Brief by Central Staff
Wildlife – June 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
All deer killed by hunters in the Gunnison Basin this fall will be required to be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease.
CWD has not been found in the Gunnison area, but the Colorado Division of Wildlife hasn’t conducted enough tests to be confident that it’s not present in those herds.
It’s illegal for us to feed wildlife, but when there’s a hard winter, the Division may feed deer. However, when deer congregate in a feeding area, they could spread CWD.
The Gunnison area – game management units 54, 55, 551, 66, and 67 – just endured a hard winter for the first time in this millennium, and the DOW figures this is a good time to test enough deer for CWD to get a statistically valid sample.
So if you get a deer license for those units, you’ll get a letter explaining the mandatory testing requirement. Because the testing is mandatory, the usual $15 fee will be waived, and hunters will be told where to take the deer heads for CWD testing.
According to regional wildlife manager Tom Spezze, the results will tell the DOW whether it should feed deer in that area the next time there’s a severe winter, thereby preventing a big die-off.
