The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is happy to announce the winners of the 2018 brucellosis monitoring raffle. As a thank-you to hunters who submitted blood samples and other information from targeted areas, each complete submission was entered into a raffle to win high-quality outdoor equipment. Elk hunters submitted 1,550 blood samples from the elk they harvested this season to help Game and Fish monitor brucellosis.
The winners of the gear prizes are:
- Robert Merrill, Wyoming: 6.5 Creedmoor Mossberg Patriot bolt-action rifle donated by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Wyoming chapter and Vortex Viper HS LR 6-24x50 FFP rifle scope donated by Vortex Optics
- David Smolik, Wyoming: Viper HD 15-45x65 spotting scope donated by Vortex Optics
- David Langerman, Wyoming: Maven C1 binoculars (8x42 or 10x42), Maven T-shirt and hat donated by Maven and the Wyoming chapter of The Wildlife Society
Winners of the Game and Fish sweatshirt and hat combo are:
- Michael Moran, Washington
- Burke Smith, Colorado
- Annette Little, Wyoming
- Devon Honea Mathes, Wyoming
- Walter Scruggs, California
- Dallas Pfister, Alabama
“The raffle is one way we encourage hunters to submit blood samples to help Game and Fish monitor brucellosis in Wyoming,” said Eric Maichak, Game and Fish disease biologist. “Thank you to our generous sponsors who provided the prizes and to each hunter who submitted a sample. You truly make a difference for the health of wildlife.”
Brucellosis is a bacterial disease found in in elk and bison throughout the area surrounding Yellowstone in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. A state/federal eradication program has almost eliminated the disease in cattle, but infected elk and bison pose a continuing threat. Voluntary hunter participation is fundamental for the program’s success, and Game and Fish appreciates hunter efforts to submit samples.
Elk hunt areas targeted for surveillance in 2018 can be found on the interactive brucellosis map on the Game and Fish website.
