A few weeks ago I posted some information about Chronic Wasting Disease
(CWD) in Colorado and the objections of a local animal rights group to
killing of deer as a management option. I got several off list requests
for more information. I'm not directly involved in this, but here is
some more information. I still find it interesting that some feel that
letting CWD spread is preferable to killing deer.
Steven
Deconstruction is like sticking your head
in the sand and insisting that you can see
for miles.
Glen Shilland (one of my students)
2002
-----Original Message-----
From: Therese Glowacki [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 11:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [nature-net] Chronic Wasting Disease and Boulder County Parks
and OpenSpace
On March 12th at 2:00 pm there will be a public hearing with the Boulder
County Commissioners regarding cooperation between the Colorado
Division of Wildlife and Boulder County Parks and Open Space on managing
chronic wasting disease. It will be on the third floor of the County
Courthouse.
Following are more details of the meeting:
Memo
TO: Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)
FROM: Therese Glowacki, Manager, Resource Management Division
PRESENTERS: Mike Miller and Janet George, Colorado Division of
Wildlife
DATE: March 7, 2002
SUBJECT: Chronic Wasting Disease Proposals for Boulder
County Parks
and Open Space
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (Division) will present information on
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Boulder County and would like a
decision from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on how to proceed
on Boulder County Parks and Open Space (POS) property. The Division
would like support from the county to take a proactive approach to
stemming the spread of CWD in Colorado.
At issue is a disease that threatens mule deer, white tailed deer and
elk populations in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. It has the potential
to spread to other areas of Colorado as well as other states. This
disease is a neurological disease thought to be caused by a prion.
Chronic wasting disease is one of a group of maladies that also includes
scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and
Creutzfeldt-Jakob. It is a persistent pathogen that appears to lay
dormant for long periods then reinfect animals.
Boulder County is at the southern end of the current range of this
disease. There have been fewer than a dozen confirmed cases of it in
elk and deer in Boulder County. The most recent was just east of Rabbit
Mountain in July 2001 and in southwest Boulder in November 2001. Of
these cases, only 4 have been south of the St. Vrain River and Highway
66. The Division has identified the area south of these landmarks as
significant because, with proactive measures, the disease may be
curtailed or eliminated.
The Division would like direction on how to proceed on county open
space. Together, we would like to have a plan in place where the
Division could implement appropriate actions now and in the near future.
The Division will continue ongoing surveillance for the disease in
Boulder County by: · Testing road kills
· Testing hunter harvested animals - this is on a voluntary basis in
this area · Biopsy live deer - if, for example, they are radio collared
for movement studies · Test animals that are symptomatic
· Monitor herd movements to determine if animals are migrating to and
from areas with infected animals
If there is a positive elk or deer on or near our property, Division
would like to be able to remove animals that may have associated with
the infected animal. Following are some actions Division would like to
be able to do in order to selectively cull animals: · Trapping, then
euthanizing the animals. The animals would be removed from the property
either before or after euthanizing.
· Darting and euthanizing the animals, again the animals would be
removed from the property. · Sharp shooting to kill the animals, then
removing them from the property. · Division is also currently
encouraging an increase in hunting on private property and public lands
that allow hunting (USFS, BLM, State Parks) in areas where animals have
tested positive.
· Division may also target specific groups of deer and elk in areas
where animals are determined to be at risk of contracting the disease to
reduce the susceptibility of the herd to the infection. This would be
done in close cooperation with POS staff.
The Division feels they can take the above actions discretely. If
necessary, POS could close the property for a day for them to work
without the public present.
Staff recommends supporting the Division in their actions to prevent the
spread of the disease. We also support allowing the Division to
selectively cull the infected or high-risk deer or elk on POS land, if
necessary, if it is done in a humane manner to reduce the potential for
spread of the disease.
ACTION REQUESTED: Approval of the Attached Protocol
Protocol
Protocol for the Management of Chronic Wasting Disease on Boulder County
Parks and Open Space Properties.
I. Background
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a neurologically fatal disease in deer
and elk. It takes months to show clinical signs and can take 18 months
or more to run its course. It is apparently spread by animal-to-animal
contact or animal-fecal contact, but it is also persistent in the
environment. It is a fairly recent problem in Colorado, apparent only
in the last 40 years. The northern Front Range foothills (Larimer
County up into Wyoming) are the most heavily affected areas. This area
is referred to as the "endemic area." It is the Colorado Division of
Wildlife's (Division) goal to halt the spread of this disease into areas
outside the endemic area, and reduce the rate of prevalence in all areas
where it exists. In Boulder County, it must do both. It is also a
place that the Division has identified as a "line in the sand."
