Chronic Wasting Disease
- Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal disease found in elk, deer and moose. There is no known cure and the disease can be spread by animal to animal contact and through animal contact with an infected environment. CWD can directly reduce overall herd populations and pose a risk to food sovereignty, cultural and spiritual practices. Tribal peoples are at an increased risk of exposure to CWD due to traditional and cultural uses of animal parts.
- As of 2023, CWD is present in many off-reservation aboriginal treaty hunting areas. In 2019 it was identified less than 40 miles from the Flathead Reservation boarder. The threat of the disease is a pressing issue for the preservation of tribal food sovereignty. As such, the Tribal Wildlife Management Program has adopted a Surveillance and Emergency Response Plan for CWD on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The success of this plan relies strongly on Tribal member hunter participation in sampling harvested animals for CWD.
- The Tribal Wildlife Program will continue CWD surveillance on the Flathead Reservation, with an emphasis in collecting samples in the High Priority Areas identified in the following map:
- Carcass disposal requirements: Carcass parts, such as brain, eyes, spleen, lymph glands, and spinal cord material, should be left at the kill site when possible. If CWD is present in an area, it may be mandatory to leave the brain and spine in the field (as presented in the Surveillance and Management Plan). If the animal is transported, the brain and spinal tissue must be bagged and disposed of in a Class II landfill. Dumping carcasses is illegal, unethical, and can spread diseases, including chronic wasting disease.
- Sampling – Help the Tribal Wildlife Program monitor for Chronic Wasting Disease on the Flathead Reservation by providing a lymph node sample from a deer, elk or moose. A sample kit can be requested to collect a sample yourself or find a location to drop off a head at a designated drop-off location or CSKT hunter check stations, or have biologists take the sample for you.
- Request a Hunter Sample Kit
- Collect a sample – How to collect a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_-C1dk3rvs
- Submit a Sample
- Bring heads or carcass, or drop off frozen samples, to a designated drop-off location at the Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation office in Polson at 408 6th Ave East, Polson
- Sample submission is voluntary, though any animal harvested in a Priority Surveillance Area should be tested to ensure CWD is not present in the meat, as well as help the Tribal Wildlife Program gather the sample data required in these areas to be able to detect CWD on the Flathead Reservation
- Report sick-looking deer, elk, or moose. If you shoot an animal that looks diseased or sick, report it immediately to the Tribal Wildlife Management Program for further instructions and limit handling it.