In January 2025, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was first detected on the Flathead Indian Reservation in the Hog Heaven Wildlife Management Unit in a harvested mule deer. Later, in November, a harvested white-tailed deer from the Missions Wildlife Management Unit also tested as a suspected positive. CWD poses a significant threat to the long-term health of Tribal wildlife populations and, in turn, to Tribal food sovereignty. In response, the Tribal Wildlife Management Program has implemented the Surveillance and Emergency Response Plan for CWD on the Reservation, this plan that relies heavily on Tribal member participation in submitting harvested animals for testing. Pursuant to Tribal Council directive, the CSKT Natural Resources Department Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, and Conservation has designated the Hog Heaven and Irvine units, as well as the Missions, Mission Valley, and Pistol-Jammer units, as CWD Management Areas. All deer, elk, and moose harvested within these areas are required to be submitted for CWD testing. The CSKT Wildlife Management Program continues CWD surveillance across the entire Flathead Reservation, with an emphasis in the CWD Management Zone where we have had a positive CWD sample, identified in the following maps:
CSKT Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area
Map of Missions CWD mgmt. area
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.
For a complete list of sampling locations and availability, please see our CSKT CWD Checkstation dashboard at the following link https://cskt.org/natural-resources/cwd-check-stations/
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, or at the Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation office in Polson at 406 6th Ave East, Polson
After CWD-positive deer have been harvested on the Flathead Reservation, sampling of harvested elk, deer, and moose is now mandatory for the Hog Heaven, Irvine, Missions, Mission Valley, and Pistol-Jammer wildlife management units. It is required that all tribal members stop at any check station if it is on their route of travel to or from a hunting area, regardless of where animals were harvested. The CSKT Wildlife Program will have check stations in Elmo, Lonepine, Ronan, Red Horn Road, and Ravalli from September 1 – January 31 for the 2025/2026 hunting season, as well as the ability to collect samples at our CSKT Wildlife Offices in Polson at 406 6th Ave E.
Report sick-looking deer, elk, or moose. If you shoot an animal that looks diseased or sick, please limit handling it, and report it immediately to the Tribal Wildlife Management Program by calling our Wildlife Hotline at (406) 275-2774 for further instructions.