As they are anxiously waiting for deer seasons to begin, hunters continue to be faced with issues regarding chronic wasting disease (CWD) that affects white-tailed deer. So what is being done about it?
Fighting CWD is not a lost cause, experts agree. But it will require collaboration between wildlife managers and stakeholders to sustain the state’s hunting heritage and to protect Pennsylvania’s deer and elk for current and future generations.
Former Bradford resident Dr. Krysten Schuler, wildlife disease ecologist at the Cornell Wildlife Health Lab said, “The Game Commission’s CWD Response Plan represents new hope for Pennsylvania to contain this disease where it already exists and minimize new outbreaks. We’ve seen what happens in other states choosing the ‘do nothing’ approach. CWD not only expands geographically, but disease prevalence rates within deer herds climbs exponentially. If the commission and hunters partner now to support disease response actions, deer and deer hunting can both continue to thrive in Pennsylvania for the long term.”
Right now, the best available science suggests that the only practical way to reach those dual goals and address CWD on the landscape is by reducing deer abundance. It was a tactic that was deployed in New York in the past.
While CWD has been detected in certain areas of PA, those considered hot spot areas will be identified as Enhanced Surveillance Units.
Hunters will have increased opportunities to harvest deer in those Enhanced Surveillance Units. That doesn’t equate to eliminating deer herds.
The response plan calls for reducing deer numbers in ESUs by only one additional deer per square mile. That’s one deer for every 640 acres.
Harvests there will be carried out with landowner cooperation in an effort to remove deer that may have come in contact with that newly discovered CWD positive deer.
Together, the samples collected in Enhanced Surveillance Units and Containment Zones will allow the Game Commission to assess CWD and adequately monitor the effects of management actions, with the goal of slowing and hopefully stopping the spread of CWD.
“Samples are key to the success of this program,” said Dr. Lisa Murphy, Co-director of the Wildlife Futures Program and Resident Director of the PADLS New Bolton Center. “A top priority of the Wildlife Futures Program, a collaborative program between the Game Commission and Penn Vet, is providing fast and accurate CWD test results.”
Dr. Murphy went on to say, “One of our primary goals is to prepare our staff, laboratory space, and equipment so that we can provide hunters and the Game Commission with quick turn-around times on testing so decisions can be made in a timely manner.”
CWD testing occurs statewide annually.
In 2019, PA tested 15,686 wild deer for CWD resulting in 204 positives. Since testing began in 2012, 453 have tested positive. Since testing began about 1,400 elk have been tested, with no positives occurring.
When it comes to the newly designated Enhanced Surveillance Units, as their name suggests, they are small areas within larger Disease Management Areas. They surround the spot where CWD positive wild or captive deer have been found.
Christopher Rosenberry, chief of the agency’s game management division said, “Hunters are the real key to making it work. The samples they provide from deer they harvest, especially in Enhanced Surveillance Units, help us to identify where CWD exists on the landscape, at what prevalence, and what management actions we need to take to control it.”
Along with additional information, the eight DMAP areas associated with Enhanced Surveillance Units can also be located on the PGC’s website.
Another great resource regarding CWC can be found on the New York Department of Environmental Resources web site. Log onto cwd-info.org/shedding-light-on-chronic-wasting-disease. The site offers two videos that key in on field dress and butchering techniques. The site also includes information relating to CWD and is well worth your time to review.
The importance and cooperation by hunters is critically important to better understand CWD and its devastating impact on the white-tailed deer.
Harold Daub, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen said, “It’s important for hunters and wildlife enthusiasts to take the Commission’s (PGC) goals seriously. Hunting as we know it is in jeopardy here if we don’t control it (CWD) the best we can.”
The PA Game Commission’s response to Chronic Wasting Disease is and will be an ongoing battle. Testing of hunter harvests and road killed deer is a key component in knowing where CWD affected deer are. With that knowledge additional measures in a focused manner can at least slow the spread.
(Charlie Burchfield is an active member and past president of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, a member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association, and the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers. Gateway Outdoors email is GWOutdoors@comcast.net.)
