The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect lymph node samples from deer and elk for chronic wasting disease testing. For 2022, samples are requested across Wyoming in select deer and elk hunt areas, and sample submission will be mandatory in six deer hunt areas.

CWD is a fatal disease of the central nervous system in mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, and moose. Game and Fish has tracked the distribution and prevalence of CWD since 1997 to better understand how it affects the health of Wyoming’s deer and elk populations. Animals with CWD may show weight loss, reluctance to move, excessive salivation, droopy ears, increased drinking and urinating, lethargy, and eventually death. However, not all animals show symptoms; most CWD-positive animals that are harvested appear normal and healthy. Therefore, hunter-submitted samples are crucial to understanding the impacts of this disease in wildlife herds.  

Statewide for 2022, Game and Fish is asking hunters to submit samples from deer hunt areas 1-6, 59, 60, 64, 65, 66, 124, 130, 131, 134, 135, 138-146, 150-156, 157, 165 and 171. Deer hunt areas 59, 60, 64, 65, 157 and 171 are mandatory testing areas for CWD. That means hunters who harvest mule deer in these areas must submit a lymph node sample for testing. Areas 157 and 171 are mandatory for mule deer and white-tailed deer samples. 

“Locally, mandatory sampling in Deer Hunt Areas 64 and 65 will help us garner enough samples to accurately determine the prevalence of CWD in this herd. Deer Hunt Areas 59 and 60 border 65 and are also mandatory for mule deer sample submission. We appreciate all the help hunters in these areas provide in helping us gain this knowledge,” said Douglas Wildlife Biologist Matt Huizenga.  

In addition, Game and Fish is collecting samples from focus areas in Deer Hunt Area 66 near Casper and Elk Hunt Areas 7 and 19, which spans the Laramie Range from Casper to Wheatland. While not mandatory, Game and Fish encourages hunters to provide lymph nodes for CWD sampling in these areas.
“We hope to make submitting a sample for CWD testing easy for hunters, whether they bring us the harvested animal or collect the sample themselves,” said Huizenga.  If you harvest a deer in Deer Hunt Areas 59, 60, 64 or 65 or elk in Elk Hunt Areas 7 and 19, submit your CWD sample at the following locations:

CHECK STATIONS
Douglas
Oct. 15 - Oct. 17 and Oct. 21 - Oct. 24
9 a.m. to dark
1/2 mile south of Douglas on Esterbrook Rd. (HWY 94); Douglas
Contact: Matt Huizenga (307) 298-5246

Oct. 18 - 20 
Available by appointment
Contact: Matt Huizenga (307) 298-5246

 
Glenrock         
Oct. 15 - Oct. 17 and Oct. 21 - Oct 24          
9 a.m. to dark
Country Style Meat Processing – 106 N 4th St.; Glenrock
Contact: Kelcey Burguess (307) 251-7642

Oct. 18 to Oct. 20
8 a.m to 5 p.m.
Glenrock Game Warden Station - 135 Oregon Trail; Glenrock
Contact: Willow Bish (307) 436-9617
                       
HEAD DROP BOX LOCATIONS 
Douglas
Oct. 15 to Oct. 24
Tom's Wild Game Processing - 204 Sanford Ave.; Douglas (green box in the alley) 
                                                             
WYOMING GAME AND FISH OFFICES
Casper Regional Office: 3030 Energy Ln., 8-5 M-F (307) 473-3400
Laramie Regional Office: 1212 S. Adams. St., 8-5 M-F (307) 745-4046
 
Hunters can also learn to take samples by watching an informative how-to video and submitting the sample to any of the above locations. For more information, contact the Casper Regional office at (307) 473-3400 or visit the Game and Fish webpage.