Prior to summer of 2001, there had been less than 10 positive tests
recorded for deer and elk in Boulder County, primarily in the northern
part of the county - north of the St. Vrain River. In the last 6 months
new positives have arisen in the Little Thompson drainage (where it
crosses into Boulder County) and in Boulder. Due to the land ownership
patterns of public (USFS and city/municipal), private, and Boulder
County Parks and Open Space (POS), the Division indicates that managing
CWD through hunting seasons alone will not be enough to control the
spread of the disease. Through the implementation of various techniques
and strategies, the Division plans to be able to check the spread of the
disease in Boulder County. The use of appropriate and mutually agreed
upon techniques on POS lands, especially in northern Boulder County,
will be an important part of effective management of this disease.
II. Goal
The Colorado Division of Wildlife's goals concerning Chronic Wasting
Disease are to stop the spread of the disease and reduce the rate of
infection in affected areas to less than 1%. The Division and POS have
agreed to work together to manage this disease on POS lands. This
protocol outlines those arrangements.
III. Information Gathering
The Division is constantly gathering information about deer and elk in
the northern Front Range foothills. This information will identify
problem animals, areas, and movements, and will also help them evaluate
the efficacy of their techniques and actions.
A. POS staff will relate sightings of apparently-infected animals
and road kills to the Division.
B. POS will assist in monitoring deer and elk movements into and
through POS lands, including the ongoing study of the radiocollared elk
herd in northern Boulder County. POS will permit the Division to
capture and mark deer and elk on POS lands and report sightings of those
or other marked animals to the Division.
C. The Division's safe capture and marking of animals on POS lands
may include the use of combinations of: baiting (alfalfa, apples), drop
nets, walk-in traps, tranquilizing darts, neck bands, ear tags, and
radiocollars.
D. POS personnel may be available to provide assistance and manage
visitors during capture operations. POS and the Division will choose
low visitation days to conduct activities on POS properties open to
public use (no weekends or holidays).
IV. Removal Actions
Identification of undesirable movements into or out of the endemic area,
observation of apparently-infected individuals or groups, and dead
animals that test positive will trigger action by the Division. If
these actions are on or around POS lands the Division will contact POS
Wildlife Staff to present options and actions. Sometimes the problem
may be solved outside POS.
The Division's best science has determined that removal (killing) of
infected or apparently-infected animals, and their close associates, is
currently the only technology available to actively combat the disease.
The 3 removal techniques the Division would like the ability to use
depending on the situation are:
Trapping and euthanizing
Darting and euthanizing
Professional sharpshooting
A. The Division and POS will agree on a course of action specific
to the property and situation.
B. Should a removal action be required, only the target individuals and
their close associates will be removed. These animals will be removed
from the property, sampled for lab testing, and properly disposed of by
the Division.
C. Approval by the Director of Parks and Open Space is required for
removals of 10 or more animals in a single action or situation, or any
sharpshooting.
D. POS personnel will be on-site during any removal operations to
provide assistance and manage visitors. It may be necessary to
temporarily close a portion of an "Open" property or a trail to safely
allow a removal operation. Trailhead/parking lot notification will be
mandatory. Agricultural tenants will be notified in advance of removal
actions on leased properties.
E. POS and the Division may determine that a removal action may be
better accomplished away from certain locations or at specific favorable
locations. In such cases, animals may be herded by personnel on foot or
horseback.
V. Logistics
POS Staff and this protocol shall regulate permissions and access for
the Division's Chronic Wasting Disease Management actions on POS lands.
A. Division personnel shall have written permission from POS for
each trapping, monitoring, or removal action on POS lands.
B. This permission shall outline dates, access, vehicles (and
vehicle access), traps, and techniques. It will also describe what
actions/efforts POS will provide.
C. POS will inform the Boulder County Sheriff's Dispatch before
each action.
D. The Division will attempt to minimize activities near trails or
along access roads to 'public' properties or use screening vegetation or
topography (where feasible).
E. The Division will attempt to place traps close to internal roads
and tracks to reduce off-road travel and 'roadmaking.'
F. Radiotracking, herding, and checking, setting, or baiting traps
shall be done on foot or horseback in areas without existing roads.
G. Vehicle access may be necessary to remote (or roadless) portions
of POS properties to transport traps or animals.
VI. Reporting
A. The Division will provide an individual report of each removal
or trapping effort (action, location, numbers, and date(s)) to the POS
Wildlife Staff within a week of its conclusion.
B. The Division will brief the Director and the Parks and Open Space
Advisory Committee on a bi-annual basis (in March and September) of
actions taken on and around POS lands, and update any new information
about the disease. It is possible that no actions will occur on POS
lands in a given 6-month period, such that an update may only be
required on an annual basis.
C. The Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee will be informed by POS
of removal actions greater than 10 individuals at the next
regularly-scheduled Advisory Committee meeting.
E. The Division and POS will work to revise this protocol as
needed, with mandatory bi-annual meetings (in March and September)
following the Director/POSAC briefings.
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