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No Chronic Wasting Disease Detected During Arizona Deer & Elk Testing

Arizona Game and Fish Department

PHOENIX, AZ – -(Ammoland.com)- The Arizona Game and Fish Department reports no detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in any of the 1,417 testable samples from hunter-harvested or road-killed deer and elk during Arizona’s 2010-11 hunting season.

Game and Fish has tested nearly 16,000 deer and elk samples since beginning its surveillance program in 1998.

To date, none have tested positive for the disease.

Although CWD has not yet been found in Arizona, it is present in the three neighboring states of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

“We remain steadfast in our sampling efforts in high-risk areas, nearly tripling the number of tested samples compared to last year in Game Management Units 1, 27 and unit 28 (areas bordering Utah and New Mexico),” said Anne Justice-Allen, DVM, wildlife health specialist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Another improvement to the program is easy access to test results. A web-based online system at www.azgfd.gov/cwd allows you to enter your name, phone number, permit and hunt number to obtain results, rather than waiting for a mailed post card with those results.

“The online system is a great improvement to get individual test results out as quickly as possible,” said Justice-Allen. “This monitoring program is made possible by Arizona’s hunters, meat processors, and taxidermists who continue to provide the samples we need and we hope this new tool will make the process easier for them too.”

Each year, hunters who are successful in the Game Management Units bordering Utah and New Mexico, particularly Units 1, 12B, 27, and 28, are encouraged to submit heads for sampling because these units are closest to CWD positive areas. Arizona deer and elk from these areas have the greatest potential to have contact with an infected animal from these neighboring states.

While it is only mandatory to bring animals harvested from Units 12A East and 12A West to the Kaibab check station, hunters may also bring animals harvested from other units to the check station for CWD sampling during the regular hours of operation.

About CWD
CWD is a neurodegenerative wildlife disease that is fatal to cervids, which include deer, elk, and moose. Symptoms include loss of body weight or emaciation, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination, stumbling, trembling, and behavioral changes such as listlessness, lowering of the head, and walking in circles or repetitive patterns.

No evidence has been found to indicate that CWD will cause disease in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

CWD was first identified in captive deer in Colorado in 1967 and has since spread to both captive and wild cervids in 18 states and two Canadian provinces. It is a naturally occurring prion disease belonging to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs are Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in domestic cattle and Scrapie in sheep and goats.

The department has had rules in place since 2002, which designate cervids as restricted wildlife and ban the importation of cervids in order to protect against the introduction of CWD to free-ranging or captive wildlife in the state (for details see R12-4-406 and R-4-430). Additionally, Game and Fish has a CWD Prevention, Detection, Response, and Management Plan that provides a logical process to manage issues related to CWD in Arizona.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department will continue to work in close coordination with other state and federal agencies to monitor for CWD.

For more information on CWD, visit these website resources:

* Arizona Game and Fish Department’s CWD program at www.azgfd.gov/cwd
* Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance at www.cwd-info.org
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cwd

About:
The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes that they have been discriminated against in any of the AGFD’s programs or activities, including employment practices, they may file a complaint with the Deputy Director, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000, (602) 942-3000, or with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. Ste. 130, Arlington, VA 22203. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation or this document in an alternative format by contacting the Deputy Director as listed above.

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View Draft Master Plan For Arizona Shooting Range At Open House
Proposed design balances needs for Northern Arizona Shooting Range.

Arizona Game and Fish Department

PHOENIX, AZ – -(Ammoland.com)- The Arizona Game and Fish Department is hosting an informational open house to present the draft master site-plan for the Northern Arizona Shooting Range on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30-8 p.m.

The meeting will be held at the Game and Fish Flagstaff regional office at 3500 S. Lake Mary Road.

“This is a great opportunity for the public to provide input on the latest draft design, and get first-hand information about the efforts the department is taking to balance the needs for a shooting range and being good neighbors in the community,” said Jay Cook, chief of shooting ranges for Game and Fish.

