June 1, 2023 at 11:19 a.m.
Natural Resources Board hears update on 2022 Chronic Wasting Disease sampling
Natural Resources Board hears update on 2022 Chronic Wasting Disease sampling
Batten began with a history of CWD in the state. The always-fatal neurological disease affects cervids such as deer, elk, mule deer and reindeer. It was first found in Wisconsin in 2022 in Dane County. Since then it has slowly made its way across the state. As of the end of the 2022 deer hunting season, there only 12 of the state's 72 counties were not listed as either CWD-affected or as having had a positive detection within the county.
From 2002-2008, she said, sharpshooting was a key component in the state's response to CWD. Support for that response quickly dwindled however and the DNR stopped this control method in 2008, she said.
A 15-year CWD Response Plan was developed in 2010. It was formally adopted by the Natural Resources Board (NRB). That plan is still in use today.
In 2011, the Earn-A-Buck option as well as the option to create an antlerless hunt in October was removed by the legislature. Batten said this meant two significant tools to combat CWD were removed from the toolbox at that time.
In 2012, the Deer Trustee report was released. Two years later, this led to Deer Management Units (DMU) being replaced by county boundaries. This system is still in place today, while there is a push in the northern counties to return to the DMUs that were in place in the past.
In 2015 another change was made. That was the move to electronic registration for deer harvests. Batten said this necessitated a change to the department's collection of CWD samples. Prior to this change, with DNR staff having contact with hunters who were registering their deer in person at stations across the state, they were better able to gather samples from harvested deer. Now the department was forced to rely on outreach and education measures to convince hunters to have their deer sampled.
Batten shared a map with the board showing the prevalence and distribution of CWD as of the 2022 hunting season. In southwestern Wisconsin, she said, there has been significant growth in prevalence and distribution of the disease. The southeastern portion, too has seen growth and expansion of the disease over the years. There have also been more recent discoveries of CWD in other areas, such as in the Northwoods. Spread and prevalence, she said, was not equal across the landscape. The disease tends to be clustered and have a somewhat predictable pattern of spread.
2022
Batten then looked at 2022 specifically, with testing numbers and new detections. In 2022, over 17,000 deer were tested. The department shared 160 different carcass disposal opportunities with hunters as well. Carcass disposal, she said, is now known to be one of the vectors by which the CWD can spread.
In 2022 there were several options for hunters who wanted to have their deer tested. There were 175 self-serve kiosks throughout the state. There were also 63 locations open by appointment or were staffed by partners. Partners for 2022 included 57 meat processors or taxidermists and 93 other private businesses or partners.
There were 136 dumpsters hunters could access for disposal of carcasses in 2022. There were also 17 landfills and seven transfer stations accepting deer carcasses, Batten noted.
Both the Adopt-a-Kiosk and Adopt-a-Dumpster programs, initiated in 2018, have continued to grow, she said. In 2022 there were 20 Adopt-a-Kiosk partners and 69 Adopt-a-Dumpster program participants. These numbers were up by three sites in each of those programs from 2021. In 2018, there were only two kiosk locations and 16 dumpster sites in the program.
Each of these programs offers financial and other support to partners who are willing to host or "adopt" either a sampling kiosk or a carcass disposal dumpster.
Funding
USDA-APHIS funding was also received by the state to help combat CWD, Batten said. That funding included $150,000 for the Adopt-A-Dumpster Program. An additional $75,000 grant was received for CWD communications. The state asked for an extension to use those funds, however, due to staffing issues. Batten said those funds would be used for communication and outreach in 2023.
In 2022, CWD surveillance continued.
In the central and southern parts of the state, Batten said, there was ongoing disease surveillance in areas that had already had established CWD on the landscape.
In areas in the Northwoods, assessment as to where the disease may be spreading was also still underway.
Continued testing and cooperation of hunters to get their deer tested would be key in any attempts to better understand how the disease is moving across the landscape, she said. The current CWD Response Plan will expire in 2025, and planning is underway for an update.
The department is also looking ahead to the 2023 fall hunting season to make determinations about surveillance areas as well as communication and outreach strategies. This planning will include the addition of one position, that of the Herd Health Specialist.
That position is being filled by Erin Larson, who comes to the DNR with many years of wildlife health work in her repertoire.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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