Fish & Game sets CWD hunt in region

BONNERS FERRY— In response to the first confirmed case of chronic wasting disease in a white-tailed deer in North Idaho, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission has announced a nine-day “surveillance hunt” beginning Aug. 24. 

The commission’s goal is to collect 200 samples from harvested white-tailed deer to gain a better understanding of the disease's prevalence and spread. The hunt will take place around the same area that the body of the infected deer was found. Participating in the surveillance hunt will not affect a hunter’s ability to participate in other deer hunts.  

“While disappointing, the CWD detection in Unit 1 is not completely surprising,” reads a press release. “Unit 1 is surrounded on three sides by Washington, British Columbia, and Montana, all of which have detected CWD, including relatively new detections in Washington and British Columbia.” 

Washington’s first confirmed case of CWD was confirmed in August, in the body of a white-tailed deer found north of Spokane.  

Discounted tags for the surveillance hunt will be sold for $10 each by Fish and Game staff at a Bonners Ferry location Aug. 22; if there are tags left, they will be available for purchase at the Panhandle Regional Office in Coeur d’Alene the next morning. These tags are only valid for white-tailed deer, and hunters must be Idaho residents and present a valid Idaho hunting license to purchase the special tags. Licenses will not be available for purchase at the tag sale location.  

For the duration of the surveillance hunt, the head of any harvested deer must be brought to any Fish and Game regional office or drop-off site in Bonners Ferry within 24 hours for mandatory CWD testing. If a harvested deer does test positive for CWD, Fish and Game will contact the hunter who brought it in.  

Call the Panhandle Regional Office at 208-769-1414 for details.