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