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Proposed plan would guide CWD management efforts for next 10 years

EDITOR’S NOTE: Three approximately 60-second sound bites from Tom Hauge, DNR chief of wildlife management, on the 10-yea. CWD management plan, are available on the DNR Web site:

• CWD Management Plan available[MP3: 652Kb]
• Citizen help needed to limit spread of CWD[MP3: 832Kb]
• CWD threatens Wisconsin's hunting tradition[MP3: 790Kb]

MADISON – The public has an opportunity to comment on a draft plan that would guide the state’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management efforts over the next 10 years. CWD was first discovered in Wisconsin in 2002.

“After six years, it is clear that there is no easy answer to managing this disease in Wisconsin,” said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank, “but we continue to believe the stakes are high and we need to do our best to try to minimize the effect of CWD in the state.”

The draft plan blends recommendations from a citizen CWD Stakeholder Advisory Group and lessons learned over the past six years since discovery of CWD in Wisconsin. The plan assesses what can realistically be done to control the disease based on the best available science.

“There are many challenges that make our goal of eliminating CWD from Wisconsin in the next 10 years unlikely,” said Alan Crossley, the CWD project leader for the DNR. “But, we’ve learned a lot and in light of our public trust responsibility for managing wildlife, we need to still effectively manage CWD regardless of the challenges.”

The goal of the plan over the next 10 years is to minimize the area of Wisconsin where CWD occurs and the number of infected deer in the state.

Advances in understanding about the ecology and epidemiology of CWD in Wisconsin have contributed significantly to guiding the department’s management actions. Yet there is no clear prescription for managing CWD.

“We will continue to learn as we go. This means we will need to continue intensive monitoring of CWD prevalence and distribution over the next 10 years and adapt based upon what we learn,” Crossley said.

The key objectives of the proposed management plan are to:

1. Prevent new introductions of CWD
2. Respond to new disease outbreaks
3. Control distribution and intensity of CWD
4. Increase public recognition and understanding of CWD Risks
5. Address the needs of our customers
6. Enhance the scientific information about CWD

The proposed plan includes a number of specific management and monitoring actions including:

• Implementing the 2008 statewide hunting season structure as also the basic season structure for all units in the CWD Management Zone through 2012.
• Issuing landowner hunting permits in the CWD Management Zone that are valid from the close of the regular hunting season until March 31.
• Conducting focused sharpshooting on public and private lands where permission can be obtained in areas of disease clusters along the edges of the known CWD distribution.
• Insuring hunters have the option of having their deer tested for CWD in areas with the highest prevalence of the disease.
• Cooperating with food pantries and meat processors in the CWD Management Zone to provide hunters options for donating deer.
• Pursuing a statewide ban on the feeding and baiting of deer to reduce the risk of transmission of CWD or other serious cervid diseases in new areas.
• Conducting disease surveillance surveys approximately every 5 years throughout the state, outside of the CWD Management Zone, in order to detect new disease outbreaks in a timely manner.
• Reviewing progress toward the objectives in this plan after 5 years and making modifications based on the review.

“The goal, specific objectives, and management actions established for addressing CWD were developed based on the best scientific information currently available” said Crossley. “Ultimately, this plan can only be successful when it has earned the support of our partners and the public.”

The draft CWD management plan is available on the DNR Web site. Comments can be submitted using a form available on the Web site. Those without internet access can call the DNR at 608-264-6046 to request that a hard copy of the plan and a comment form be mailed to them. The deadline for submitting comments is Dec. 13, 2008.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Crossley, CWD Project Leader (608) 266-5463

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Hunters in northern Wisconsin being asked to help with deer health surveillance

SPOONER – Successful hunters this season will find state wildlife biologists in 17 northern Wisconsin counties collecting adult deer heads as part of the state’s continuing effort to monitor for chronic wasting disease in the state’s deer population. State officials are seeking to gather a sample of 500 deer heads from each county as part of the disease surveillance.

Hunters will be asked at selected deer registration stations to allow biologists to take a tissue sample or the entire deer head for testing. Mike Zeckmeister, Department of Natural Resources Northern Region wildlife supervisor, says periodic disease surveillance is necessary to maintain a healthy deer herd.

“While our primary health monitoring is for CWD and Bovine TB,” Zeckmeister says, “we will be looking for any health concerns and issues in our deer herd.”

