(The Center Square) – The eastern division of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife has partnered a local chapter of a national backcountry hunting and fishing club to help ensure that chronic wasting disease doesn’t get a foothold in the state.
Up to 100 hunters will receive a multi-season deer tag, which they can use the following season, for participating in the program. Hunters with multi-season tags can hunt all three weapon choices – modern firearm, muzzleloader and archery – season permitting.
Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is a fatal illness for deer, elk and moose that is transmitted between animals through bodily fluids as well as contaminated soil, food or water. To date, there have been no documented cases of CWD in Washington, and WDFW wants to keep it that way.
Anyone hunting in the WDFW’s eastern region, which covers Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman counties, can submit their samples through the department’s CWD website for a chance at the tags.
“Hunters who submit samples for testing are contributing to the Department’s goal of preventing the spread of the disease and, pending final approval by WDFW’s director, will have their name put into a random drawing for the multi-season tags,” Friday’s news release announcing the program reads.
“Most animals with CWD appear normal until the end stages of the disease. The only way to detect the disease early is to test the lymph nodes of harvested animals or salvaged roadkill,” said WDFW ungulate research scientist Melia DeVivo. “Early detection will help us better manage the spread of CWD, so we highly encourage hunters to test their deer and elk.”
To help promote and prioritize the propagation of the program, WDFW partnered with the Washington chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
“[The Backcountry Hunters & Anglers] Washington Chapter is concerned about this conservation issue, and we believe it benefits us all to be vigilant about this disease that is close to our doorstep,” said Washington Chapter secretary for the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Josh Wilund. “An outbreak could severely impact our cervid populations, in turn impacting ecosystem health and resilience, economies that rely on hunting revenue, and hunting opportunities.”
The goal of the program is to raise public awareness, and stop the spread of the disease, which has had confirmed cases in 31 states – including Idaho, which borders Washington, as well as four Canadian provinces.
“We hope that, with the encouragement of a free multi-season tag, people will be motivated to do their due diligence in preventing the spread of disease,” added Chris Hager, chapter coordinator for the Washington Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
WDFW emphasizes that these multi-season tags will not affect the odds of hunters drawing one of the general pool multi-season tags.
Drawings for the CWD specific multi-season deer tag will occur in April 2024, and winners will be notified by mail.
