CWD cure resisted
Multimillion-dollar efforts to slow chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin deer aren’t working, state officials reported last week.
The Legislative Audit Bureau’s report found that the Department of Natural Resources had spent nearly $27 million battling the disease since it surfaced in Wisconsin in 2002.
The agency has been working to thin the deer herd in areas where the disease has been found by lengthening hunting seasons, requiring hunters to shoot a doe before a buck, banning feeding deer in 26 counties and offering rewards and cheap permits for hunters, as well as using sharpshooters to kill more deer. The goal was to reduce deer numbers to about five per square mile.
Despite those measures, the audit found the estimated number of deer in chronic wasting disease zones has increased from 26 deer per square mile in 2002 to 38 in 2005.
Chronic wasting disease produces microscopic holes in the brain tissue of deer, elk and moose, causing weight loss, tremors, strange behavior and, eventually, death.
Associated Press
HUNTING
Bison protest subdued
Two bison were killed on the first day of Montana’s 2006-07 hunt for bison that wander out of Yellowstone National Park, the state wildlife agency said.
More than 7,000 people applied for 140 permits.
Opening day was quiet compared to the start of bison season in 2005, when Montana held its first bison hunt in 15 years, state officials braced for protests and news-media attention was high.
Melissa Frost of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said she hopes the hunt’s uneventful beginning “is an indication it will be like any other hunt. That’s our goal.”
The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission has described the hunt, which ends Feb. 15, as a tool to help manage bison.
Associated Press
HUNTING
Hunting limits sought
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission could set more limits on modern gear for archery and muzzleloader hunting when it meets in Boise Jan. 10-12.
Some technology changes improve hunter effectiveness, which could result in shorter seasons or other limits to maintain game populations, said Brad Compton, Fish and Game Department big-game manager.
Rules adopted in 1991 allow muzzloaders to have their own season as long as they use traditional muzzleloaders with open sights, no scope or electronic devices, loose powder and round balls or conical bullets made solely of lead.
Some muzzleloaders using modern technology – including synthetic black powder pellets, plastic “sabots” or boots on bullets, and internal hammers – are considered as effective as a .30-30 rifle, with a similar range.
Commissioners plan to review these muzzleloading advances, as well as current restrictions on archery equipment, including let-off and arrow weight.
Rich Landers