CWD Monitoring Expands

Oregon wildlife officials are expanding Chronic Wasting Disease monitoring as deer and elk hunting seasons get underway.  For hunters in the Columbia Gorge, Celilo Park, just off Interstate 84 at Exit 97 west of Biggs Junction, is a key check station.  The station will be open Sunday through Tuesday, from 9 a.m. to dusk, for the opening of deer season.  It will also operate October 31through November 2 for the first Rocky Mountain elk season.  ODFW is asking all successful deer and elk hunters to voluntarily submit a sample for CWD testing.  Sampling takes about 10 minutes.  Hunters who pass a posted CWD check station while transporting harvested deer or elk are required to stop.  Hunters can also get animals tested through participating taxidermists and meat processors, ODFW offices, and designated collection bins.  More information is available from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.  CWD is a fatal disease that has been detected in Idaho, Washington and California, but not yet in Oregon.