North Dakota hearing on HB1236 pits sportsmen against Game and Fish over use of license fees for chronic wasting disease work

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard more than an hour of testimony on House Bill 1236, which would prohibit the North Dakota Game and Fish Department from using hunting and fishing license fees and application fees for CWD research and management.

Representative Bill Twite, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB1236 “simply says hunting and fishing license fees and application fees assessed under section 20.1‑03‑12.2 may be used only for the department programs and administration unrelated to chronic wasting disease.” He said sportsmen “are tired of the narrative” about CWD and should not be forced to pay for further CWD studies with user fees.

Supporters who testified said license revenues should be focused on habitat, hunter recruitment and landowner relations. Dwight Gross, who described himself as a farmed-elk producer, and others cited federal cooperative agreements and grant programs they said shift policy and practice; several supporters urged the committee to let hunters opt in to CWD funding through a voluntary check-box fee. “A $5 check the box… at least that gives the people the option,” testified Dusty Backer.

The department and scientists opposed the bill. Casey Anderson, wildlife division chief for North Dakota Game and Fish, told the committee restricting license-fee spending would “limit our ability” to understand and manage a disease that can “negatively affect deer, elk and moose.” Wildlife veterinarian Dr. Charlie Bahnsen described how CWD surveillance works, saying the program relies on large numbers of hunter‑harvested samples and that an initial ELISA screen followed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) confirmation is standard practice. “If the sample tests positive by IHC, it’s positive,” Bahnsen said, and added that the department follows USDA‑recognized testing protocols and that confirmed slides are retained by reference labs.

Testimony included data and budget figures offered by both sides. Backer said the department has spent roughly $919,000 from local license fees over the last 17 years (about $54,000 per year) and described recent grant awards (examples cited included a $265,000 grant and a federal cooperative agreement distributing about $5.5 million per year to states). Opponents and department witnesses also described surveillance results: Backer and others said tens of thousands of deer have been tested nationally and in North Dakota; Bahnsen explained that positives are rare but that each positive represents a persistent infection and a long‑term risk to population health.

The committee set timed testimony and heard roughly equal volumes of supporters and opponents. Game and Fish requested a do‑not‑pass recommendation for HB1236; supporters asked legislators to restrict license‑fee use or to allow optional CWD stamps. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.

The hearing closed after opponents, including conservation groups and veterinary experts, urged lawmakers not to strip the department of authority to use license dollars for wildlife‑disease management. The department emphasized that surveillance and testing also document when CWD is not the cause of sick or dead animals found on the landscape, and that such negative test results are valuable to wildlife management.