The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says it needs Big Horn Basin hunters to help collect samples from mule deer bucks that can be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD). Department personnel will give demonstrations on how to take samples in Powell, Cody and Lovell next week.

“Hunters are a very important component in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals,” the department said in a news release.

Specifically, Game and Fish is asking hunters who harvest mule deer bucks in Hunt Areas 105, 106, 109, 121, 122 and 123 to submit samples to Game and Fish for testing. Hunters outside of the focused surveillance areas can still submit a sample for testing.

Game and Fish aims to collect samples from at least 200 adult mule deer bucks from both the Clarks Fork (Hunt Areas 105, 106 and 109) and the Shoshone (areas 121-123) herd units.

The Game and Fish will provide several training opportunities for hunters who want to learn how to collect their own lymph node sample for CWD testing from harvested deer. Hunters can learn how to take a sample by watching a how-to video on the Game and Fish website or by attending in-person trainings at the following locations:

• On Monday at 6 p.m. the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Cody Regional Office south of Cody;

• On Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Northwest College’s Science and Math Building, Room 247, in Powell; and

• On Thursday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Lovell Fire Hall.

Hunters can also have animals sampled at any game check station this season or by stopping at the Cody Regional Office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additional options for testing include Zero Box Quality Meats in Cody or a drop barrel for heads located in Powell at Northwest College on the south side of the Science and Math Building (location near the corner of Sixth and Division streets). Hunters can also call the Northwest College CWD hotline at 307-754-6018 to schedule a time during regular business hours for a sample to be collected from a harvested deer, elk or moose.

Since 1997, the Wyoming Game and Fish has been monitoring the distribution and prevalence of CWD to better understand how this disease may affect the health of Wyoming’s deer and elk populations.

“Continued monitoring of CWD over time is important to help Game and Fish understand the potential impacts of the disease as well as evaluate future management actions for deer and elk,” the department says. “This will be a challenge for Game and Fish, as collecting samples for valid estimates of prevalence requires large sample sizes in focused areas across the state.”

The Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory has limited testing capacity to monitor CWD across the entire state, so focused sampling will rotate hunt areas each year.

To learn more about CWD, visit www.wgfd.wyo.gov.