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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BrockW" data-source="post: 439094" data-attributes="member: 5910">Respectfully, I think that’s an overly simplified perspective. I haven’t talked to a deer ecologist yet that would tell anyone that long term deer populations need supplemental feeding to prosper over the long term.  There are other more important factors driving populations, things that are more sustainable and lead to better ecological outcomes for the land and wildlife.Sounds like they need more quality habitat.I agree with what’s quoted there 100%.I can understand your frustration…….believe me.That is not logical. Habitat improvement and certain disease management strategies are far more sustainable, responsible, and beneficial to wildlife and the landscape long term. With less risk of negative side affects like acidosis, unbalanced carrying capacities in terms of food:cover ratios, other species disturbances or even the fact that good habitat usually means more wetlands, better erosion protection, healthier soils, better ground water systems, and more diverse systems conducive to producing and maintaining resilient populations. These aren’t pets or domesticated livestock.I’m focused on many things. Hence the multiple legislative issues were involved in, the travel management plan in the Grasslands, public land transfers, etc.Sask has been heavily affected by CWD. And truthfully, I don’t mean this to come off as snarky, but saying it hasn’t is either a willful denial of the truth or being dishonest. There are many accounts of Sask hunters voicing impacts in certain areas, deer numbers and buck quality. WY and CO have seen significant impacts as well. Arkansas has recorded impacts. The Wisconsin study will be published in the near future, more gps collared deer dead from CWD. Lots of them die from pneumonia at or near clinical end stage disease. They leak saliva into their own lungs because they can’t swallow correctly or control their cud. Something that would likely not have happened if they didn’t have a neurological disease that is 100% fatal. 100% as in, no animal, humans included, has ever been documented to have recovered from or survived a prion disease. Ever.But I would agree that hard winters are likely hard on CWD+ deer. Another reason we want to keep prevalence low.I’m using data from GPS collar work, published and repeatable research, evidence, facts. They might not have all the answers, and mistakes happen or things don’t always turn out how they were intended. That’s just working with wild animal populations. I’m operating in reality. I would argue many, not all, but a good portion of your group are not thinking straight on this issue. I don’t mean to say that in a way that is laughing at you or degrading any of you.I don’t mean this to sound harsh either, it’s not intended to be. CWD is here. We can either choose to do the right thing for the resource and do what we can to make responsible decisions with positive impacts as a collective. Or we can wallow in denialism about the truth that sits right in front of us. But we can make a difference. If we had it our way we would like to ban baiting, and feeding, in units where CWD is found. I’d like to keep pressure on the 2 units we have it the worst in. I know it sucks, but I think it’s still making a difference. It might get to a point where it’s not making as big of an impact, certainly. But I think since we got on it early and have stayed on it, it’s helped. I’d like to increase financial help for landowners to put up hay yard fencing and/or reasonably adjust their cattle or farming operations to allow for some preventative measures to be put in place that would prevent deer from yarding up over food sources. Won’t be perfect, but we can make a difference.Even If those actions can only buy us another 20 years of low prevalence in most of the state. I think that is absolutely the best avenue to pursue. Far better than just throwing in the towel after 15 years.Some of the wildlife health folks I talk to says they’re working on a sort of vaccine. It’s not really a “vaccine” per se, more of a PrP down regulator. But they say results are promising, but that also doesn’t mean 6 months from now. They’ll test it more and these studies take time because of the long pathogenesis of the disease.Sounds like we need better habitat. Again, lots of those deer that die in those winters die from acidosis. GF has seen some instances of over 30% acidosis mortality in localized areas, that’s during and after hard winters. Likely higher, because they’ll just stop checking to confirm after so many.Which is funny in some sense, and you might appreciate this. Because at this stage in CWD prevalence in ND, again prevalence is low, I would say it’s likely acidosis from human feeding has killed more deer than CWD at this point. How ironic is that? Makes me kind of chuckle. I thought you might get a kick out of that too.Habitat would go a long way.</blockquote>

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