CWD check stations in operation across the Hi-Line

Press release

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has check stations in place across the Hi-Line to sample for chronic wasting disease in deer, elk and moose during the general hunting season.

This is part of a planned surveillance effort, and FWP encourages hunters to help by submitting their harvested animals for testing.

Last year, FWP discovered CWD in deer south of Billings and north of Chester. This contagious neurological disease can infect deer, elk and moose. It is always fatal and there is no known cure.

Last week, a white-tailed buck harvested in southern Liberty County was found to be suspect for chronic wasting disease. In addition, a mule deer doe harvested within the CWD-positive area in Carbon County was found to be suspect for CWD. The lab at Colorado State University is running a confirmation test, with results expected this week. It is very rare that a suspect sample isn’t ultimately found positive.

The suspect deer in Liberty County was harvested in hunting district 400, but outside both the current CWD-positive area and the 2018 priority surveillance area, which includes the northern half of Liberty County. As a result, the CWD-positive area has been expanded to include all of Liberty County and FWP is now including all of HD 400 in the 2018 CWD surveillance effort.

The suspect deer in HD 575 was harvested northeast of Joliet in a current CWD-positive area, which encompasses Carbon County, east of U.S. Highway 212 and the Roberts-Cooney Road. 

Transportation restriction zones are in place in all CWD-positive areas. Please see current regulations for more information.

As of press time, no CWD-positive animals have been detected in Region 6.

Currently, FWP is conducting surveillance during the general fall hunting season in high-priority areas in parts of northern Montana, including Hunting 400, 401 and 403 in Region 4, and 640, 670, 630, 620, 611 and 600 in Region 6.

At the check stations, FWP personnel will remove retropharyngeal lymph nodes, a tooth, and a genetic sample from voluntarily submitted animals, and ask for hunter information and harvest location. If a hunter is willing to contribute samples but first wants to take the head to a taxidermist, FWP personnel will take some information at the check station and follow up with the taxidermist later for the lymph nodes. Hunters will be given a unique identification number for the sample and will be able to view the test results within three weeks at fwp.mt.gov/cwd.

Weekend check stations for collecting CWD samples are located in:

• Havre — East of town at the old rest area, at the usual check station location.

• Malta — Lot behind Ezzie’s West Side Conoco gas station.

• Glasgow — Zerbe’s Bros. Implement on the east end of Glasgow.

• Chester — Lions park rest area off U.S. Highway 2 east of Chester.

• Shelby — Two miles south of Broken Road exit at truck weigh school on I-15 south.

Samples may also be submitted at the FWP offices in Havre from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Glasgow and Great Falls from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All hunters must stop at all check stations, but submission of CWD samples is voluntary. In addition, deer harvested in HD 640 may also be sampled for bovine tuberculosis as part of a separate study. Check station locations are subject to change depending upon sampling priority, and locations will be updated weekly on the Region 6 Facebook page.

If hunters would like to submit a sample for CWD testing that was harvested outside of the priority surveillance area, they may do so on their own. Instructions are available on the website at http://www.fwp.mt.gov/cwd, and there is a fee of $18 to Colorado State University for the test in addition to shipping costs.

FWP ask people to help with CWD surveillance this fall by providing samples of their harvest in the surveillance area and gave thanks in advance to participating hunters, landowners, communities, wildlife watchers and other agencies for their partnership in this effort. People with questions can contact the Region 6 FWP headquarters at 406-228-3700.