EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

It is the purpose of this plan to provide flexible, adaptable direction for management of CWD with minimal impact on Wyoming’s wildlife and public.The plan will be reviewed annually and updated as the CWD situation in Wyoming changes and additional information becomes available.The plan consists of three goals: Disease Management, Applied Research, and Public Information.

Based upon the current understanding of CWD in free-ranging deer and elk, eradication currently is not a justified or realistic disease management objective within the identified endemic area.

The Department will work to prevent the spread of CWD and, if possible, reduce the prevalence of the disease in the endemic area and cooperate and coordinate CWD management with other state and federal agencies.

The Department will conduct surveillance to determine spatial distribution and prevalence of CWD, and to cooperate and coordinate CWD research with other state and federal agencies.

The Department will use all available communication tools to provide timely, complete, and accurate information about CWD.

Although there are concerns or perceptions by some people that CWD could be a livestock or human health threat, there currently is no credible supporting evidence; consequently, this plan addresses CWD as a disease of deer and elk.

The Department will continue to work cooperatively with the Wyoming Department of Public Health and other human health organizations worldwideto monitor human health risks of CWD and to provide up-to-date information to the public.

Many very expensive CWD management, research, and public outreach activities are driven by the recent consideration of CWD as a national emergency; therefore, federal funding is appropriate and will be necessary for complete implementation of this plan.

II. INTRODUCTION

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of deer and elk and constitutes a threat to the health of mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk populations in the endemic and adjacent areas and, potentially, throughout the remainder of Wyoming and elsewhere. The CWD endemic area in Wyoming is currently defined as that area where CWD has historically been found, persists and we get positive tests each year. It is comprised of deer hunt areas 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 73 and elk hunt areas 5, 6 and 7 (attachment 1). The CWD zone is currently defined as those areas adjacent to the CWD endemic area where there has been at least one positive test for CWD in deer. It is comprised of deer areas 10, 14,15, 16, 22, 55, 57, 88, and 158 (attachment 1). The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is responsible for managingement of Wyoming’s wildlife. Management of disease in wildlife is an important responsibility of the Department. Brucellosis in elk and bison is one example, and CWD is another wildlife disease that has generated tremendous concern, both in Wyoming and throughout North America. It is the purpose of this plan to provide flexible, adaptable direction for management of CWD with minimal impact on Wyoming’s wildlife and public. The plan will be reviewed annually and updated as the CWD situation in Wyoming changes and additional information becomes available; it consists of three goals:

1. Disease Management
2. Applied Research
3. Public Information

III. DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Based upon the current understanding of CWD in free-ranging deer and elk, eradication is not a realistic disease management objective within the identified endemic area. On an experimental basis, the Colorado Division of Wildlife is attempting to manage specific deer and elk populations to reduce infectivity rates. Wyoming supports these efforts and is managing deer Hunt Area 64 in accordance with existing management objectives to serve as a control to the Colorado experiment. Through adoption of this plan, Wyoming has chosen an adaptive management strategy allowing flexibility to alter disease management activities depending on future research results. Currently, the Disease Management component of this goal addresses 13 objectives. The Department will use the best scientific information available and will take all necessary and reasonable steps to achieve these objectives:

A. Manage to reduce or prevent dispersal of CWD beyond the endemic area via mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk movements.

Site-specific evaluations for the endemic area will be completed by Jan. 1, 2003. These evaluations will consider the possibility and probability of deer and elk movement, presence or absence of natural and/or man-made barriers to movement, presence and susceptibility of adjacent deer and elk populations, and, if necessary and practical, potential to minimize deer and elk movement via localized population reduction.

B. Manage to prevent dispersal of CWD beyond the CWD zone via movement of carcasses.

There is an unproven concern that CWD may be moved to new areas by the transport of certain animal parts. To minimize this possibility, the Department will recommend hunters transport only the following items from the CWD zone: cut and wrapped meat, boned meat, animal quarters or other portions with no part of the spinal column or head attached, hides without the head, cleaned (no meat or other tissue attached) skull plates with antlers attached, antlers with no meat or other tissue attached. Future data regarding movement of intact carcasses may lead to de-emphasizing or expanding this objective or promulgation of a regulation to restrict movement of intact carcasses from the CWD zone.

