CASPER—The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is hosting a training session on how to remove lymph nodes from harvested deer and elk for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. The training will be held on August 29 at 6:00 PM at the Casper Regional Game and Fish Office.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease affecting deer, elk, and moose. Early detection through proper lymph node collection is essential for monitoring and surveillance of this disease. This training is ideal for hunters and will be conducted by wildlife professionals. 

Training Details:

• Date: August 29, 2024
• Time: 6:00 PM
• Location: Casper Region Game and Fish office, 3030 Energy Lane

Participants will receive hands-on instruction on the correct procedures for locating, extracting, preserving, and submitting lymph nodes for CWD testing. The training will cover all necessary tools and techniques, ensuring attendees are well-prepared to contribute to vital CWD surveillance efforts. Hunters can also view online instructions and a how-to video.

Since 1997, the Wyoming Game and Fish has been monitoring the distribution and prevalence of CWD to better understand how this disease may affect the health of Wyoming’s deer and elk populations. This disease has now been identified in most deer hunt areas across Wyoming. Continued monitoring of the disease over time is important to help Game and Fish understand its potential impacts and evaluate future management actions for deer and elk. Determining the prevalence of CWD in herds is important for management and requires many samples from each herd to be submitted to the Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory. For this reason, sampling efforts are focused in different hunt areas each year. The focus areas for the Casper Region include mandatory sample submission in Deer Hunt Areas 22, 88, and 89.  

For more information about CWD and the importance of lymph node testing, visit wgfd.wyo.gov.