Deer count may be down

Along with all the stories of finding, tracking and putting meat on the table during the first weekend of the deer hunt, there were guarded concerns expressed over CWD, or chronic wasting disease.

Most hunters simply wanted information. Some hunters knew full well what to expect. Some showed no interest at all, either in the disease or whether or not the deer they harvested had any chance at all of contracting the illness.

Most hunters contacted over opening weekend felt with some certainty that the deer they tagged were healthy. And, it can be said with some certainty, they're most likely right. Of the nearly 300,000 deer in Utah, there have been only five reported cases.

Of more interest to hunters was the fact that despite extensive studies, there has been no evidence the disease can be passed to humans.

Ted Van Medteren of Ogden said he'd read about CWD in the newspapers, but other than that didn't know much more.

"I don't think this deer had it because it looked real healthy," he said at one of the special CWD check stations near Vernal on Sunday. He was, however, eager to get test results.

Robert Schultz of Vernal said he was well-aware of the disease.

"It does concern me," he said. "When I cleaned the deer I used rubber gloves and took all the precautions. We'll have the deer in a locker until we get the test results back, and if it's OK we'll have it cut up.

"No, it hasn't stopped me from hunting. I've gone the last two years and it hasn't bothered me."

There were 30 stations set up around the state this past weekend to take samples from harvested deer. Division of Wildlife Resources officials hope to test 2,100 deer this year.

At the check stations, biologists removed lymph nodes from deer. The tissue will be taken to the DWR's experiment station in Logan, where it will be tested. It will take about four weeks to get the results.

Hunters will be able to get results from the DWR's Web site or by phone.

Last year it took four months for biologists to learn there was one infected deer in the sample of 1,800 that were tested in Utah. New tests are faster and more reliable.

There are now five reported cases of CWD in Utah — two in the Vernal area, two near Moab and one near Fountain Green.