Instruction on how to properly dispose of deer and elk parts, why this is important, and discouraging transportation of intact deer and elk carcasses from CWD zone will be prepared by August 8, 2002. These instructions may be included in the Hunter Information Booklets and regulations, information made available to hunters, taxidermists, meat processors, and through news releases. Recommendations for disposal of skeletal and central nervous system tissues will be included.

C. Restrict translocation of live free-ranging or captive deer and elk from the CWD zone.

Live deer and elk from the wild have not been moved under a permit issued from the Department or by the Department or from the Sybille Wildlife Research and Conservation Education Unit for many years and will not be allowed, except as required for research and only to approved research facilities where CWD already exists. No live deer or elk will be transplanted from the CWD zone for any purpose other than research.

D. Remove deer and elk suspected of being affected by CWD.

Removal of free-ranging deer and elk displaying symptoms of CWD may reduce spread of CWD and will contribute to statewide targeted surveillance and provide necropsy and research material. Department personnel, statewide, will kill and submit to necropsy, where possible, all animals suspected of having CWD. Loss of body condition and behavioral changes are the most prominent signs of CWD; other signs include increased water consumption and urination, increased salivation with resultant slobbering or drooling, and incoordination.

E. Discourage private feeding of deer and elk within the CWD zone.

Based on experience with captive deer and elk, there is very good evidence that CWD is more efficiently transmitted when these animals are concentrated. Private feeding may lead to localized concentrations of environmental contamination with the CWD agent. Private feeding of wildlife is not illegal in Wyoming, but the Department will continue to educate the public on the unintended consequences of private feeding through television, press releases, radio, presentations to the public, and personal contacts.

F. Appropriate Department personnel will participate in intradepartmental, intrastate, and interstate CWD coordination meetings.

Sharing research results and coordination among federal and state agencies is important in management of a disease that does not respect jurisdictional boundaries. Department administrators, managers, veterinarians, and researchers will participate in appropriate meetings on CWD. Information will be shared with Department personnel and, when consistent with Wyoming’s CWD Plan, interstate CWD plans will be prepared and implemented.

G. Maintain the ban on captive deer and elk facilities in Wyoming and the effectiveness of the Chapter 10 regulation.

Chapter 10 Regulation, “Regulation for Importation, Possession, Confinement, Transportation, Sale and Disposition of Live Wildlife,” addresses CWD in relation to the only elk farm permitted in Wyoming by statute, which is outside the CWD zone. Any captive cervid imported into Wyoming must originate from facilities certified to be free of CWD for the five years previous to the requested date of importation. This restriction is intended to prevent spread of CWD. There is no captive, commercial elk or deer farm within the CWD zone, and future establishment of captive, commercial facilities within the CWD zone or elsewhere in Wyoming will not be permitted.

H. Hunting will continue to be the primary management tool for management of CWD in deer and elk.

Since Wyoming was a territory, big game populations have been managed through regulated hunter harvest. Big game populations present today are largely the result of regulated hunting in Wyoming. This critical wildlife management tool not only has a long history in Wyoming but also throughout North America. Hunting is still used to manage big game populations. Since 1997, hunting has also been used to help the Department monitor the prevalence and distribution of CWD. The flexibility inherent in Wyoming’s hunting regulations allows the

Department to adapt seasons to meet specific needs. Seasons can be designed so that populations increase, decrease, or stay the same. This flexibility, combined with the long and rich hunting heritage the State of Wyoming enjoys, makes the use of hunter harvest the preferred tool in managing CWD. The Department cannot, however, guarantee that no risk exists relative to human consumption of animals that may have contracted CWD. Further, the Department will continue to work cooperatively with the Department of Public Health to monitor health risks of CWD to humans.

