In the Press Release 11/09/09 issue:
 CODY BIOLOGIST DOUG MCWHIRTER NAMED WILDLIFE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
GAME AND FISH COMMISSION TO MEET IN LARAMIE NOV. 19-20
RAWLINS MAN CITED FOR KILLING ELK WITH RIFLE DURING ARCHERY SEASON
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE DISCOVERED IN DEER HUNT AREA 42
G&F Calendar
ASK THE GAME & FISH
CODY BIOLOGIST DOUG MCWHIRTER NAMED WILDLIFE PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
CODY- Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife biologist Doug McWhirter was named Wildlife Professional of the Year by the Wyoming Chapter of The Wildlife Society at its annual meeting and banquet held Nov. 4, in Cody.
McWhirter is a 20-year veteran of the Game and Fish and currently serves as the wildlife biologist for the Cody area. He previously served in Cheyenne, Wheatland, and Pinedale.
"Doug is extraordinarily dedicated to his work. As anyone who knows him can tell you, he is universally respected and admired," said Arthur Middleton, researcher with the University of Wyoming's Cooperative Research Unit. Middleton was one of four people to nominate McWhirter from the unit.
McWhirter's nomination letter states that: "In all aspects of his work, perhaps most clearly in human interactions, he maintains the highest standards of integrity, thoughtfulness and respect toward others. Even when grappling with some of the Cody region's most complex and contentious wildlife issues, from energy development on ungulate winter range to elk-wolf relationships around the Greater Yellowstone, Doug has a very rare ability to develop and maintain the long-term trust and engagement of all stakeholders."
In 2008 and 2009, McWhirter served as the chair of the Sunlight-Crandall Elk Working Group and provided important biological information on the differential reproduction, recruitment and population trends of migratory and resident elk in the Clark's Fork herd unit. Much of this information was available and highly reliable because of his foresight in initiating a large-scale research project in 2007 to obtain practical data on elk demography and movements in this area.
Middleton wrote: "During the 2009 Wyoming Game and Fish Commission meeting in Cody, these data and the management recommendations that were discussed through the working group's thoroughly collaborative process played a key role in reaching a biologically sound decision to make difficult but important hunting season changes in the Clark's Fork herd unit."
The nomination letter also states that prior to his work in Cody, McWhirter played a key role in initiating and fostering important mule deer and pronghorn research in the Pinedale region that has set a high standard for the ecological understanding that underpins good wildlife management and conservation. Moreover, these studies now rank among the longest-term datasets available for the movements of these important migratory ungulate populations.
In addition he has spearheaded the recently-completed Clark's Fork/Beartooth bighorn Sheep study and has served as co-chair of the WGFD Bighorn Sheep Working Group and has led the Cody Mule Deer Working Group effort. Cody area wildlife biologist Kevin Hurley said that McWhirter has been the driving force behind the Absaroka Divide Wildlife Working Group and has been involved in data collection on species of interest along the east boundary of Yellowstone National Park including migratory elk, mountain goats and wolverine.
McWhirter graduated with a bachelor's degree from Wichita State University in 1987 and with a master's degree from the University of Wyoming in 1993.
(Contact: Dennie Hammer (307) 527-7125)
-WGFD-
GAME AND FISH COMMISSION TO MEET IN LARAMIE NOV. 19-20
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will meet Nov. 19-20 in Laramie at the Hilton Garden Inn. The meeting will begin at approximately 8:20 a.m. following an Executive Session.
Agenda Items include the Commission voting on a regulation on the collection of shed antlers and horns. The Commission will also be briefed on the conifer pine beetle epidemic and the potential impacts to terrestrial wildlife and habitats, aquatic species and habitats and recreational users.
In addition, the Commission will be briefed on proposed legislation to provide licenses to disabled veterans, will hear presentations on fisheries management of the Pole Mountain District of the Medicine Bow National Forest and recommendations for development of oil and gas resources in crucial and important wildlife habitat.
Anyone who would like a complete agenda or requires auxiliary aids to attend should contact Wanda Newberry at (307) 777-4501. The Commission Agenda is also available on the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Web site http://gf.state.wy.us.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department supports the Americans with Disabilities Act. Every effort will be made for reasonable accommodations.
(Contact: Wanda Newberry (307) 777-4501)
-WGFD-
RAWLINS MAN CITED FOR KILLING ELK WITH RIFLE DURING ARCHERY SEASON
CODY - A Rawlins man has received heavy fines for killing a bull elk with a rifle during the September archery season. Ronald G. Leak was sentenced in Big Horn Circuit Court to pay fines of $780 and was ordered to pay $6,000 restitution to the State of Wyoming. In addition, Leak was placed on six months supervised probation and lost his hunting privileges for three years.
