2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Catherine Cummings, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach & Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Adam Janke, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; Tyler Harms, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Jace Elliott, Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Rachel Ruden, Iowa Department of Natural Resources & Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

ABSTRACT: As Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) continues to pose a significant threat to Iowa’s white–tailed deer populations, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach are committed to developing innovative outreach programs to enhance awareness and foster collaboration. With an increasing number of counties detecting CWD, our efforts focus on educating hunters, landowners, and the public on best practices for hunting and processing, while actively involving them in disease management. Key initiatives include 1) the Chronic Wasting Disease Ambassador Program, which empowers local stakeholders to serve as educators within their communities; 2) public meetings that facilitate direct communication between DNR staff, hunters, and landowners; 3) the integration of CWD education into youth and adult hunter education programs; 4) the development of county CWD resource guides tailored to each county; and 5) CWD incentive hunts in core disease hotspots to provide hunters with landowner access for additional deer harvest in the late season. Through these initiatives, the Iowa DNR and ISU Extension aim to not only share critical information, but also inspire proactive community participation in managing the spread of CWD. By fostering open dialogue and collaborative engagement, we seek to create a well-informed, adaptive, and responsive network of Iowans–hunters, landowners, and conservationists–equipped to tackle the challenges of CWD and contribute to the disease’s long-term management.