I. Rely on healthy habitats to discourage unnecessary crowding of deer and elk within the CWD endemic area.

Habitat protection and enhancement within the CWD endemic area will be encouraged according to the Department’s Strategic Habitat Plan. Healthy habitats not only result in vigorous deer and elk populations, but should result in more dispersed populations, less emigration, and reduced transmission of CWD.

J. Use targeted and/or hunter-killed surveillance to identify new foci of CWD outside the CWD zone.

Surveillance using targeted and/or random, hunter-killed methods will be conducted outside the CWD zone to accomplish early identification of any new focus of CWD. A new focus of infection will be considered the location outside the endemic area where one or more test-positive deer or elk is located.

K. The Department will attempt to eradicate CWD in any focus area outside the CWD endemic area.

If a focus of infection is detected, sufficient deer or elk will be killed by hunters and/or agency personnel to determine the extent of the infection and to attempt to eradicate CWD in the new focus area.

L. Consideration will be given to efforts to reduce prevalence of CWD in the endemic area.

It currently has not been established that it is possible to reduce the prevalence of CWD in an endemic area, and large-scale efforts to reduce prevalence of CWD could have more severe effects on deer and elk populations than does CWD. Ongoing research in Colorado, and elsewhere, will be monitored. When and where it is determined to be possible and appropriate, the Department may implement management actions intended to reduce or stabilize the prevalence and/or prevent dispersal of CWD (see III.A) in portions or the entirety of the endemic area.

M. Construct a double fence around the Sybille Wildlife Research and Conservation Education Unit.

Sybille is crucial as a CWD research facility, but it could serve as a source of increased local prevalence of CWD or an obstacle to efforts to reduce the prevalence of CWD because of its location within the endemic area. Therefore, the Unit perimeter will be double-fenced to prevent any opportunity for ingress or egress and nose-to-nose contact by captive and free-ranging deer and elk. Because of the cost, this will be accomplished, as funding is available and may have to be done incrementally.

IV. APPLIED RESEARCH

Management of CWD will require a more thorough understanding of the disease; how it is spread between ungulates of the same species, the relationship between CWD, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), whether the disease has the capability to penetrate species barriers, and other critical components.

The Department will support and conduct, on a priority basis, applied research that will facilitate continued expansion of knowledge of CWD. The Department will continue monitoring research that is occurring throughout the world on CWD and TSE’s to ensure the Department has the most current and comprehensive data available.

In addition to involvement in ongoing collaborative CWD research (CWD pathogenicity in elk, susceptibility of cattle to natural infection with CWD, role of dose in development of CWD in elk, and distribution and prevalence of CWD in deer and elk), the Department, in cooperation with the Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Disease Research Partnership has identified research priorities and is seeking funding to initiate these studies, which could be conducted in collaboration with neighboring states. A mechanism has been established, through the Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Disease Research Partnership, so money specified for CWD research can be received, matched, and used for collaborative research.

A. Determine spatial distribution of CWD in Wyoming.

The Department has been monitoring CWD since 1983 using targeted surveillance and hunter harvested game animals to determine distribution and prevalence. Ongoing surveillance will be integrated with expanded studies using GIS technology and intensive sampling to monitor the distribution and prevalence of CWD in Wyoming.

B. Dynamics of CWD in free-ranging white-tailed deer.

For a variety of reasons, white-tailed deer may be “CWD vectors.” Movement patterns of white-tailed deer from the CWD zone would be monitored using telemetry. These data would be used to estimate the risk of CWD moving into new areas with white-tailed deer to evaluate the need for different management strategies in mule deer and white-tailed deer and developing strategies to prevent spread of CWD via white-tailed deer.

C. The role of environmental contamination in sustaining CWD in free-ranging deer and elk.

These studies would integrate with ongoing collaborative studies investigating environmental contamination. These data are critical for developing CWD management strategies.

D. Susceptibility of domestic sheep and goats to CWD by natural routes of exposure.

Ongoing studies are addressing the susceptibility of cattle to CWD, but no study is investigating susceptibility of domestic sheep and goats to CWD.

