Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently updated its chronic wasting disease (CWD) regulations, adding steps designed to keep wild deer herds healthy that will be noticed this year by more hunters.
The state has had a CWD management plan in place since 2011, and experts in the DNR’s wildlife health program updated it in 2018 to reflect the most recent scientific literature, CWD plans from other states and Canadian provinces, and input from a range of CWD experts.
Barbara Keller, PhD, the DNR’s big game leader, said the new management plan sets the stage for how the state responds to new CWD developments and streamlines the regulation update process. Putting together a management plan was a lengthy process that incorporated a lot of public input, as well as the best available science, she said.
Lou Cornicelli, PhD, the DNR’s wildlife research manager, said in a statement that many Minnesotans, not just hunters, share the desire for a healthy deer population. “The management actions we’ve built into this fall’s deer hunting regulations are critical for protecting deer now and preserving this resource for future generations,” he added.
Management zone expansion leads to regulation changes
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