Notebook: New Manitoba CWD case will have an impact in northeast North Dakota
Jan. 26—The recent finding of chronic wasting disease near Winkler, Manitoba, in the southern part of the province puts the fatal disease to deer, elk and moose that much closer to northeast North Dakota.
It also is likely to mean baiting restrictions in some northeast North Dakota deer hunting units. Winkler is about 20 miles north of Walhalla, North Dakota.
According to a story published Wednesday, Jan. 24, on the
discoverwestman.com website,
a whitetail doe tested positive for CWD near Winkler after a hunter submitted a tissue sample for testing.
CWD hadn't previously been found in the area, the story indicated.
"This deer was harvested very close to the North Dakota border," Chris Heald, senior policy advisor for the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, told reporter Betty Sawatzky in the website story. "North Dakota has a lot higher prevalence rate than Manitoba does, so I don't think it's unexpected. The questions are, 'Did that deer come in from North Dakota? Did it walk in from western Manitoba?' You know, there's lots of questions to ask.
"I don't think we're seeing a pile of deer coming out from that area," he added. "I know the biologists are going back and reviewing the data from the area in hunter-submitted samples. So, I know it is a concern, but I don't think it is a dire situation by any means."
CWD hasn't been found in far northeast North Dakota, but the Game and Fish Department's CWD response plan calls for implementing baiting restrictions any time a given hunting unit falls within 25 miles of a previous detection.
"Unfortunately 2C, 2D and 2E all fall within 25 miles of that detection," Dr. Charlie Bahnson, wildlife veterinarian for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, told the Herald on Friday, Jan. 26. "There has been some internal discussion about the possibility of a one-year delay before baiting restrictions go into effect to allow for a surveillance effort to take place. ... No decisions have been made about that yet."
Results from this past fall's testing efforts in North Dakota won't be available for a couple of weeks, Bahnson said, but Game and Fish found 24 new cases of CWD after testing conducted during the 2022 deer season. That brought the total of positive CWD cases in North Dakota to 94 since 2009, when the disease first was found in unit 3F2 in far south-southwest North Dakota.
In Manitoba, 26 CWD cases — 22 mule deer and four whitetails — have been confirmed since the province began monitoring wild deer for the disease in 1997, according to the discoverwestman.com report. — Brad Dokken
ST. PAUL — Minnesota's
deer harvest
was down 8% from last year, with significant declines in the northern part of the state, the Department of Natural Resources said this week. Hunters registered 158,746 deer statewide, and success was close to average in central and southern Minnesota, the DNR said.
Hunters and anyone interested in deer are invited to share their thoughts in the
end-of-season survey
. The survey includes questions about experiences hunters had during the deer hunting season, issues related to damage deer might do to crops, landscaping or gardens and other deer-related issues. The Minnesota DNR will use the feedback to shape regulations for the 2024 hunting season. — staff report
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is offering 8,137 wild turkey licenses for the 2024 spring hunting season, 725 more than last year, the department said this week.
Thirteen of the 22 hunting units have more spring licenses than last year and eight remain the same. Unit 21 (Hettinger and Adams counties) is again closed due to the lack of turkeys.
Spring turkey applicants can apply on the Game and Fish Department website at
.
The deadline for applying is Feb. 14.
A general game and habitat license is required when applying. Applicants have the option of having the general game and habitat license refunded if their turkey license is not drawn in the lottery.
In addition, hunters 16 and older must possess a small game license or combination license.
First-time spring turkey hunters 15 or younger are eligible to receive one spring license valid for any open unit. To be eligible, young hunters must be 15 years old or younger on the opening day of the spring turkey season and must not have previously obtained a spring turkey license in North Dakota.
The spring turkey season opens April 13 and continues through May 19. — staff report
ST. PAUL — The Minnesota DNR has more than 200 summer internships available throughout the state, the agency said. Internships provide hands-on experience in a variety of roles including wildlife management, waterfowl banding, fisheries management and more. The deadline to apply for a paid summer internship with the DNR is Wednesday, Jan. 31.
More information, including how to apply, is available on the
DNR website
at mndnr.gov. — staff report
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted a plan to save four imperiled mussel species protected under the Endangered Species Act: the rayed bean, sheepnose, snuffbox and spectaclecase. All but the rayed bean mussel occur in Minnesota, the Service said. None of the mussels are found in North Dakota.
In a news release from the Service's Midwest Region office in Bloomington, the agency said the draft recovery plan focuses on protecting and enhancing populations of the four species, through practices such as captive rearing to restore key populations. The draft plan also focuses on protecting and enhancing habitat and learning more about the threats to the species.
Although mussels are often overlooked, they play a key role in keeping waterways healthy. Not only do they filter sediments and keep the water clean, but their presence indicates a healthy aquatic ecosystem. On the other hand, their absence is a wake-up call that something is wrong in the environment.
All four species were listed as endangered in 2012 under the Endangered Species Act, which means they are in danger of extinction. Threats to these mussels include destruction or changes to their riverine habitat, including dam construction and channelization, along with impacts from pollution and invasive species.
Recovery planning is one step
in a process to address threats to endangered and threatened species
. Plans provide a road map for private, Tribal, federal and state cooperation in conserving listed species and their ecosystems. While a recovery plan provides guidance on how best to help listed species achieve recovery, it is not a regulatory document.
The public is invited to
provide comment on the draft plan
through March 25, 2024.
More info:
. — staff report
