One new case of CWD confirmed
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Last week chronic wasting disease was confirmed in a free-ranging deer 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Clearfield County near the Jefferson County line, east of Punxsutawney.
Appearing to be diseased, the animal was shot June 7 by a Game Commission wildlife conservation officer in State Game Land 87. The site is near the center of 350-square-mile Disease Management Area 3, which was established in 2014 when CWD was detected in two fenced deer farms in Jefferson County. The DMA is adjacent to populations of Pennsylvania’s free-ranging wild elk.
Chronic wasting disease is caused when prions, abnormal proteins, randomly multiply in the brain, spine and lymph nodes of whitetailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose, resulting in malfunctions in the brain. There is no vaccine or cure, and CWD is always fatal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that chronic wasting disease cannot be contracted by humans or household pets, but as a precaution the Game Commission has advised hunters to avoid consuming venison from deer that appears sick.
“It’s important our response is as effective and efficient as possible to attempt to curtail this disease before it becomes well-established in an area where it not only is a threat to our deer, but also our elk,” said Wayne Laroche, Game Commission wildlife-management director, in a written statement. “If we can remove the infected animals from this area so they are no longer coming in contact with healthy deer or shedding the prion that causes the disease, we may be able to slow its spread and minimize its effects on deer and elk, and the people who enjoy them.”
A longstanding Game Commission executive order prevents the transfer of deer or critical deer parts out of disease management areas. At a news conference last week, officials announced new precautions specific to DMA 3. They include increased testing of road-killed and hunterkilled deer, the allocation of 2,800 Deer Management Assistance Program permits available for purchase in DMAP Unit 3045 and the use of sharpshooters in the specific area.
Ancient fish
A paddlefish estimated at nearly 50 inches was caught and released Tuesday on • LAST WEEK: In special regulation hunting areas, where populations are generally more dense, the use of airguns and semiautomatic rifles should be managed the same as as elsewhere in Pennsylvania. the Allegheny River near Lock and Dam No. 9 in Armstrong County. A long-billed filter-feeder that eats only zooplankton, the paddlefish compensates for poor eyesight by using receptors in its nose to detect weak electrical fields, which signal the presence of tiny prey.
Dating to the Late Cretaceous epoch some 70 million years ago, the primitive fish was extirpated in the Ohio River system in the previous century. Today the nongame species is neither threatened nor a candidate for threatened status in Pennsylvania. Dams block spawning migration, but the state Fish and Boat Commission has undertaken a paddlefish stocking program in hopes of establishing a breeding population.
Steelhead program
At its recent board meeting, Fish and Boat commissioners extended stream access for Erie-area steelhead anglers and expanded the steelhead stocking program.
As part of the Lake Erie permit program, the board spent $26,000 to acquire nearly 2,000 linear feet of riparian land along Elk Creek in McKean Township, Erie County. The easement is located off West Road.
In Fairview, an easement of less than a half-acre on Trout Run was acquired. No fishing or trespassing is permitted on this section of Trout Run, a steelhead brood collection location.
And Fairview Evergreen Nurseries was granted a 10year lease on Fairview State Fish Hatchery property. According to a Fish and Boat release, the nursery has leased the land for 40 years to growits nursery business. Evergreen will pay $4,650 the first year, with the annual amount increasing to $4,925 in the final year.