Hunters of Areas 1-6, Game and Fish need your help

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking for assistance from mule deer hunters this fall collecting lymph node samples for chronic wasting disease testing (CWD). A few specific locations were named by the Game and Fish, samples are requested from any mule deer harvested in the Black Hills (Hunt Areas 1-6).

CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system in mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and moose. Game and Fish has tracked the distribution and prevalence of CWD since 1997 to better understand how it affects deer and elk populations. Hunters submitting samples from their harvested deer are crucial to help understand the impacts of this disease in wildlife herds.

According to the Game and Fish, animals with CWD may show weight loss, reluctance to move, excessive salivation, droopy ears, increased drinking and urinating, lethargy, and eventually death. However, not all animals show symptoms; most CWD-positive animals harvested by hunters appear normal and healthy.

This November, Game and Fish is asking hunters to voluntarily submit samples from mule deer harvested in the Black Hills (Deer Hunt Areas 1-6).

During a recent appearance on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Game and Fish Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist Reed Moore told listeners that the partnerships with hunters are vital to the study of CWD and its prevalence in the Cowboy State. 

Traditionally, Game and Fish personnel make contact with hunters in the field, at game check stations or at meat processing facilities to request CWD samples from harvested animals from these targeted areas. The department states sampling takes only a few minutes and requires removing a set of lymph nodes from the neck of the animal.

Hunters who have harvested a mule deer in Deer Hunt Areas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, but do not encounter Game and Fish personnel in the field, can have their deer sampled at the following locations:

CWD Sampling Stations

Devils Tower

Weekends: Nov. 5 and 6; Nov. 12 and 13; Nov. 19 and 20

9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Devil’s Tower Overlook, Highway 24

AIS Check Station Northeast Wyoming Visitor Center, I-90 – Beulah

Daily: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

5266 Old highway 14 Beulah, WY (Exit I-90 at Hwy 111)

AIS Check Station Coulter Bay – Keyhole State Park

Please note: entering the State Park for CWD sampling does not require day-use fees

Daily: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Take the Pine Haven Rd. off Hwy 113 

If it is more convenient take your own sample, sampling kits and instructions can be picked up and dropped off at the following locations:

A-1 Agency, 26 South Seneca, Newcastle, WY

Game Warden Station, 121 West Alden St. Sundance, WY

Hunters can also learn to take samples by watching an informative how-to video and can drop off their sample at any of the above locations or sampling stations. For more information, contact the Casper Regional office at (307) 473-3400 or visit the Game and Fish webpage.   

The Sheridan Regional Office is located at 700 Valley View and is open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Mon. – Fri.  – 307-672-7418

The Casper Regional Office is located at 3030 Energy Ln. and is open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Mon. – Fri. – 307-473-3400