Tom Morang
05-03-2002, 09:33 PM
Rocky Mountain News
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1124348,00.html
The scarlet letters: CWD
Northwestern Colorado won't wear them by being branded 'endemic'
By Todd Hartman, News Staff Writer
May 3, 2002
GRAND JUNCTION -- Northwestern Colorado will not be branded an "endemic area" for chronic wasting disease since there is no evidence it is firmly established there.
Several members of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, as well as local residents, said Thursday they were strongly opposed to the label and worried it was a scarlet letter of sorts.
"Although (the presence of the disease) is very significant, and we want to take care of it, we also don't want to panic people," said Commissioner Marianna Raftopoulos, who runs a sheep and cattle operation near Craig, not far from where CWD recently appeared. "I don't believe the time frame is right now to call it (endemic)."
Staffers with the state Division of Wildlife sought the commissioners' guidance on how to describe a part of northwest Colorado, south of Craig, where CWD was discovered in March in a handful of wild mule deer.
The consensus: call it something, but not "endemic." Commissioners said the label applies more accurately to northeastern Colorado, where the disease has festered in elk and deer for decades. Currently, the area north of Fort Collins and east along the South Platte River is the state's only endemic area.
It remains unclear how prevalent CWD is on the Western Slope. Recent tests on 329 deer killed by division officials near Craig found three to be carrying the disease. Results are outstanding on another 284 deer and 134 elk.
Those numbers weren't enough to convince Greg Walcher, chief of the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the Division of Wildlife. Walcher argued there was no comparison between northeastern Colorado, where the disease is relatively widespread, and the other side of the Continental Divide.
"I don't think we can say we know for a fact that we're aware of any animals on the Western Slope carrying the disease," Walcher said.
The "endemic" question also struck a chord with some citizens, who worried the label would scare away hunters and harm the local economy.
"Thank you for being cautious and not just jumping in and calling the area endemic," said Tom Cox, a Routt County elk breeder, to commissioners, after they spoke against the idea.
"(CWD) is right on the verge of creating a panic with out-of-state hunters," said Ron Brink of Powderhorn. "Colorado is in the spotlight nationally."
The spread of the fatal disease has triggered quick response in other states.
Wisconsin wildlife officials may send sharpshooters into a state park as part of the effort to kill every deer in a 285-square-mile area to halt the spread of CWD.
But because of concerns about the risk to campers and hikers in Blue Mound State Park, Wisconsin officials will likely limit hunting in the park to one day a week.
"We don't want any accidents to happen," State Parks Director Sue Black said Thursday.
Wisconsin is finalizing details for a radical plan to kill an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 while-tailed deer, a project officials said may take years.
In June, Colorado Division of Wildlife staffers will bring a specific proposal before commissioners, suggesting just what to label the area and other parts of Colorado where the disease may flare up.
The proposed labels Thursday included "outbreak area, incidence area and site-specific area."
Kathi Green, a regulatory official for the division, tried to reassure commissioners that the agency would tread carefully.
"We will look for the least-inflammatory description that creates a public perception we can deal with, but accurately describes the situation," Green said.
Commissioners also discussed how Colorado can expand its testing for the disease statewide, as well as meet the expected demand for CWD tests from hunters this fall.
"We have got to test all areas of the state in large, large, large numbers," said Commissioner Brad Phelps, who said state workers could be faced with "a mound (of deer heads) the size of this room next to the highway," awaiting testing.
Division of Wildlife chief Russell George said the agency was working to resolve the issue, but couldn't make any promises on how many testing stations would be set up, where they would be placed and how quickly they would be in operation.
Commissioners took action on the following CWD-related regulations:
Gave initial approval to policy language that gives the division the power to attempt to stamp out CWD if it appears outside the endemic area. This would likely mean employing state sharpshooters to take out hundreds of deer when a positive animal is found, as the division did recently south of Craig.
Approved regulations banning the removal of deer and elk carcasses from Colorado's endemic area unless a number of precautions are taken. Those include leaving behind any portion of the animal's spinal column or head. The rules also outlaw bringing carcasses into Colorado from other states or countries where CWD exists in the wild without following the same precautions.
Gave initial approval to rules requiring that, in certain cases, hunters obtaining licenses must have their animals tested for CWD and share the results with state officials.
