The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2019 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease from units in more than half of the state.

Samples from hunter-harvested deer taken in the eastern portion of the state will be tested from units 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F1, 2F2, 2G, 2G1, 2G2 and 2L. In addition, deer will be tested in the northwest from units 3A1, 3A2, 3A3 (that portion of the unit north of U.S. Highway 2) and 3B1, in the west from units 4B and 4C, and in the southwest from units 3C (the portion of the unit west of the Missouri River), 3E1, 3E2, 3F1 and 3F2.

Game and Fish wildlife veterinarian Dr. Charlie Bahnson said surveillance is conducted to estimate where CWD is located, and to determine the infection rate in the area. He said the department uses the information to guide its efforts in managing the impacts of the disease.

“CWD has not been found in the eastern third of the state and our surveillance goal in that area is to confidently say that it is still not present in the area,” Bahnson said. “We need to test a lot of deer to reach that conclusion, so it is important for hunters to consider dropping off their deer for testing.”

Bahnson mentioned it’s likely that additional positive deer will be found this fall in units 3A1, 3B1, 3F2 and 4B where CWD has been previously detected. “Infection rates are relatively low in those areas, but in previous years only a small portion of hunters have submitted heads for testing,” he added. “Most infected deer will look perfectly healthy and the only way to tell is by having them tested.”

Hunters are encouraged to drop off the head of an adult or yearling deer at one of nearly 100 collection sites across the state. Hunters wishing to keep the deer head can bring it to a Game and Fish district office during business hours to have it sampled. The carcass or head of a deer taken from units 3A1, 3B1 or 3F2 may not be transported to a collection site outside of the unit.

More information on CWD, including transportation restrictions, is available at the Game and Fish website.

The list of locations to drop off deer heads includes:

Alexander – Sather Lake Recreation Area

Blaisdell – BJ Taxidermy

Bottineau – Mattern Family Meats

Bowbells – The Joint

Cando – K&E Meats

Crosby – Cenex/New Century Ag

Devils Lake – Lake Region Sportsmen’s Club/City Sanitation Department, Game and Fish Department

Dunseith – Wayne’s Food Pride

Grassy Butte – Sweet Crude Travel Center

Grenora – Farmer’s Union

Kenmare – Farmer’s Union, Jessica Ware’s Taxidermy

Minot – AAA Taxidermy, Blom’s Locker and Processing, Frenchy’s Taxidermy, State Fairgrounds, Wallen’s Taxidermy

Mohall – Engebretson Processing, Farmer’s Union

New Town – Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife Office

Powers Lake – Farmer’s Union

Ray – Horizon-Cenex

Rolette – The Meat Shack

Rugby – Cenex

Stanley – Ace Hardware

Tioga – Recycling Center

Watford City – Farmer’s Union Cenex

Williston – Bickler Taxidermy, Dave’s Heads or Tails Taxidermy, Mounts By Mert, Game and Fish Department, Zerr’s Taxidermy