Chronic Wasting Disease(CWD) State of Michigan 2018

I've been hunting whitetail deer all of life. Some of my earliest hunting memories consists of my dad picking my brother and I up from the bus stop, changing us into some camo, and heading out into woods. Naturally, as I grew older I also became as passionate about hunting as my father was and still is. One day I hope to have the same influence on my daughters so that they can have the option to partake in harvesting of their own meat, something that I value tremendously. However, that all depends on IF we have a healthy deer herd. In saying "if" it doesn't seem real to me. If someone had said "if there is a healthy herd" to me a decade ago, I would have looked at them like they didn't know what they were talking about. With each passing year I become more and more aware of the value and fragility of our wildlife resources. We as hunters are already dealing with a decline in license sales and number of people partaking in the act of hunting. Having issues like CWD and many others that threaten our wildlife populations is like pouring salt in a wound. Chronic Wasting Disease is relatively new to my state of Michigan and I wanted to become more educated on the matter.

This podcast I am joined by Chad Stewart from the Michigan DNR. Chad is the Deer, Elk and Moose Management Specialist for the state of Michigan. We talk about theories on where CWD may have come from and it's progressive expansion throughout the United States. Chad educates us on when and where it was found in the state of Michigan and provides a ton of valuable information about how they plan to contain it's spread, handling of carcasses, what to do if you come across a potentially infected deer while hunting and how the disease eventually is fatal to an infected Deer.

I learned a ton of information from this podcast and speaking with Chad. This is one I think you will want to listen closely in hopes of becoming more informed as a hunter yourself. After all, we know that conservation always starts with the joined efforts of hunters in preserving our natural resources and wildlife. It has always been my view and my opinion that no group of individuals care more for the conservation of a species or preservation of the future of that species more than hunters. It is up to us to work with our DNR to control the spread of this disease.

Cheers,

Lee

Helpful links below to learn more about CWD, viewpoints, data in other states and what the state of Michigan is doing.

http://archive.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/follow-illinois-not-wisconsin-to-slow-spreading-cwd-b99560237z1-322353591.html

https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/regulations.html

https://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/0,4579,7-186-76711_78204---,00.html

http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/blogs/ted-nugent-irrational-cwd-fears-are-hurting-the-hunting-tradition