One of my favorite deer hunting spots has changed this year.
There’s a good chance it will never be the same.
In June, when the Pennsylvania Game Commission expanded all three Disease Management Areas due to more deer – wild and captive – testing positive for chronic wasting disease.
As a result, the boundary lines of one DMA have now consumed a favorite hunting spot. My treestand now sits in an area of the state where the presence of CWD has been found. I worry how the change is going to affect my hunting, but more importantly I’m concerned how the disease could impact the deer.
As far as the new rules that now apply to the area I hunt, it won’t be a problem. Any deer I harvest is taken to a processor in the area, so I won’t be moving any high-risk parts. I also don’t use urine-based attractants when I hunt, so the prohibition on such products won’t affect me.
What I am concerned about, however, is the uncertainty that comes with hunting in an area where CWD is a threat.
The thing I like most about deer hunting has little to do with the actual harvest but more about the experience and respect for the animal I hunt. Spending the day in a pristine, wild area pursuing a creature that is elusive and majestic means everything to me. And when a nice buck does appear in front of my stand, it’s a thrill unmatched.
But this hunting season, considered the mere fact that CWD could be present in the area, will the experience be compromised? Will I choose to hunt in another part of the state far away from CWD?
Imagine sitting in the stand that you hunted from for years – with plenty of success – and a buck approaches. Your heart races, your senses focus and the anticipation peaks.
But then you notice something.
While buck is sporting a fine set of antlers, its ears are droopy, ribs are showing and the animal walks with a slow, staggering gait.
All of a sudden, that trophy buck turns out to be a sickly deer displaying the signs of CWD, and what was shaping up to be a memorable hunt is ruined in a hurry.
It’s possible.
With CWD in the picture, I know the way I hunt will change.
This season, not only will I be counting points to identify a legal buck, I’ll also watch the animal’s behavior to determine if it is diseased or healthy.
All of a sudden, with CWD in the mix, hunting is going to be different.
But how much will the experience change, and for how long?
Chronic wasting disease was discovered in Pennsylvania deer in 2012, but many states have been dealing with CWD for much longer. Based on deer harvests in those states, the disease didn’t seem to decimate the population.
In Illinois, CWD surfaced in 2002. The year prior, the statewide deer harvest in Illinois was 99,906. In 2003 – the year after CWD was found in Illinois, the statewide harvest was 104,271. The state experienced a record deer harvest (201,209) in 2005, and last season the harvest in Illinois was 153,174, far exceeding the pre-CWD harvest.
In Wisconsin – a place where the Department of Natural Resources labeled CWD as an “endemic” in the southern part of the state – the deer harvest has declined from pre-disease levels. In 2001 – the year before CWD was discovered in Wisconsin – the harvest was 444,384, and in 2019 it was 290,213. But, the harvest decline in Wisconsin coincides with a drop in deer license sales – 688,540 in 2001 to 564,664 last year.
While these are only two examples and there are numerous factors involved, the harvest trends indicate that CWD, in these instances, doesn’t cause a population to plummet.
Still, there is plenty of evidence indicating CWD can result in declining population trends, and that makes sense. After all, the disease is always fatal and there is no cure. Infected deer are going to die, and if the prevalence rate grows, so to will the number of deaths.
It’s always unsettling to see the Game Commission expand the DMA boundaries, and now that it includes one of the areas I hunt, CWD has really hit home.
For now, I’m not going to let the threat of the disease change the way, or even the places, I hunt. If I do harvest a deer in a DMA, I will certainly have it tested and I’ll be more vigilant for the disease this season as I watch deer from my stand.
But I’m afraid CWD is something that more and more Pennsylvania hunters will have to contend with in the coming years.
The threat of the disease isn’t going to ruin the sport I love, but it will always be in the back of my mind as I sit in my stand this season.
- This column originally appeared in PA Outdoor News.
