Below is a news release from the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance. While the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation did not contribute directly to this project, it did provide a supportive role through the CWD Alliance, of which it is a sponsor and founding member dating back to 2002. In early 2022, RMEF announced it allocated $100,000 in grant funding to help CWD research. That grant combines with those of other contributors to total nearly $450,000 specifically for 2022 CWD research.
Hunters just got a new tool for keeping their fingers on the pulse of Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk herds in North America.
Since its discovery, CWD has been a major concern to hunters and wildlife professionals alike. Part of the concern has been the difficulty that state and provincial wildlife agencies have in coordinating and communicating information about CWD to hunters and other interested publics.
The Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance (CWDA) recently developed three online, CWD information mapping tools to help document, track, and manage the spread of CWD:
CWD in North America shows counties and wildlife management units in which CWD has been found in wild and/or captive cervid populations. https://cwd-info.org/map-chronic-wasting-disease-in-north-america/
CWD-Related Hunting Regulations shows CWD-related hunting regulations, maps of CWD-positive areas, and the CWD regulatory status of each state and province. https://cwd-info.org/cwd-hunting-regulations-map
Carcass Transport Regulations will help users discover regulations impacting the transport of cervid carcasses from one state/province to another. It includes import, export, and pass-through regulations for cervid carcasses for every state and province. https://cwd-info.org/state-and-province-carcass-import-regulations/
Hunters can use the tools to plan hunting locations, consider their routes home from out-of-state hunts, or simply to learn more about CWD and state/provincial CWD management efforts.
These tools were built with funding from Multi-State Conservation Grants. All these maps are driven by a single database managed and updated by state and provincial wildlife professionals.
To learn more about CWD and the CWDA visit CWD-Info.org.
(Photo source: CWD Alliance)