For the first time in a decade, deer hunters in Jefferson County will not be required to take their harvests to a chronic wasting disease sampling station on opening weekend this year. Since the disease was first discovered in Franklin County in 2015, the state Department of Conservation has mandated testing in Jefferson on the first two days of deer season.
Now the number of counties where CWD has been detected is high enough that mandatory sampling cannot be conducted in all of them each year. Jefferson is one of 23 counties that had mandatory testing last year but will not require a visit to a sampling station this year.
“During the past two years, the CWD Management Zone has increased significantly in size and now includes 82 counties,” said Jason Isabelle, conservation department supervisor for deer programs. “Given our staffing resource, we can conduct mandatory CWD sampling in 35 to 40 counties per year depending on the size of the counties and the expected number of deer coming to the sampling stations.”
With 10 years of data from Jefferson County, the department has a clear picture of where CWD exists and its prevalence in the herd. All except one of the 49 positive tests here have been found south of Festus inside a triangle formed by Interstate 55, Highway 67 and the Ste. Genevieve County line.
In addition to Jefferson, other counties that had mandatory testing last year, but will not this year include Adair, Barton, Crawford, Dallas, Franklin, Gasconade, Jasper, Linn, Macon, Monroe, Newton, Oregon, Perry, Phelps, Polk, Ray, Schuyler, Shelby, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Sullivan and Washington.
“Focusing on newer counties in the CWD Management Zone will allow us to obtain a greater number of samples from counties that have not been sampled as extensively in the past,” the certified wildlife biologist said. “The shift, this year, will help us better understand the distribution of CWD in these counties.”
The move from mandatory sampling does not limit the importance for hunters in Jefferson County to have their deer tested, especially in the areas near to where CWD has been found in the past. The county’s outlier positive test was found in a deer harvested near Ware, and one positive case was detected in a deer near Blackwell just across the Washington County line.
Hunters who harvest deer on opening weekend may take them to mandatory sampling stations anywhere in the state for testing, including two that are close to Jefferson County at Rockwoods Reservation near Eureka and Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood.
“Although mandatory, CWD sampling will not be conducted in Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve counties this year, there will be several voluntary sampling opportunities in the counties throughout the entire deer hunting season,” Isabelle said.
Voluntary sampling sites in Jefferson County will be confirmed prior to the opening of the season. Last year participating locations included John’s Butcher Shoppee in Festus, D and D Quality Deer Processing in House Springs, Belmar’s Taxidermy in Arnold, Bilbrey Studio Taxidermy in Barnhart, and Robertson Taxidermy in Dittmer. A freezer at the Festus/Crystal City Conservation Club has been available throughout the season for deer head drop off.
Jefferson’s absence from the list of counties for mandatory sampling is not permanent. Depending on annual test results locally and statewide, the affected counties will be updated for each hunting season.
“Any county in the CWD Management Zone is a candidate for mandatory sampling in any given year,” Isabelle said.
Full details on deer hunting seasons and other changes in the regulations for this year can be found in the annual Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations booklet available online and from permit vendors. For complete information on chronic wasting disease in Missouri, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/cwd.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.