Disease is one of the most serious threats confronting people and wildlife in Wyoming and the world. Billions of dollars have been spent in eradication attempts, but the problems and costs continue to escalate.

These diseases include Old World illnesses such as brucellosis (called undulant fever in humans) that were brought to the New World in livestock and transmitted to wildlife. There are new prion diseases that cause Mad Cow Disease (called Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans). West Nile Virus has moved across the country killing millions of birds. Avian flu has caught the attention of the National Communicable Disease Center due to the fear of a pandemic should it mutate. Stomatitis had livestock quarantined in the West this summer, Pasteuralla is found in elk and bighorn sheep, and then there is chronic wasting disease (CWD), which is creeping westward toward Greater Yellowstone’s majestic elk herds.

Diseases such as brucellosis have already spread rapidly among the dense elk populations on the National Elk Refuge and the 22 Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) feedgrounds operated in western Wyoming. Wyoming lost its brucellosis-free status almost two years ago, and as a result all livestock leaving the state must be tested for the disease prior to shipping. Last year the governor appointed a Brucellosis Task Force to address the issue. Their solution is to test for brucellosis and slaughter the female elk that test positive in a pilot project that they expect will be applied throughout Wyoming’s entire feedground complex if “successful.” The project is to begin this winter. We do not believe it is a practical or humane solution.

The real problem with brucellosis is its effect on livestock and the agricultural economy. In elk, the disease is not particularly worrisome. CWD is a different story, however. CWD’s indestructable prion eats holes in the animal’s brain and causes infected animals to waste to death. CWD prions are transmitted by body fluids and permanently contaminate the soil. Colorado and Wisconsin have already slaughtered thousands of animals in an attempt to control CWD. Wildlife biologists fear that CWD will reach the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem soon. The disease could have devastating impacts to the Greater Yellowstone’s big game herds because the elk are congregated on feedgrounds allowing for easy transmission, much like a cold running through a classroom. The difference is that CWD is 100 percent lethal.

Healthy habitat is necessary for both wildlife and humans alike. Both scientists and managers know that animals are healthier and have lower disease incidence if they can disperse across the land. Many states, including Wyoming, have outlawed game farms because of disease. Studies show that free-ranging elk suffer about 3-5 percent loss from CWD, while those concentrated on game farms may have an infection rate of greater than 50 percent.

The remedy to these disease problems appears to be a commonsense one: Cease artificially concentrating the animals at feedgrounds. We believe that wildlife managers should follow their own biologists’ recommendations and experiment with phasing out the feeding of elk in places like the Gros Ventre Valley to confirm that dispersing the animals reduces the incidence of disease as the science suggests. The Wyoming Outdoor Council has worked on a number of projects— such as Brucellosis Solutions and the Jackson Hole Interagency Habitat Initiative—and with a variety of partners to try to enhance forage quantity and quality for wintering wildlife in order to make the phase out of feeding feasible. Unfortunately, to date the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has shied away from testing these ideas in favor of a more violent option: the test and slaughter pilot project for the Muddy Creek Feedground near Pinedale.

HUMANS AND CWD
After a review of available scientific data, the World Health Organization in December 1999 stated, “There is currently no evidence that CWD in cervidae (deer and elk) is transmitted to humans.” In 2004, Dr. Ermias Belay of the Center for Disease Control said, “The lack of evidence of a link between CWD transmission and unusual cases of [Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human prion disease] despite several epidemiologic investigations, suggest that the risk, if any, of transmission of CWD to humans is low.”

Nonetheless to avoid any risk, both organizations say parts or products from animals that look sick or test positive for CWD should not be eaten or handled.

The test and slaughter project, which will allow up to 10 percent of the 1,900 strong elk herd that winters at Muddy Creek to be trucked to Idaho and killed in a slaughterhouse, is no way to treat Wyoming’s majestic wildlife. It is also against the law for a variety of reasons. The Wyoming Outdoor Council has joined with a group of wildlife experts and conservation leaders in demanding the Forest Service adhere to its own regulations before moving forward with the test and slaughter option. The agency’s response to our demands is pending.

Some groups have argued that phasing out feedgrounds will decimate western Wyoming’s elk herds. We do not believe this is the case, particularly in places like the Gros Ventre Valley where good winter habitat for elk remains. Furthermore, most of the elk herds in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are currently as much as 30 percent over their targeted size. Nonetheless, we do not want to see unnecessary starvation, and for this reason the Wyoming Outdoor Council is advocating an experimental project that would test the effects of a phase out of feeding on elk populations. We believe this is the best way to make sure disease does not decimate our majestic herds of big game.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council will continue to work with WGFD, the U.S. Forest Service, the ranching community and the governor’s office to find a balanced solution that protects Wyoming’s elk and its ranching heritage.