Angus M. Thuermer Jr.
WyoFile.com
The discovery of chronic wasting disease in a member of the Jackson Elk Herd should trigger a review of the stateâs population goal of 11,000 for the herd, according to a National Elk Refuge plan.
The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory confirmed the incurable fatal disease in a lymph node taken from an elk killed by a hunter in Grand Teton National Park. The hunter shot the elk Dec. 2 and technicians analyzed its required lymph node sample four times before confirming results Dec. 16.
Discovery of the infected tissue marks the first time the disease has been found in an elk herd that uses one of 23 winter elk feedgrounds west of the Continental Divide â 22 state-run sites and the massive National Elk Refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Although wildlife officials have detected the disease in deer in the area and in elk elsewhere in Wyoming, its appearance among feedground elk raises worries that the intrac
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JACKSON â Lethal, incurable chronic wasting disease has been discovered for the first time in an elk that dwells in the region of the state where the ungulates concentrate most tightly on winter feedgrounds.
The dire confirmation of a prion disease among the ranks of feedground elk comes from a cow killed just a few miles from where alfalfa pellets are lined out on the National Elk Refuge. The cow was shot by a hunter Dec. 2 in Grand Teton National Park. A lymph node near its throat was extracted by a park technician, and two weeks later the Wyoming Wildlife Health Laboratory got a positive hit.
Teton County commissioners and the advocacy group Friends of Pathways have asked the National Elk Refuge to take another look at its seasonal closure dates for the Highway 89 pathway.
The 6.2-mile path paralleling the highway, which is about a decade old, is currently being reviewed by the refuge to ensure itâs still compatible with the wildlife-first policies and mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which owns and manages the land. No changes to the November-through-April closure dates were proposed, but some parties are using the public review to ask for a second look.
âI donât want to send a letter that purports to dictate management of that pathway,â Luther Propst told fellow commissioners while marking up the countyâs comment letter. âWe shouldnât be dictating to the Fish and Wildlife Service, even if we had the authority, but I am comfortable asking them to ⦠evaluate opening that pathway for those 2 miles and look at the appr