Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was detected for the first time ever in Unit 14, within the Slate Cr Drainage.  Since that time IDFG has been busy implementing measures developed in our 2021 Strategy for Chronic Wasting Disease plan: Chronic Wasting Disease Strategy | Idaho Fish and Game.  Public outreach is and will be an important part of managing CWD together.

The 1st of many conversations to come, IDFG will be holding an information workshop on CWD on March 10 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Senior Citizens Center, 108 Grangeville Truck Rte., Grangeville, ID. This meeting will be open to the public. Topics will include: CWD Disease Information; Recent Aerial Surveys in  Elk City zone;  Statewide CWD Strategies; and follow up with recent CWD season proposals. We will conclude the night with time to answer questions and concerns. 

IDFG staff will also be hosting a landowner meeting about CWD management on Thursday, March 10 from 1-3 p.m. at the Confluence Store, 125 Hoots Ln, Whitebird, ID.  This will be the first of several conversations we hope to have with unit 14 landowners.  

Hunters and other interested parties can comment on proposed changes to the 2022 deer and elk seasons from Feb. 22 through March 13, proposals for 2022 deer and elk season changes . Proposals are in response to the first-ever detection of Chronic Wasting Disease in Unit 14, as well as a recurrence of another disease that unexpectedly reduced whitetails herds in Clearwater Region. The commission is scheduled to decide on changes at its March 23-24 meeting at 600 S. Walnut St. in Boise.

Statewide, Fish and Game tested more than 2,500 animals for CWD in 2021. Fish and Game has been testing for the disease since 1997 and sampled more than 20,000 animals during that time.

CWD is a neurological disease that affects deer, elk, moose and caribou. There is no practical live test for the disease, so only samples taken from dead animals can be used. Although new to Idaho, CWD is found in 29 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, including neighboring states Montana, Wyoming and Utah. Learn more about CWD in Idaho at idfg.idaho.gov/cwd.

CWD affects the nervous system in deer, elk, moose and caribou and is caused by abnormal, misfolded proteins called prions that accumulate within the spinal column and brain, causing progressive damage to those cells and brain damage. CWD has a very long incubation period (time between infection and observable disease) that typically takes at least 10 months for a deer or elk to show signs of illness.

For questions on these meeting or proposals, contact the Lewiston Fish and Game office at (208) 799-5010.