CWD detected on county border

Chronic Wasting Disease has been identified in an elk hunt area at the border of Crook County.

Elk Hunt Area 126 begins at the border to the southwest of the county and travels south through much of Weston and Niobrara and west into Converse.

The hunt area is bordered by seven other elk areas that are now known to be positive for CWD, including 117 and 129, both of which are partially in Crook County.

CWD was also confirmed in Deer Hunt Areas 31 and 94, both towards the middle of the state in the Sheridan and Lander regions respectively.

The disease was confirmed in these new parts of Wyoming through surveillance of hunter-harvested animals.

Wyoming Game & Fish has been working to understand the distribution and prevalence of the always-fatal disease since 1997, using focused sampling due to the limited testing capacity of the Game & Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory.

This is done through mandatory sample submission in a set of focus areas, which change each year, and also voluntary submissions from other areas.