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FWP, Elk Foundation brief volunteers on chronic wasting disease risks, testing and carcass disposal
Summary
At the Mount Jumbo Elk Spotters meeting, Fish, Wildlife & Parks and a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation scientist discussed chronic wasting disease (CWD): how it spreads, environmental persistence, free testing options, recommended carcass disposal (class‑2 landfill), and sampling methods for hunters/processors.
Fish, Wildlife & Parks Missoula area wildlife biologist Ryan Klemstra gave an extended briefing on chronic wasting disease (CWD), describing it as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy caused by a misfolded protein (a prion). "It is 100 percent fatal to all ungulate species that it affects," he said, and noted the disease can spread both directly and indirectly (urine, feces, saliva, blood and contaminated carcass material) and can persist in soil for many years.
Klemstra said CWD has been detected in multiple states and provinces; within the FWP region he referenced one positive mule deer near the Deer Lodge area two years earlier…
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