The Missouri Department of Conservation wants public input on changes to its plan to manage Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), among white-tailed deer.

CWD is a fatal and contagious disease affecting members of the deer family, with no known treatment or cure. It was first detected in north central Missouri in 2010.

Jason Isabelle, cervid program manager for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said since then, it has spread to other parts of the state. He explained the plan calls for continued disease surveillance across the state, as well as making sure there are enough opportunities for hunters to get their deer samples tested.

"Deer are a cherished natural resource of the state and vital to the economy," Isabelle contended. "We have nearly half a million deer hunters in the state and lots of other folks that just enjoy the resource. So, there's a lot at stake here."

Other aspects of the plan include research, communication and management, including carcass transport
regulations, and giving hunters more opportunities to harvest deer. The public comment period on Missouri's plan runs through August 8.

Mike Leahy, director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation, said there is an important bill before Congress to use federal funds to tackle the issue. It has passed the House and is now before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

"The CWD Research and Management Act provides funding for states and tribes to research and respond to the threat of CWD," Leahy outlined. "Addressing the transmission, and detection and suppression, of the disease as well as applied research into management practices."

He added it includes a rapid-response fund for controlling outbreaks as quickly as possible. Current research shows CWD does not pose a health risk to humans, although scientists still recommend against consuming meat from infected animals.

June is National Pollinator Month and a local agricultural group which aims to empower women in conservation is bringing awareness to how prairie restoration can aid the declining population of bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

Through its Wisconsin Women in Conservation program, the Michael Fields Agriculture Institute is showing how reintroducing native plant species, among other practices, can reestablish endangered habitats supporting an entire ecosystem.

Christine Johnson, farmer education coordinator at the institute, said the current focus of pollinating lands and communities is intentional for many reasons.

"Besides being a place of empowerment for women in this space, which has traditionally been male-led and focused, we are also reminding folks that conservation is a practice that should persist even as our resources are depleted," Johnson explained.

Johnson pointed out many people in their network want to do the work but lack resources. She added despite DEI and conservation guts to their programming, the institute will continue to host events throughout the year. One on Thursday for women in Wisconsin will focus on prairie restoration.

Wisconsin Women in Conservation connects women landowners and stewards to conservation initiatives through networking and education.

Sally Farrar, conservation coach for the program, often shares her experience of restoring 13 acres of prairie land using grant funds from the National Resource Conservation Service. She said the first couple of years were not successful but vividly remembers when things started to click for her.

"One summer, there were hundreds of monarchs, flocks of dragonflies, and the most rare and interesting insects I had ever imagined in my life, just such a variety of bees," Farrar recounted. "That is the sacred bond with the land."

Farrar stressed conservation is a land-management practice which takes time and may not always initially work. She acknowledged the process can feel unattainable but emphasized how everyone can play a role in nurturing community lands and addressing the declining wildlife populations, even if they do not own that land.

"I think it's an overwhelming thing to witness the collapse of some of the bird, insect and plant populations, but I think that we can all do something," Farrar added. "If you cannot steward land, please consider donating and volunteering."

Most gray wolves in the U.S. are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, but not those in the Northern Rockies. A federal judge in Missoula will hear arguments Wednesday over the validity of the exception.

In the Northern Rockies, state wildlife agencies are in charge of managing wolf populations, even though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year determined some state regulations are "at odds with modern professional wildlife management."

Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, one of 10 plaintiffs in the case, said gray wolves have not received a "fair shake" under either the Biden or Trump administrations.

"We're hoping that having the court step in and really dive into the best available science and the facts of the matter will help get the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service past its political impasse in blocking wolf protections," Molvar explained.

According to its 2024 analysis, the federal agency said gray wolves are "not at risk of extinction in the Western United States, now or in the foreseeable future." But Molvar countered wolf populations there are struggling and genetic diversity is taking a hit.

The plaintiffs argued human-caused wolf mortalities through legal practices, including hunting, trapping, baiting and even hitting wolves with vehicles, were not adequately reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in last year's decision. Molvar added the agency failed to use the best available science in population estimate methodologies.

"We are hoping the judge will highlight the fact that the aggressive wolf-killing policies are so extreme that they cannot be relied upon as a conservation framework for rare species, like wolves," Molvar emphasized.

He added the presiding judge has decided wolf cases before and acknowledged deliberations may take months.

In the last few weeks of the Oregon Legislative Session, wildlife advocates say the state has an opportunity to make needed progress in conservation efforts with three bills still in play.

The 1% for Wildlife bill would protect more than 300 imperiled species by funding the State Wildlife Action Plan, which is a federally-mandated blueprint for conserving fish and other wildlife. The bill would fund the plan by raising the state Transient Lodging Tax by 1%, up to 2.5%.

Sristi Kamal, deputy director of the Western Environmental Law Center, said the change makes sense, as much of Oregon tourism revolves around outdoor recreation.

"Oregon has one of the lowest state TLT in the whole country and we are a natural resource-rich state," Kamal pointed out. "So to not invest back into the resource seems very shortsighted for us."

Another bill would provide landowners nonlethal tools to manage beavers. A third would fund three new state wildlife coexistence biologist positions, as well as grants for wildlife rehabilitation centers. All three bills are currently in committee.

People in the tourism industry said it would be a blow to business to increase the Transient Lodging Tax but Kamal points to research showing consumers make choices about what to purchase based on the cost more so than the added tax.

"Is a $2 dollar increase in a $200 dollar room at the Oregon coast going to change a person's mind on whether they're going to come to Oregon or not?" Kamal asked.

Kamal added the only money going toward the State Wildlife Action Plan, which is implemented by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, currently comes from the federal government. She said since such funding will likely be cut by the Trump Administration, the plan is in dire need of state support.


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