Wildlife Ecologist to Discuss Chronic Wasting Disease September 20 at UMC
Karl J. Martin, Forest Wildlife Research Ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, will present “Chronic Wasting Disease: Wisconsin's Response and Implications for Minnesota” on Friday, September 20, from 10 to 11 a.m. in Youngquist Auditorium, Northwest Research and Outreach Center on the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC) campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal condition that affects wild and captive deer and elk. It is a brain disease related to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or "Mad Cow Disease."
Martin
will present an overview of the disease, possible causes, testing for the
disease, human risks, the outbreak in Wisconsin, the response regarding
management and research, and the implications for Minnesota.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.
Once predominantly a disease of western states, Wisconsin made the headlines in February 2002 with the first case east of the Mississippi River. The first case in Minnesota was detected in early September near Aiken.
While very little is currently known about CWD, the disease has the potential to reduce Minnesota’s deer herd to only a fraction of its current abundance, according to John Loegering, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology at UMC. Implications for the management of captive deer and elk, wild deer, and the long-term ecological response are unprecedented.
Background information on CWD can be found at: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/CWD/index.htm
Martin’s presentation is cosponsored by the UMC Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society, the UMC Natural Resources Program, and the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, St. Paul.
Posted 09/12/2002
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8435