E. Continue monitoring spatial distribution and prevalence of CWD.

This ongoing research provides data on prevalence of CWD within the endemic area, including deer Hunt Area 64, which serves as a control area for Colorado’s experimental efforts to reduce prevalence of CWD. Hunter-harvest and/or targeted surveillance statewide will be planned yearly to better define boundaries of the CWD zone and identify new focus areas.

F. Appropriate Department personnel will participate in intradepartmental, intrastate, and interstate CWD research meetings.

Sharing research results among federal and state agencies is important in understanding and management of a disease that does not respect jurisdictional boundaries. Department administrators, managers, veterinarians, and researchers will participate in appropriate meetings on CWD. Research information will be prioritized, shared and, where practicable, incorporated into interstate CWD plans.

V. PUBLIC INFORMATION

Chronic wasting disease is of interest locally, nationally, and internationally. As the public agency charged with managing CWD in Wyoming’s wildlife populations, the Department has an obligation to provide timely, complete, and accurate information about all facets of the disease to the public in Wyoming and throughout the United States. It is difficult to provide accurate and up-to-date information regarding this rapidly changing issue. Because of these challenges, continuing and effective communication is paramount to any plan to manage CWD. Therefore, a top priority will be effective communication with the general public, constituent groups, and the press about CWD. The Department will use all available communication tools to provide timely, complete, and accurate information about CWD.

A. Continue ongoing information and education efforts in Wyoming.

The Department has had an ongoing and expanding information and education effort since early to mid 1980s. Past and ongoing efforts include:

· Numerous and frequent news releases on CWD.
· Numerous responses to telephone inquiries.
· Numerous interviews with reporters, writers, radio, and television.
· Television and radio stories.
· Information on CWD on Department’s Web site.
· Presentations about CWD to Department personnel.
· Numerous articles on CWD in Department publications.
· Informative letters sent to taxidermists and game meat processors within Wyoming.
· Informative letters to landowners who allow hunting within CWD endemic area.
· Informative letters to limited quota deer license recipients in CWD endemic area.
· Informative letters sent to hunters who can be identified if their hunter-harvest animal is determined to be CWD-positive in surveillance research; they are advised not to consume the animal.
· Information regarding CWD in Big Game Application packets and deer and elk hunting orders.
· Constantly advising hunters in the CWD area not to harvest apparently ill animals; to wear rubber gloves when field dressing carcasses; to avoid or minimize contact with central nervous system tissues; to disinfect knives and saws soiled with central nervous system tissues; to debone carcasses when processing meat; and to not consume central nervous system tissues (brain, spinal cord), spleen, lymph nodes associated with the gastrointestinal tract, and eyes.
· Production and updating of an educational/training video on CWD.
· Preparation of a pamphlet for biologists on how to sample deer and elk for CWD.
· Preparation and updating of a PowerPoint presentation on CWD for use by biologists, information specialists, etc. · Preparation and updating of a Department Briefing Statement on CWD.

B. Information regarding CWD and human health.

· In 2001 the Food and Drug Administration Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee found no evidence that CWD poses a risk to human health, (Transcripts of open meeting January 18, 2001, Bethesda, Maryland, 182 pp.) The committee was asked, “Are there scientific data or other scientific evidence for transmission of a TSE to people consuming or using products made from deer or elk with chronic wasting disease?” All members of the committee voted no. However, the committee added the caveat that, "we haven't proven that there is not a problem." World Health Organization said, “There is currently no evidence the CWD in Cervidae is transmitted to humans.” (World Health Organization, 2000, consultation on public health and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies: Epidemiology, risk and research requirements. WHO/CDS/CSR/APH/2000.2, 1-3 December 1999, Geneva, Switzerland, 52 pp. Section 4: CWD). Recommendation 14 of this report stated, “no part or product of any animal with evidence of CWD or other TSEs should be fed to any species (human or any domestic or captive animal).” The Department, however, recognizes that each potential hunter should make an informed decision prior to hunting in the CWD area. Providing information relative to CWD to those who choose to hunt in the CWD area is critical. Individuals contemplating hunting in the CWD area should have access to the best scientific information available. This information must be accurate, current, and understandable by the general public. As a component of the comprehensive Information and Education Plan (see E below), the Department will develop specific plans to ensure current information relative to CWD is available to all prospective hunters in the CWD area. These plans will include, at a minimum, dissemination of information through application booklets, traditional media press releases, Internet postings, and direct mail to successful deer and elk license applicants in the CWD area. Information about the availability and logistics of testing animals taken in the CWD area and precautionary guidelines provided by public health experts will be provided to those choosing to hunt in the CWD area.

