ASHLAND - The first confirmed case of Chronic Wasting Disease in northern Wisconsin was reported Friday, and the news spread quickly. Officials within the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of Natural Resources moved promptly to lay out a plan of action while local residents are wondering what comes next.
The DNR has set up sampling stations at eight locations near the 900-acre Twin Creeks shooting preserve where preliminary testing determined the three-year old whitetail buck had contracted the disease. All cervids sixteen months or older that die from any cause in a facility such as Twin Creeks must be tested for CWD.
Six of the sampling stations are located in Ashland County with the other two in Bayfield County. The agency hopes to gather samples on every adult deer registered. The department is also working with local meat processors, taxidermists and car kill deer contractors to collect samples.
Officials are particularly concerned about Twin Creeks since an inspection in October found several breaches in the fence, suggesting that deer may have moved in and out of the preserve. Deer were found in proximity to the fence that had either ear tags or slits, indicating they came from a confined facility.
Two other fenced properties containing deer are located nearby, one three miles and the other five miles away, according to Davin Lopez, CWD coordinator for the DNR.
The fence inspection was prompted by a land sale that occurred when the previous owner, Jack Martinson of Ashland, sold the property. The new owners are believed to be from the Milwaukee area, according to Bayfield resident Alvin Bochler.
Bochler is quite familiar with the property, a small portion of which falls within Bayfield County. His son owns property that abuts the shooting preserve.
Bochler is not surprised that the fence was compromised. "It's rugged right there, mostly all forested and creek bottoms" he said. "At its best it would be hard to maintain fences with those steep ravines." Bochler also noted that the facility is protected only by a single fence.
While DATCP and DNR officials have not received the final results, the chances they will come back as a false positive are "extremely remote," Lopez said.
"The IHC (Immunohisto Chemistry) is the gold standard for testing," he noted. "They (USDA-certified lab in Iowa) are doing a bunch of extra tests to make sure," he added.
"While we don't have the final test results at this time, we feel it's prudent to do the surveillance based upon the preliminary information," said Mike Zeckmeister, DNR northern region wildlife supervisor. "The upcoming deer season is really the best opportunity for local hunters to assist in rapidly and efficiently collecting these samples."
The most recent round of surveillance testing in the northern region was conducted in 2007-2008, Lopez said. No positives were found.
So, what lies ahead if the test is confirmed positive?
"There will probably be a depopulation order (for the facility) coming from DATCP," according to Lopez. He expressed caution about how long that might take, however, perhaps due to the extended legal process that accompanied a similar effort at the Buckhorn Flats hunting preserve in Portage County several years ago.
That case languished in the courts for more than two years before it was resolved. Scores of deer were subsequently shot and then tested positive for the disease. Others (most, if not all, bucks) mysteriously disappeared before officials were able to complete the depopulation effort.
Lopez anticipates a ban on baiting and feeding in Bayfield and Ashland counties but probably not until next year. Officials will also consider other measures contained in the CWD 15-Year Plan recently approved by the Natural Resources Board.
"But not this year," Lopez pointed out. "It's too late with the deer season coming up this weekend."
Bruce Prentice, a biology teacher at Ashland High School and a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, expects hunters in the area will cooperate fully with the testing effort. He assisted at one of the test sites during the most recent surveillance operation. "People understand that it's important," he said.
"The possibility that free ranging deer may have been exposed to the disease is why we feel additional local disease surveillance is very important," Zeckmeister said. "We're counting on help from the hunters to get the needed samples."
If the results are confirmed positive, DATCP and DNR officials will decide then on further action. DATCP is responsible for activities inside the fence while DNR assumes responsibility for the fence and beyond.
Final results from the Iowa laboratory are expected this Friday.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
The DNR has set up sampling stations at eight locations near the 900-acre Twin Creeks shooting preserve where preliminary testing determined the three-year old whitetail buck had contracted the disease. All cervids sixteen months or older that die from any cause in a facility such as Twin Creeks must be tested for CWD.
Six of the sampling stations are located in Ashland County with the other two in Bayfield County. The agency hopes to gather samples on every adult deer registered. The department is also working with local meat processors, taxidermists and car kill deer contractors to collect samples.
Officials are particularly concerned about Twin Creeks since an inspection in October found several breaches in the fence, suggesting that deer may have moved in and out of the preserve. Deer were found in proximity to the fence that had either ear tags or slits, indicating they came from a confined facility.
Two other fenced properties containing deer are located nearby, one three miles and the other five miles away, according to Davin Lopez, CWD coordinator for the DNR.
The fence inspection was prompted by a land sale that occurred when the previous owner, Jack Martinson of Ashland, sold the property. The new owners are believed to be from the Milwaukee area, according to Bayfield resident Alvin Bochler.
Bochler is quite familiar with the property, a small portion of which falls within Bayfield County. His son owns property that abuts the shooting preserve.
Bochler is not surprised that the fence was compromised. "It's rugged right there, mostly all forested and creek bottoms" he said. "At its best it would be hard to maintain fences with those steep ravines." Bochler also noted that the facility is protected only by a single fence.
While DATCP and DNR officials have not received the final results, the chances they will come back as a false positive are "extremely remote," Lopez said.
"The IHC (Immunohisto Chemistry) is the gold standard for testing," he noted. "They (USDA-certified lab in Iowa) are doing a bunch of extra tests to make sure," he added.
"While we don't have the final test results at this time, we feel it's prudent to do the surveillance based upon the preliminary information," said Mike Zeckmeister, DNR northern region wildlife supervisor. "The upcoming deer season is really the best opportunity for local hunters to assist in rapidly and efficiently collecting these samples."
The most recent round of surveillance testing in the northern region was conducted in 2007-2008, Lopez said. No positives were found.
So, what lies ahead if the test is confirmed positive?
"There will probably be a depopulation order (for the facility) coming from DATCP," according to Lopez. He expressed caution about how long that might take, however, perhaps due to the extended legal process that accompanied a similar effort at the Buckhorn Flats hunting preserve in Portage County several years ago.
That case languished in the courts for more than two years before it was resolved. Scores of deer were subsequently shot and then tested positive for the disease. Others (most, if not all, bucks) mysteriously disappeared before officials were able to complete the depopulation effort.
Lopez anticipates a ban on baiting and feeding in Bayfield and Ashland counties but probably not until next year. Officials will also consider other measures contained in the CWD 15-Year Plan recently approved by the Natural Resources Board.
"But not this year," Lopez pointed out. "It's too late with the deer season coming up this weekend."
Bruce Prentice, a biology teacher at Ashland High School and a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, expects hunters in the area will cooperate fully with the testing effort. He assisted at one of the test sites during the most recent surveillance operation. "People understand that it's important," he said.
"The possibility that free ranging deer may have been exposed to the disease is why we feel additional local disease surveillance is very important," Zeckmeister said. "We're counting on help from the hunters to get the needed samples."
If the results are confirmed positive, DATCP and DNR officials will decide then on further action. DATCP is responsible for activities inside the fence while DNR assumes responsibility for the fence and beyond.
Final results from the Iowa laboratory are expected this Friday.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