It has been six years since the state has comprehensively tested the health of the deer herd in these northern 18 counties. Because wildlife biologists in the north have been collecting road kill deer and hunters have been having bow and early antlerless season deer tested, Burnett County has met its quota. Zeckmeister said other counties are close to meeting the 500 limit and when they do, sample collection will end in that county

“We appreciate the hunters who have participated in this health check so far,” he said, “and we are confident that will with the help of successful opening weekend hunters we can complete this project.”

The DNR needs deer samples from Polk, Barron, Washburn, Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Rusk, Taylor, Sawyer, Price, Lincoln, Langlade, Oneida, Vilas, Forest, and Florence counties.

Hunters can find the nearest collection point by contacting any of the following DNR service centers: Antigo – (715) 627-4317; Ashland - (715) 685-2900; Cumberland - (715) 822-3590; Florence - (715) 528-4400; Hayward - (715) 634-2688; Ladysmith -(715) 532-3911; Park Falls - (715) 762-3204; Rhinelander - (715) 365-8900; Spooner - (715) 635-2101; Superior - (715) 392-7988; Woodruff - (715) 356-5211.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal nervous system disease known to naturally infect white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose and elk. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases. Though it shares features with other prion diseases, like mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep, it is a distinct disease known to only affect members of the deer family.

CWD was discovered in deer in southern Wisconsin in 2002 from a deer that was sampled in fall. Wildlife officials say the disease represents a significant threat to the state's white-tailed deer population and the culture of deer hunting in the state. CWD has been discovered in wild deer or elk herds in 15 states and two Canadian provinces.

Bovine Tuberculosis is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Bovine TB can infect most warm blooded animals, including humans. The federal government has done nationwide testing of cattle herds to control bovine TB, but it still occurs in cattle, penned exotic livestock such as elk, and wild deer. TB has been diagnosed in captive elk herds in several states including Wisconsin. Michigan and Minnesota have both found TB in their free-ranging white-tailed deer.

From an agricultural perspective, the discovery of TB in the dairy state would result in the dairy and beef industry losing its TB free status. This would cost producers an estimated $1.9 million in annual testing costs alone.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on chronic wasting disease contact Dr. Bill Delanis, DVM, DNR wildlife health veterinarian. 608-266-3143.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on CWD sampling in northern Wisconsin contact Jim Bishop, DNR Northern Region public affairs manager (715) 635-4242 or wildlife supervisor Chuck McCullough, Antigo - (715) 623-4190 ext. 3131

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Black bears, other wildlife begin preparing for winter nap or hibernation

SPOONER – As temperatures drop and snow flurries begin to fly in November, some Wisconsin wildlife animals begin looking for spots where they can avoid the cold by either hibernating or enter a long winter’s sleep.

State wildlife officials say that there are generally two kinds of winter sleepers: true hibernators and “light sleepers.”

“Both styles help animals and some reptiles endure the winter,” says Gary Dunsmoor, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife technician in Spooner. “And both most likely have a lot to do with food availability -- just as many species of wildlife migrate for the winter months due to lack of food here, many animals likely hibernate for the same reason.”

Dunsmoor says true hibernators like bats, woodchucks, and ground squirrels “sleep so deeply, it is almost impossible to wake them.”

A woodchuck’s heart rate, he notes, goes from 80 beats a minute when active to four to five beats a minute in hibernation. Other true hibernators include snakes, turtles, and frogs. Frogs and turtles bury themselves in the mud below the frost line getting oxygen from air trapped in the mud. Some snakes head underground while others gather together in sheltered places like rotted logs.

Dunsmoor says bears, skunks, raccoons, opossum and badgers are “light sleepers.”

“These characters can be awakened from their winter nap. They breathe a little more slowly and lower their body temperature a few degrees during sleep but will awaken to feed.”

Black bears in Wisconsin usually begin looking for places to make their dens by mid-October, Dunsmoor says, but warm weather or a healthy acorn crop will keep them active into November. Bears generally make dens in shallow holes near overturned stumps or blown-over trees, in shallow caves, in hollowed-out trees or in rock crevices. However, Dunsmoor says, some bears take only a low spot on the ground with plenty of leaves to sleep on.

While scientists are not sure how or why animals go into hibernation, Dunsmoor says they have found a special substance in the blood of hibernators.

“It is called Hibernation Inducement Trigger. If blood is taken from a hibernating squirrel in the winter and injected into an active squirrel in the spring, the active squirrel goes into hibernation,” he says.

What biologists also know is that hibernators put on a special kind of fat known as brown fat. This special fat is found across the back and shoulders of hibernating animals, close to their organs like the brain and liver. Brown fat delivers quick energy to an animal coming out of hibernation.

