Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to conduct research on the cause of mule deer deaths in Wyoming in cooperation with an ongoing statewide focal herd study. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion infection of cervids that is 100% fatal, and to date, no effective treatments have been developed (Williams et al. 2002). CWD is transmitted through both direct contact and environmental contamination (Williams and Young 1993, Miller and Williams 2004). Dramatic CWD-induced population declines in both mule and white-tailed deer populations have been observed in WY (Miller et al. 2008, Edmunds et al. 2016, DeVivo et al. 2017). Elk herd numbers are estimated to decline when the prevalence in a population is above 13% (Monello et al. 2014). Despite significant efforts to contain its spread, it has now expanded to six countries, 31 U.S. states, and four Canadian provinces. CWD is enzootic in Wyoming and has now been detected in most mule deer hunt units statewide. The proposed study will be done in collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to better understand the role of chronic wasting disease as a cause of death in mule deer across multiple regions in the state.