AUTHORS: Hudman Deborah, MDC; Jason Isabelle, MDC; Aaron Hildreth, MDC
ABSTRACT: Management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is critical to slow the spread of the disease and to protect Missouri’s white-tailed deer population. However, enacting the management is expensive, very demanding of staffing resources, and controversial with some members of the public.
As CWD expands in Missouri, it strains resources needed to manage the disease and necessitates the exploration of new management alternatives. The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) CWD Hunter Harvest Initiative aims to increase deer harvest during the regular hunting season in select areas where CWD has been found to reduce or eliminate the need to conduct post-season targeted removal efforts which are very labor intensive. Engaging local stakeholders in the initiative aims to enhance efficiencies and promote sustainable management of CWD.
The CWD Hunter Harvest Initiative is being piloted in four CWD Core Areas, defined as areas within roughly two miles of a CWD-positive detection. For each core area, a deer harvest goal was established and provided to landowners with property in the core area. Public meetings were held with core area landowners. A public facing website and dashboard were created to allow landowners and hunters to track progress towards the harvest goal.
To count towards the harvest goal, hunters must have had the deer sampled for CWD at a voluntary sampling location or by depositing the deer head in a designated freezer. Landowners were notified if the removal goal was met in a core area. If the goal was not met, post-season targeted removal was conducted.