Dunsmoor says wildlife watchers can see hibernators out foraging for foods now in attempt to put on as much fat as possible because they will not eat much when the snow flies.

Come the snow when outdoor adventurists are cross country skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing they will probably be passing by hibernators without knowing it.

“Snows provide insulating warmth and cover. They won’t hear them either, most hibernators, don’t snore,” Dunsmoor notes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Dunsmoor – (715) 635-4092

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Perfect time to find and treat gypsy moth egg masses

MADISON – As trees lose their leaves, exposing trunks and branches, state forestry officials say this is the perfect opportunity for property owners in Wisconsin to search for signs of gypsy moth infestation and take action against it.

Property owners should look for small, teardrop-shaped egg masses left behind by the moth stage of the leaf-eating caterpillar, according Mark Guthmiller, a regional gypsy moth suppression coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The egg masses are the size of a nickel or quarter, tan-colored and covered with thousands of tiny, fuzzy hairs. They are firm to the touch and contain up to 1,000 individual gypsy moth eggs that will hatch next April or May. Old egg masses that hatched last spring are soft, pale and not a concern. Egg masses can be found on tree trunks and the underside of branches, as well as on buildings, firewood, vehicles, play sets, and other outdoor objects. Pictures are online at Wisconsin Gypsy Moth [exit DNR].

Guthmiller said egg masses within reach can be treated with tree-friendly horticultural oils that are labeled for gypsy moth egg masses and available at many garden centers.

“The best time to oil egg masses is anytime after the first few hard frosts in fall through the first week in April, when there is no danger of freezing temperatures,” he said. “Oiling egg masses is one of the best tools we have for reducing gypsy moth populations and helping to protect our yard trees from defoliation by gypsy moth caterpillars next summer.”

These oils are specially formulated and penetrate into the gypsy moth egg masses, suffocating the developing eggs inside so that they do not hatch next spring. Do not use motor oil or lubricant oils to treat egg masses because these can harm your tree. For instructions, visit: Wisconsin Gypsy Moth [exit DNR] and click on “management options for yard trees.”

People can also scrape the egg masses off of the tree and into a bucket of soapy water with a paint scraper or other sturdy tool. Let the egg masses soak for several days and then dispose of them in the trash.

“This is an easy option for people who find a few egg masses on the side of the house or on trees with smooth bark,” said Bill McNee, another regional gypsy moth suppression coordinator for the DNR. “When scraping egg masses off, do not let it break up and fall on the ground because the eggs will still hatch next spring. Masses that are hard to scrape off are best treated by oiling.”

If there are many egg masses, oil or remove those within reach and consider applying physical controls such as sticky barriers and burlap bands next spring when the caterpillars are present. Insecticide treatments may also be appropriate to control caterpillars. Many arborists in Wisconsin offer egg mass treatment and insecticide application services. For more information about gypsy moth control measures, visit Wisconsin Gypsy Moth [exit DNR], email dnrfrgypsymoth@wisconson.gov, or call 1-800-642-MOTH (6684) for help.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Bill McNee (Green Bay): 920-662-5430; Mark Guthmiller (Madison): 608-275-3223.

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Revision of High Cliff State Park master plan begins

Public meeting to be held Nov. 12

GREEN BAY – The public will have an opportunity to make suggestions for improvements or changes they would like to see in the management of High Cliff State Park at a public meeting that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has planned to begin the process of revising the master plan for the park.

High Cliff State Park is located on the shores of Lake Winnebago in the Town of Harrison, adjacent to the Village of Sherwood in Calumet County. Established in 1954 by the Wisconsin Conservation Commission and opened in 1956, the 1,146–acre park currently serves about 800,000 visitors and 10,300 campers annually.

The public meeting and open forum will be held on Wednesday, November 12 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Sherwood Village Community Center, W489 Clifton Road, Sherwood. DNR staff will present information, answer questions, and receive comments about possible master plan revisions for High Cliff. A short presentation will be made with time for questions and answers. DNR specialists will remain to talk with anyone who wishes, on a one-to-one basis. Maps and charts used in the formal presentation will be available for viewing and reference.

The last master plan for the park was approved in 1982 and has guided the management and development of the park for the past 26 years.

“During that time most of the master plan’s major development objectives have been achieved,” says Jason Wiese, High Cliff State Park manager. “Now there is an opportunity to build on the successes of the past and make improvements for the future by revising and updating the master plan for High Cliff State Park.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Wiese, High Cliff State Park Manager (920)-989-1106