For many generations waawaashkeshi (deer) have played an important role in our community. Providing vital nutrition, bringing family together, and promoting culture and tradition through harvest is essential to our survival. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is spreading throughout deer populations in Northern Wisconsin and into Dickinson County here in the upper peninsula. CWD may reduce the number of wild deer and threaten subsistence and cultural practices.
Once again, our Wildlife staff will be hosting CWD check stations and will be ready and willing to remove lymph nodes to test whether or not your deer has CWD. Not only will you contribute to ongoing monitoring work to determine whether CWD has entered the area, but you will also receive incentives for your help, a $30 Pines gift card, and a successful hunter’s patch. When you bring your deer, NRD staff will remove the lymph nodes while you provide the following information – name, township section range where the deer was taken, and contact information if you want to learn whether your deer had CWD.
CWD is a prion disease, when prion proteins misfold they can cause other functioning prions to misfold. As the misfolded prions accumulate they cause the destruction of brain cells and onset symptoms of illness. Infection is always fatal, over time the deer loses ability to control its nervous system. Prion diseases are present in many animals. In humans Creutzfeldt-Jakob, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The prions that cause CWD are present throughout an infected deer. Spread of infectious prions is completed through the shedding of bodily fluids and tissues. CWD prions are passed onto fawns before birth. The structure of CWD prions make them resistant to degradation and destruction, remaining infectious in the environment for many years. The spread of CWD is difficult to control because of these factors.
Symptoms of CWD infection can be hidden for years, by the time they appear it is often near the end of the infection. There is no evidence that humans have contracted a prion disease from consuming CWD positive venison. However, it is not recommended to consume deer meat that has CWD.
While extensive research has been done to understand CWD – how it spreads, it’s incubation period, species crossover potential, etc., many unknowns still remain. In recent years researchers have turned toward understanding social and personal dynamics between diverse populations and the health of the herd. Our Wildlife and Habitat section participated in a collaborative research project to determine effective management strategies for Tribes in the Upper Midwest, to view more details about this study please visit The Society for Conservation Biology.
Due to the devastating impacts of CWD, the NRD’s Wildlife and Habitat section continue to develop a CWD Management Plan that responds to a CWD detection in the region. The plan will be presented to Tribal Council before the end of 2025 and, if approved, creates rapid response recommendations for positive CWD detection.
This year, the Wildlife Section is hosting CWD check stations from November 15-23 at the following locations:
Woodland Firearms – from 10-6p
Kurt’s Corner – from 10-6p
NRD Pequaming Office – from 8-4:30p
If you have any questions about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and the NRD’s efforts, please contact Blake Chosa, Wildlife Biologist, bchosa@kbic-nsn.gov or Kyle Seppanen, Wildlife Coordinator, kseppanen@kbic-nsn.gov