Oppurtunity vs Quality Management Impacts CWD Management

[406LIFE]

A study that just came out at the end of last year looked at how increasing licenses (and harvest) impacts the prevalence of CWD in Colorado Mule Deer.

From the abstract, "Our findings suggest that harvesting mule deer with sufficient hunting pressure might control chronic wasting disease—especially when prevalence is low—but that harvest prescriptions promoting an abundance of mature male deer contribute to the exponential growth of epidemics."

As more is understood about CWD I really wonder how management will change for states that manage for quality and trophy districts here in Montana. If hunting pressure can slow (maybe stop) the spread of CWD would it be worth seeing far fewer mature animals but many immature (hopefully in the short term).

HUNTING PRESSURE MODULATES PRION INFECTION RISK IN MULE DEER HERDS

The emergence of chronic wasting disease, an infectious prion disease of multiple deer species, has motivated international calls for sustainable, socially accepted control measures. Here, we describe long-term, spatially replicated relationships in Colorado, US, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)...

bioone.org

 

[Stretcher_Jockey]

I’m not super well versed in regards to the current practices of managing CWD but hasn’t increased harvest over an extended period been attempted in several different states with not much change in prevalence?

 

[MTGomer]

I’m not super well versed in regards to the current practices of managing CWD but hasn’t increased harvest over an extended period been attempted in several different states with not much change in prevalence?

CWD went from non existent to prevalent in portions of Montana under intensive harvest.

 

[Stretcher_Jockey]

CWD went from non existent to prevalent in portions of Montana under intensive harvest.

I had Wisconsin and Illinois in my head as other places that experienced the same but I could be off on that.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

To me that paper is interesting, maybe valuable, but not necessarily compelling on its own. I’m probably a little biased because the assumed prescription makes me nervous. Even in what’s relatively good habitat, we usually really struggle to increase or even maintain mule deer herds and mature buck opportunity as it is.

 

[3855WIN]

I’ll have less interest in deer hunting if the quality/ number of mature bucks decreases.

 

[nrpate05]

None of this matters. Wolves and other predators only eat sick animals so they will take care of the problem.........

 

[Horse]

I had Wisconsin and Illinois in my head as other places that experienced the same but I could be off on that.

That was WI original game plan. Eradicate the herd in the affected area. They killed a lot of animals, but obviously couldn't kill 100%. CWD remains in those areas and keeps getting found in new areas, far from other affected areas as testing increases. We harvest a lot of deer in WI and CWD continues to grow. I dont think this idea is good for Colorado.

 

[antlerradar]

When I here a bio talk about more opportunity to control CWD it may sound like a good plan, but the reality is the plan is simply going to be hunt the accessible public land even harder. This may work in a place were most of the land is public with easy access. In a place like SE MT where there is a mix of Public and private I could see this strategy being counter productive. This is why. The more pressure we put on the public land herd the more those animals will be pushed on to private. In time there will be a heavily concentrated herd on private and sparsely populated herd on public land. Also as the quality of the public land experience diminishes more and more hunters turn to leasing private land, placing more pressure on to pubic land and the down ward spiral continues. The result is even more private ranches were deer are concentrated and bucks can grow old and this is likely to more than offset any CWD gains dew to more hunting on public.

 

[wytex]

Interesting as WG&F is planning this very sort of management for deer in the area we manage a ranch. Not a fan or in favor of the proposals they have put forth.

 

[Oak]

I haven't listened yet, but here's a short podcast from this morning with one of the authors of the paper in the OP.

S1E8: 1.8 - Chronic Wasting Disease - Feb. 17, 2020

Many of us have general knowledge of Chronic Wasting Disease. We know it is something that deer get and it is not good for them, but that is about where our knowledge ends. Let's find out more about CWD - its history, what it is exactly, what has been done in the past and where management is...

art19.com

 

[mogwai]

That was WI original game plan. Eradicate the herd in the affected area. They killed a lot of animals, but obviously couldn't kill 100%. CWD remains in those areas and keeps getting found in new areas, far from other affected areas as testing increases. We harvest a lot of deer in WI and CWD continues to grow. I dont think this idea is good for Colorado.