Delayed consideration of a proposal banning the private possession of mule deer, or the transportation of mule deer unless they are being exported outside of Colorado, a move that could curb the spread of CWD.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1124348,00.html
The scarlet letters: CWD
Northwestern Colorado won't wear them by being branded 'endemic'
By Todd Hartman, News Staff Writer
May 3, 2002
GRAND JUNCTION -- Northwestern Colorado will not be branded an "endemic area" for chronic wasting disease since there is no evidence it is firmly established there.
Several members of the Colorado Wildlife Commission, as well as local residents, said Thursday they were strongly opposed to the label and worried it was a scarlet letter of sorts.
"Although (the presence of the disease) is very significant, and we want to take care of it, we also don't want to panic people," said Commissioner Marianna Raftopoulos, who runs a sheep and cattle operation near Craig, not far from where CWD recently appeared. "I don't believe the time frame is right now to call it (endemic)."
Staffers with the state Division of Wildlife sought the commissioners' guidance on how to describe a part of northwest Colorado, south of Craig, where CWD was discovered in March in a handful of wild mule deer.
The consensus: call it something, but not "endemic." Commissioners said the label applies more accurately to northeastern Colorado, where the disease has festered in elk and deer for decades. Currently, the area north of Fort Collins and east along the South Platte River is the state's only endemic area.
It remains unclear how prevalent CWD is on the Western Slope. Recent tests on 329 deer killed by division officials near Craig found three to be carrying the disease. Results are outstanding on another 284 deer and 134 elk.
Those numbers weren't enough to convince Greg Walcher, chief of the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the Division of Wildlife. Walcher argued there was no comparison between northeastern Colorado, where the disease is relatively widespread, and the other side of the Continental Divide.
"I don't think we can say we know for a fact that we're aware of any animals on the Western Slope carrying the disease," Walcher said.
The "endemic" question also struck a chord with some citizens, who worried the label would scare away hunters and harm the local economy.
"Thank you for being cautious and not just jumping in and calling the area endemic," said Tom Cox, a Routt County elk breeder, to commissioners, after they spoke against the idea.
"(CWD) is right on the verge of creating a panic with out-of-state hunters," said Ron Brink of Powderhorn. "Colorado is in the spotlight nationally."
The spread of the fatal disease has triggered quick response in other states.
Wisconsin wildlife officials may send sharpshooters into a state park as part of the effort to kill every deer in a 285-square-mile area to halt the spread of CWD.
But because of concerns about the risk to campers and hikers in Blue Mound State Park, Wisconsin officials will likely limit hunting in the park to one day a week.
"We don't want any accidents to happen," State Parks Director Sue Black said Thursday.
Wisconsin is finalizing details for a radical plan to kill an estimated 14,000 to 15,000 while-tailed deer, a project officials said may take years.
In June, Colorado Division of Wildlife staffers will bring a specific proposal before commissioners, suggesting just what to label the area and other parts of Colorado where the disease may flare up.
The proposed labels Thursday included "outbreak area, incidence area and site-specific area."
Kathi Green, a regulatory official for the division, tried to reassure commissioners that the agency would tread carefully.
"We will look for the least-inflammatory description that creates a public perception we can deal with, but accurately describes the situation," Green said.
Commissioners also discussed how Colorado can expand its testing for the disease statewide, as well as meet the expected demand for CWD tests from hunters this fall.
"We have got to test all areas of the state in large, large, large numbers," said Commissioner Brad Phelps, who said state workers could be faced with "a mound (of deer heads) the size of this room next to the highway," awaiting testing.
Division of Wildlife chief Russell George said the agency was working to resolve the issue, but couldn't make any promises on how many testing stations would be set up, where they would be placed and how quickly they would be in operation.
Commissioners took action on the following CWD-related regulations:
Gave initial approval to policy language that gives the division the power to attempt to stamp out CWD if it appears outside the endemic area. This would likely mean employing state sharpshooters to take out hundreds of deer when a positive animal is found, as the division did recently south of Craig.
Approved regulations banning the removal of deer and elk carcasses from Colorado's endemic area unless a number of precautions are taken. Those include leaving behind any portion of the animal's spinal column or head. The rules also outlaw bringing carcasses into Colorado from other states or countries where CWD exists in the wild without following the same precautions.
Gave initial approval to rules requiring that, in certain cases, hunters obtaining licenses must have their animals tested for CWD and share the results with state officials.
Delayed consideration of a proposal banning the private possession of mule deer, or the transportation of mule deer unless they are being exported outside of Colorado, a move that could curb the spread of CWD.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.