices can vary as many continue to work remotely. Not all FWP offices can offer help with sampling, so please call ahead to check on availability and to ensure your visit is timely, quick and smooth. Also, please come prepared to wear a mask, as required by Gov. Steve Bullock’s directives, should social distancing be difficult to achieve. FWP staff will be wearing a mask as well.

****
Also new this year is a requirement for proper disposal of all carcasses and parts in a Class II landfill. This required disposal replaces in-state transport restrictions that were previously in place. A carcass may be moved anywhere in the state regardless of where it was harvested as long as the carcass parts are disposed of in a Class II landfill after butchering/processing. Carcass parts, such as brain, eyes, spleen, lymph glands, and spinal cord material, must be bagged and disposed of in a Class II landfill or may be left at the kill site. Dumping carcasses in other places is illegal, unethical and can spread diseases, including CWD. We now know the disease is present across much of the state. This new disposal requirement applies to all deer, elk, and moose carcasses wherever in the state they are harvested by hunters or as vehicle-killed salvage.

If left unmanaged, CWD will spread. As infection rates increase, it can have a significant impact on our wildlife and those, like yourself, who hunt them. Thank you for your help as we fight CWD together.

For more information, please contact your local FWP office or visit fwp.mt.gov/cwd, where you can find a wealth of information, including how to take your own samples, FWP sample collection locations and hours of operation, maps of our Priority Surveillance Areas and Class II landfills.

Sincerely,

martha
Martha Williams, Director
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

FWP Priority Surveillance Areas for 2020
map

 

[Western Traveler1]