I think we've hit a saturation point for deer harvest in WI. Successful hunters just don't want to shoot any more than 1-2 deer, on average, and it's difficult to make them shoot more. In fact, they resent it after a year or so and march on the Capitol.

 

[hcenvinc]

A study that just came out at the end of last year looked at how increasing licenses (and harvest) impacts the prevalence of CWD in Colorado Mule Deer.

From the abstract, "Our findings suggest that harvesting mule deer with sufficient hunting pressure might control chronic wasting disease—especially when prevalence is low—but that harvest prescriptions promoting an abundance of mature male deer contribute to the exponential growth of epidemics."

As more is understood about CWD I really wonder how management will change for states that manage for quality and trophy districts here in Montana. If hunting pressure can slow (maybe stop) the spread of CWD would it be worth seeing far fewer mature animals but many immature (hopefully in the short term).

HUNTING PRESSURE MODULATES PRION INFECTION RISK IN MULE DEER HERDS

The emergence of chronic wasting disease, an infectious prion disease of multiple deer species, has motivated international calls for sustainable, socially accepted control measures. Here, we describe long-term, spatially replicated relationships in Colorado, US, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)...

bioone.org

where I hunt in Minnesota, they have banned all forms of bait and attractants.

 

[Oak]

The paper is attached if anyone is interested.

 

[winmag]

If mule deer quality, both in terms of trophy potential and in experience (i.e. overcrowding in number of hunters in the field), drops significantly I will just stop mule deer hunting to focus on other species.

Surely all the smart biologists in this country can devise a CWD strategy that doesn't include killing all deer over a certain age.

I'll point out that this is coming from someone who is absolutely not a "CWD denier". This is just the reality of how I see things and how I, for one, will react to certain CWD management strategies.

 

[Skiller]

where I hunt in Minnesota, they have banned all forms of bait and attractants.

Some news today (4-20-2021) from the Minnesota DNR, U of Minnesota, and legislature on CWD testing and also a new CWD positive report from Beltrami County, northern MN NE of Bemidji. First, a Beltrami County deer farmer bought 11 deer from Wabasha County, MN, in the SE where CWD has been an issue for years, most likely starting in a deer farm. One of his doe whitetails tested positive for CWD. Some others died but were not tested, due to decomposition. Deer farmer was not eager to deal with it. Now the MN DNR will be spending a bundle of money testing and monitoring for CWD in a new area. I believe MN DNR will spend near 2.8 million $ this upcoming year monitoring and testing CWD. So far, the Republican-controlled Senate has resisted efforts to fund the CWD issues, testing, etc., with funds coming from a dedicated wildlife account. They held this hostage last year as a bargaining chip with our Democratic Governor, Tim Walz. Hope they can act to help preserve our deer, elk, and moose with adequate testing AND better control over regulation and monitoring of MN deer farms, now regulated by the Board of Animal Health, which has not been proactive on CWD.

Now the possible good news: The U of MN researchers believe they have come up with a relatively simple test for CWD that can be administered to dead deer, live deer, and samples of meat, blood, etc. If this pans out, deer farms could test their animals when or before acquiring them. Hunters could get their game tested quickly for CWD. It will not be used real soon but progress is being made. Minnesota DNR and researchers have been at the forefront of CWD detection and maintenance. Hope this all helps.
Dave.

 

[Schaaf]

I can’t wrap my head around how CWD spread across MT in a matter of a few years with us killing so many damn deer. Opportunity hunting didn’t stop a damn thing in MT.

 

[Corn king 60]

I can’t wrap my head around how CWD spread across MT in a matter of a few years with us killing so many damn deer. Opportunity hunting didn’t stop a damn thing in MT.

The same way it got across most of the country
in the back of a trailer IMO

 

[Schaaf]

The same way it got across most of the country
in the back of a trailer IMO

That doesn’t explain why other states have been able to contain it regionally within their state.

 

[antlerradar]

I am thinking the game farm ban in Montana has been far more effective slowing the spread than opportunity management will ever be. Makes you wonder what the CWD picture would look like if other states had passed similar bans twenty or thirty years ago.