On display at the self-paced open house will be the latest proposed range design, capabilities of the facility, and examples of range construction methods that assure safety and further mitigate sound.

View Draft Master Plan For Arizona Shooting Range

The draft design is in the final stages and addresses many of the needs for a shooting range in northern Arizona, including law enforcement training, hunter education, rifle sight-in, a long-distance rifle range, shotgun sports, and onsite camping. All of the facility is within the 160-acre Foster Ranch property that was acquired by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission through a private land purchase.

Although no formal presentation will be made, key Game and Fish representatives will be on hand to answer questions, provide information, and take comments on the proposed range design.

The Department will continue to take public input on this updated draft design before finalizing and presenting it to the commission for approval, which is tentatively scheduled for the March 11-12 public meeting in Phoenix.

Visit www.azgfd.gov/nazsr to preview the current conceptual plan and other information about the Northern Arizona Shooting range including a way for those who are unable to attend the open house to submit their comments.

About sound
An independent sound study, conducted to state standards, found the sound emitted from the range to be in compliance even before any range construction.

“We understand for many, the discussion of guns and shooting ranges is unfamiliar and invokes concerns – particularly for noise. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is looking at the latest technologies in sound mitigation to build a state-of-the-art shooting range, and everything we do as required by range construction will further reduce the sounds that are already in compliance,” said Cook.

Range design components required by standards for safety and function such as earthen berms backstops, sound-absorbing shooting canopies, and natural landscape will further reduce sound from the range. Additionally, Game and Fish is committed to incorporating cost-effective measures when considering specific sound-mitigation design elements apart from the inherent design components of the range.

During the study at the Walnut Canyon’s Rim Trail observation point, the faint distant reports/echoes from the sound test were only slightly audible, but not measurable over the ambient sound levels (approximately 48 dBA), which would have been undetected amongst a normal conversation (approximately 55-60 dBA). Once again, this is before any construction and sound mitigation measures have been employed.

Background and history
Northern Arizona residents have been without a rifle and pistol shooting range since 1968. In 1994, closures of the local shotgun and archery ranges resulted in Flagstaff being one of Arizona’s largest communities without a designated place for recreational/competitive shooting and law enforcement training.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has looked at over 50 site locations, mostly public and then private (which have a different acquisition process than federal lands) over the last 15 years, seeking to establish a shooting range in northern Arizona.

In 2009, the Game and Fish Commission set its objectives (based on constituent input) for selecting a site for the shooting range as:

1. to be located within 30 minutes from downtown Flagstaff;
2. sized for a local range with potential to expand to a regional range; and
3. the ability to be operational by 2013 (3-5 years).

In July 2010, the commission purchased the private 160-acre Foster Ranch in Coconino County. The private purchase followed state regulations for acquisitions.

The public process on the range design began in September 2010, with input from user groups, the public and neighboring stakeholders. Additionally, the National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Association of Shooting Ranges, and other private industry consultants provided professional design consultation.

From all of these collaborations, Game and Fish took into consideration many elements, including safety, environmental concerns, sound mitigation, functionality, capabilities, training, education, and other shooting range requirements to create this conceptual master site plan for the deeded 160-acre, Arizona Game and Fish Commission-owned property.

Game and Fish receives no tax dollars from the state’s general fund and operates under a user-pay, user-benefit model. The property was purchased and will be developed through the sale of licenses to hunters and anglers. A $3 surcharge is imposed on hunting and fishing licenses to acquire, construct, renovate, or improve Game and Fish facilities. The fund for the development of the Northern Arizona Shooting Range was established beginning in 2001.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability in its programs and activities. If anyone believes that they have been discriminated against in any of the AGFD’s programs or activities, including employment practices, they may file a complaint with the Deputy Director, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086-5000, (602) 942-3000, or with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Dr. Ste. 130, Arlington, VA 22203. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation or this document in an alternative format by contacting the Deputy Director as listed above.

Filed under: Conservation News, Hunting News by Ammoland No Comments »