The Department will not donate meat from deer and elk killed within the CWD area to local food banks or those in need. The Department provides information about CWD to hunters planning hunts in Wyoming. A great deal of effort is made to ensure hunters know they will be hunting in an area where CWD has been documented. Providing this information is a mechanism that allows for informed consent. Because there currently is no way to obtain informed consent from those who would be consuming donated meat, meat from the endemic area will not be donated. This includes animals from Sybille, confiscations, and road kills.

C. Testing of hunter-harvested game animals.

Testing of deer and elk provides two primary benefits. First, testing provides critical data for management and research. Second, when the hunter provides adequate and legible information, testing allows a hunter to choose whether or not to consume an animal that has tested positive for CWD. Both of these are important, yet distinct, benefits.

Hunters who participate in the Department’s CWD surveillance by providing deer and elk heads for this research and who provide adequate contact information, will be notified of test results. The Wyoming Game & Fish Commission does not accept any liability or responsibility for the accuracy or results obtained through the Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance program. CWD sampling is done for surveillance purposes only and results are provided to hunters purely for informational purposes. Twelve or more weeks may be required to complete tests for CWD. Because of the large number of samples, the fact that handling of samples cannot be guaranteed, and that reading of the samples is conducted by Wyoming State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the Wyoming Game & Fish Commission make no assurances as to the accuracy of the results. If an animal submitted to the Department’s CWD surveillance program tests positive and adequate contact information is provided, the hunter will be notified of the positive test result. The notification says in part:

“Although there is no evidence that humans are susceptible to CWD, you may wish to discard the meat. This is based on the World Health Organization, 2000, consultation on public health and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies: Epidemiology, risk and research requirements. WHO/CDS/CSR/APH/2000.2, 1-3 December 1999, Geneva, Switzerland, 52 pp. Section 4: CWD, “The consultation felt that there is currently no evidence that CWD in Cervidae is transmitted to humans.” However, Recommendation 14 of this report stated, “no part or product of any animal with evidence of CWD or other TSEs should be fed to any species (human or any domestic or captive animal).” If you dispose of an animal, you will not be subject to Wyoming’s “waste of edible portions” law (W.S. 23-3-303). The State of Wyoming does not guarantee the meat quality of wild animals; therefore, a new hunting license will not be issued if you decide to destroy your meat.”

The Department will not be responsible for the testing of individual hunters’ animals. The Department will provide information regarding public testing facility locations and costs for hunters who choose to have their animals individually tested at their own expense. If the hunter wishes to have their results handled individually, they may submit their sample to the Wyoming State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for a fee.

D. Comprehensive CWD Information and Education Plan.

By Jan 1, 2003, the Department will prepare a comprehensive, integrated, and proactive CWD Information and Education Plan. In addition to incorporating ongoing efforts (see A above), it will clearly define CWD-related problems, define objectives and outcomes, identify target audiences, and include proactive methods to develop relationships with regional and local media. This plan will include, at a minimum, dissemination of information through application booklets, traditional media press releases, Internet postings, and direct mail to successful deer and elk license applicants in the CWD area. Consistent Department employee education and training will be an important component of the plan.

VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

VII. FUNDING

Chronic wasting disease management, research, and public information activities are expensive, and the Department’s current financial status will not allow complete implementation of this plan without additional funding. Federal funding specific for CWD will be sought. In addition, options for Department revenue enhancements for high priority programs, including CWD, will be explored.