State, local officials continue efforts to slow spread of CWD

It’s not time to take the foot off the pedal.

That’s the assertion of Montana wildlife officials when it comes to dealing with Chronic Wasting Disease. The disease is transmitted directly through animal-to-animal contact, and indirectly through contact with objects or environment contaminated with infectious material (including saliva, urine, feces and carcasses of CWD-infected animals).

While local and regional wildlife management officials are generally pleased with slowing the spread of CWD in Libby and northwest Montana, there are no plans to retreat on how they deal with the affliction.

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease affecting the nervous system of mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Biologist Tonya Chilton-Radandt, based in Libby, was one of four agency officials who spoke Monday and Tuesday in Libby about the disease and their continued efforts to control the spread.

“We have a great resource here (white-tailed deer) and we do not want to lose it,” Chilton-Radandt said.

Whitetails, which are the species mainly afflicted by the disease, are the most sought big game animal in Region 1. According to FWP figures, 20% of the state’s harvest of whitetails is in this region.

Chilton-Radandt was joined by FWP Region 1 Wildlife Manager Neil Anderson, Emily Almberg, a disease ecologist in the FWP’s Wildlife Division, and Austin Wieseler, a wildlife health biologist for the agency who works in Helena.

The quartet made presentations to Libby City Council Monday and to the general public Tuesday.

“We’re not seeing it spread outside these zones, so that’s encouraging,” Anderson said. “But that doesn’t mean we are letting up on our efforts.”

The zones Anderson referred to are the Libby Surveillance Area (LSA) and the Libby CWD Management Zone (MZ).

The LSA was established by FWP and the agency began trapping and removing deer from inside city limits in late 2019 after the municipality approved a resolution. In May 2021, Libby city officials approved a deer management plan that aimed to eliminate sickly and aggressive deer, reduce deer damage to private property, prevent illegal feeding of deer and educate the public about the proper disposal of deer carcasses.

“We are really appreciative of how quickly the city moved to adopt a management plan and approve the resolution to allow us to begin trapping deer,” Chilton-Radandt said. “That allowed us to begin removing deer with the disease and getting an idea of the percentage of animals that had it.”

The Libby CWD Management Zone includes areas in the county that are in a 10-mile radius from where the first CWD-positive deer was found. It includes Hunter Districts 100, 103 and 104.

The Libby Surveillance Area was established to help with surveillance of CWD in areas in and around Libby city limits where legal means of harvest is either unlikely or impossible.

In the Libby Surveillance Area in 2019-20, 13% of samples from white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD, the highest in Montana at the time. It dropped to 9% one year later and to 8% in 2021-22.

In the Libby CWD Management Zone, 4% of whitetails tested positive in 2019-20 while it was 5% the last two years.

The goal, Anderson said, is not to eliminate CWD, but to reduce it to less than 5% inside city limits.

Wieseler said Wisconsin spent a lot of money to try and completely eliminate CWD after it was discovered there in 2002.

“But it didn’t work and now they’re doing what we are doing,” he said. “In Montana, it’s not possible for us to spend a lot of money. Managing it is our best choice.”

Anderson said monitoring of CWD will continue as well as deer trapping inside city limits.

Deer that did not test positive were donated to a local food bank.

Chilton-Radandt said people who see sickly deer should not hesitate to call. For deer inside city limits, the number is 293-3343, ext. 0. For other areas, she said people can call her at 291-0568 or Game Warden Sawyer Johnson at 293-6539.

“If we don’t answer, please leave a message so we can get back to you,” Chilton-Radandt said.