Montana is ramping up it's regulatory efforts to control and monitor CWD, and in some CWD "hot spots", hunters will now be required to submit a sample of their harvest for testing. Lucky hunters who are able to harvest a deer in Hunter Districts 100, 103 and 104 with a Deer B license 199-20 tag in any season must submit a carcass sample to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for CWD testing. This requirement also applies to anybody who harvests a mule deer buck with Deer Permit 103-50 in Hunter District 103. In this areas, it is no longer just an "ask" from the department. It is a legal requirement. This is for deer only - for elk or moose, submitting samples is not required, but it is still recommended.
There are two ways to submit samples after a successful hunt. Before the general rifle season, hunters can bring their animal to the Region 1 office in Kalispell or submit a sample. Anybody who is comfortable doign this can also submit samples themselves by following steps on the Montana CWD Submission Guide or by visiting a CWD Sampling Station, which are located in these districts.
“We’re doing this to help ensure we’re getting enough samples to continue monitoring the CWD in the Libby area,” FWP Region 1 Communication & Education Program Manager Dillon Tabish said.
For details on collecting and submitting a sample, see https://fwp.mt.gov/conservation/chronic-wasting-disease/get-your-animal-sampled. The state is also offering sampling workshops that will provide free hands-on training for hunters, another resource offered to residents. There will be two different workshops people can attend. One in Libby at the Libby Sports Center at 204 W 9th St, that will take place on October 19 and 6pm. The other will bbe held in Kalispell at the FWP office at 490 N Meridian, and that one is on October 23, also at 6 o'clock.
The FWP also wants to make it known that CWD has been detected in both muleys and whitetails, as well as moose in the Libby area. Hunters should be aware of the Libby CWD Management Zone and its boundaries, which includes portions of HDs 100, 103 and 104.
