CWD sample collection workshops scheduled in Libby, Kalispell
Troy resident Thomas Bertram practices removing the lymph nodes from a white-tailed deer head as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Biologist Tonya Chilton-Radant watches during a Chronic Wasting Disease clinic for hunters at Libby Sports Center Tuesday evening. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is offering two free instructional workshops in northwest Montana for hunters to learn how to collect chronic wasting disease samples from deer, elk and moose.
The first workshop will be from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 in the parking lot of Libby Sports Center (204 W. Ninth St.).
A second workshop will be held in Kalispell on Oct. 23 at the FWP office (490 N. Meridian) from 6-7 p.m.
Participants at the workshops should bring a deer, elk or moose carcass or head with 2-4 inches of neck remaining below the jaw from a recent harvest if they have one.
Frozen heads are difficult to sample and need to be thawed prior to sampling. FWP will provide demonstrations for all participants on removing the lymph nodes used for CWD sampling and those with their own animal heads will get hands-on experience removing these.
FWP staff will be available at each workshop to provide information and answer questions. Regulations, access guides and giveaways will be available.
CWD is a fatal disease that infects members of the deer family, including elk, moose, mule deer and white-tailed deer.
Hunters play a key role in minimizing the spread and providing data. To learn more about a hunter’s role in CWD management, visit fwp.mt.gov/cwd, where individuals can also find an instructional video on how to collect CWD samples and more information on CWD and testing options.
Hunting is the primary tool for monitoring and managing the spread of CWD. Although CWD testing is voluntary in Montana, samples from hunter-harvested deer, elk and moose are critical to FWP’s understanding of this fatal disease.
CWD testing is free and there are multiple options for submitting samples. Hunters can either take the samples themselves and fill out an online hunter submission form and mail them to the Wildlife Health Lab in Bozeman or they can bring the animal carcass (or head) to an FWP regional office or CWD sampling station this fall.
Visit the FWP website for sampling station locations and hours: fwp.mt.gov/cwd.