2008 Chronic Wasting Disease management zone forecast
MADISON -- Hunters will see some changes in the deer season framework this fall in the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Zone. These changes reflect a blending of CWD Stakeholder (citizen) Advisory Group recommendations, feedback from eight public hearings DNR held this spring, and the agency’s recommendations to manage the disease.
“The first change you will note is that we combined the Disease Eradication Zone and the Herd Reduction Zone into one zone, called the CWD Management Zone (CWD-MZ) with consistent regulations and one season framework,” said Alan Crossley, outgoing CWD project leader, who is phasing out his CWD duties prior to assuming a public lands specialist position in the Bureau of Wildlife Management
“The season structure in the CWD Management Zone is very similar to the season structure used elsewhere in the state for units that are over goal. We hope this reduces confusion for hunters,” noted Crossley.
The one season that is unique to the CWD-MZ is the holiday firearm season from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4.
Hunters can use rifles throughout the CWD-MZ, except in metro unit 76M, which will be shotgun only. White and albino deer may be harvested throughout the entire CWD-MZ (formerly restricted to the Disease Eradication Zone).
No Landowner Permits
The department is also discontinuing the $2 DEZ landowner and hunter permits this year.
“We estimate that the agency would lose more than $850,000 in license sales if we offered those permits throughout the entire CWD-MZ. It did not make sense to continue the program in the face of funding shortages for CWD management, as well as the interest in funding the pantry program, expanding testing, supporting research, and bolstering our information and education efforts,” pointed out Crossley.
“We recognize the important role that hunter-landowners play in managing CWD, but we need to consider more cost effective ways of supporting that role,” he added.
From 2002 to June 2008, nearly 139,000 deer were tested for CWD across the state. A total of 990 free-ranging deer have tested positive since testing started in Wisconsin. All of the positive cases have been found in the CWD Management Zone. The southeast Wisconsin cases are adjacent to an outbreak in northern Illinois where 189 CWD positive deer have been found since 2002.
“This fall we will be doing a second round of disease testing in our Northern Region. We encourage deer hunters to turn in the heads from their registered adult deer as part of this surveillance effort in northern Wisconsin,” Crossley said.
DNR will also be sampling within the CWD Management Zone, and hunters are required to submit samples from adult deer in the following areas:
* Eastern Iowa and Western Dane Counties, between Ridgeway and Mt. Horeb and stretching from Highway 18/151 north to the Wisconsin River.
* Between Lake Geneva, Lake Koshkonong, Beloit and Palmyra.
* Around Devil’s Lake State Park, from Highway 12 west to the Interstate.
“The first two areas support ongoing research to help us better understand how the rate of disease infection changes over time. The Devil’s Lake area has the additional purpose of monitoring the ‘northern front’ of the disease in Wisconsin. We can work with hunters who plan to cape-out their deer to get a sample,” noted Crossley
Looking further ahead, the DNR will begin imposing carcass movement restrictions beginning Sept. 1, 2009. Wildlife officials believe that this gives hunters time to find local processing and taxidermy options for complying with the movement restrictions.
“Starting in September 2009, we will prohibit the importation of whole cervid carcasses (deer, moose and elk) into Wisconsin from areas within states or provinces that have CWD. We also will prohibit whole deer carcass movement from the CWD Management Zone to elsewhere in Wisconsin,” Crossley said.
Agency biologists say that CWD in southern Wisconsin represents a significant threat to the state's white-tailed deer population and the culture of deer hunting in the state. Wisconsin has more than 700,000 deer hunters who harvest an average of 480,000 deer annually during the past decade. Deer hunting provides more than 7 million days of recreation each year, and in 2006, deer hunting generated nearly $900 million dollars in retail sales and nearly $1.4 billion in total impact to the state’s economy.
Successfully managing CWD in Wisconsin will require a sustained effort over many years, necessitating cooperation and communication among natural resources and agricultural agencies, hunters, landowners, farmed cervid producers, and the many citizens of the state who benefit from a healthy deer herd, emphasized Crossley.
2008 season framework in the CWD-Management Zone
Archery season: earn-a-buck Sept. 13 to Jan. 4
Youth hunt: Oct. 11-12
Early firearm season: antlerless only Oct. 16-19
9-day firearm deer season: earn-a-buck Nov. 22-30
10-day muzzleloader season: earn-a-buck Dec. 1-10
Late firearm season: antlerless only Dec. 11-14
Holiday firearm season: earn-a-buck Dec. 24-Jan. 4
Unlimited Earn-a-buck regulations in effect with pre-qualification
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Crossley at 608-266-5463