According to Wyoming Game and Fish Department investigating officers Tom DeSomber (Ten Sleep) and Jim Seeman (Buffalo), Leak poached the bull in elk hunt area 45 on Sept. 12 in the East Ten Sleep Creek drainage.
"When we interviewed Leak about the incident his story did not match the evidence and he eventually admitted his guilt", DeSomber said. "He said he was frustrated because he was unable to get close enough to the bull with his archery equipment, so he chose to harvest the elk with his rifle. The rifle season was closed."
Both DeSomber and Seeman feel strongly that poaching is a serious crime. "Hunting lawfully and ethically will help to ensure future hunting opportunity; intentionally breaking the law will not," DeSomber said.
Seeman added, "Poaching is mutiny on everyone's bounty. People that poach deprive legitimate hunters from harvesting many game animals each year and we will continue to do what we can to catch them."
According to DeSomber the department and many county attorneys and judges also take wildlife violations seriously. "An individual who loses their privileges to hunt in Wyoming actually loses them in 31 states, all of which are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact," DeSomber said. The compact includes a reciprocal recognition of license suspension.
Any person whose license privileges are suspended in Wyoming would also be suspended in the member states of Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Missouri, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Mexico, Iowa, Indiana, California, Georgia, South Dakota, Michigan, Kansas, New York, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Louisiana.
Anyone witnessing a wildlife violation can call the Stop Poaching hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP. Tips are most helpful with specific information such as the date, time, location and specific details about the suspected violation. It is also important to include a physical description of the suspected violator as well as a license plate number and description of any vehicles involved in the incident. Stop Poaching tips can also be reported on the department's Web site at: http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/enforcement/stoppoaching/submitTip.aspx. Tips may result in a reward and informants can chose to remain anonymous.
(Contact: Dennie Hammer (307) 527-7125)
-WGFD-
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE DISCOVERED IN DEER HUNT AREA 42
CODY- Chronic wasting disease (CWD) a fatal neurological disease of deer, elk and moose, has been discovered for a second time in a deer hunt area this fall, bringing the known total of CWD areas in the Big Horn Basin to nine.
A mule deer buck taken on October 15, 2009 in the Spring Creek drainage southeast of Ten Sleep has tested positive for the disease. Deer hunt area 42 is flanked by known positive deer hunt area 30 to the east and deer hunt area 164 to the west. The disease is now known to occur in Big Horn Basin deer hunt areas 37, 41, 42, 46, 120, 122, 125, 127, 164.
After a review of available scientific data, the World Health Organization in December 1999 stated, "There is currently no evidence that CWD in cervidae (deer and elk) is transmitted to humans." In 2004, Dr. Ermias Belay of the Center for Disease Control said, "The lack of evidence of a link between CWD transmission and unusual cases of CJD,(Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human prion disease) despite several epidemiological investigations, suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of CWD to humans is low." Nonetheless to avoid risk, both organizations say parts or products from any animal that looks sick and/or tests positive for CWD should not be eaten.
(Contact: Dennie Hammer (307) 527-7125
-WGFD-
G&F Calendar
Nov. 15, 22, 29 - Youth pheasant hunts, Glendo State Park
Nov. 16 - Deadline for Wyoming Wildlife Photo Contest entries
Nov. 19-20 - Game and Fish Commission Meeting in Laramie; Hilton Garden Inn
Nov. 20 - Northeast Wyoming Sage Grouse Working Group meeting, 9:30 a.m. Gillette College Campus
Nov. 20 - Landowner wildlife habitat workshop, Glendo; Contact Laura Quattrini 970-482-1707 ex 110
Nov. 21 - Youth pheasant hunts, Sand Mesa and Yellowtail Wildlife Habitat Management Areas
-WGFD-
ASK THE GAME & FISH
Q. Do I need to wear blaze orange to hunt birds on Game and Fish habitat management areas and walk in areas?
A. The wearing of fluorescent orange (one outer garment, hat, coat, shirt, sweater, vest) is required when hunting pheasants on WGFD habitat management areas, but is not required for walk-in areas, however the Game and Fish recommends wearing of blaze orange while pheasant hunting as an added safety measure. Orange is also required when hunting pheasants in Glendo State Park and bordering Bureau of Reclamation lands. Blaze orange is not required for hunting waterfowl or other species of birds on WGFD habitat management areas.
-WGFD-
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