Update: CWD Spreads to Wyoming Feedground

Chronic wasting disease has been detected in two adult cow elk at the Dell Creek Feedground near Pinedale, Wyoming, marking a concerning expansion of the disease's presence in areas where elk gather and state employees feed them in the winter. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department discovered the first case in January and the second in early February, both in Elk Hunt Area 87.

The cases represent several firsts: the initial CWD cases in Hunt Area 87, the first detection in the Upper Green River Elk Herd, and only the second instance of the disease appearing in Wyoming feedgrounds, following a positive case at the Scab Creek Feedground in December.

Wildlife Division Deputy Chief Justin Binfet addressed the situation in a February 14 press release: "It is unfortunate and concerning to find CWD on an elk feedground,” he said. “However, it was not unexpected given this disease continues to spread throughout the West." Binfet noted that the department had prepared for this possibility by developing an Elk Feedground Management Plan, which provides guidelines for minimizing disease transmission and implementing long-term solutions at feedgrounds.

Department personnel have investigated the sites, collected samples and removed the elk carcasses from Hunt Area 87.

Game and Fish currently is developing comprehensive Feedground Management Action Plans for the Jackson and Pinedale elk herds. The agency says the action plans will outline strategies to gradually reduce elk dependency on artificial feeding sites while limiting disease spread, focusing on both immediate interventions and sustainable long-term solutions to promote healthier elk populations. After finalizing a plan for the Pinedale Herd, Game and Fish will determine which herd to prioritize next.

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CWD has been on the rise nationally since it was first discovered in a Colorado mule deer in 1967. The always deadly disease is now present in 36 states and its spread is intensifying, according to recent data. One area of focus for scientists is contagion in and around feedgrounds where elk gather in large herds and are susceptible to the spread of misfolded prions that cause CWD.

Toward the end of December, an elk in western Wyoming’s hunt area 92 tested positive for the disease. It was the fourth elk to contract the disease near Wyoming feedground units. Earlier this month, a fifth tested positive, but this time it was discovered at a feeding site.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department on January 15 reported the first confirmed case of CWD at a Wyoming elk feedground, marking an unwelcome milestone in the state’s wildlife management efforts.

The adult cow elk was found deceased on Scab Creek feedground in elk hunt area 98 near Pinedale, Wyoming, at the base of the Wind River Range. The feedground is bordered by three CWD-positive elk areas: 28, 92 and 127. Two other elk in hunt area 98 tested positive in 2021 and 2022.

Raegin Akhtar, public information and education specialist for Game and Fish, told Mountain Journal that the discovery of CWD at the Scab Creek feedground is unfortunate but not necessarily unexpected. “While this is the third documented case of CWD detected in Elk Hunt Area 98, it is the first confirmed instance of an elk testing positive on a feedground,” she said.

In March 2024, the agency’s commission approved the Elk Feedground Management Plan, allowing the department to move forward with Elk Feedground Management Action Plans. These plans are a public-involvement process to explore short-term and long-term solutions to reduce elk reliance and disease transmission risks on feedgrounds. In a press release, Game and Fish stated that Scab Creek feedground will be included in the action plan.

Kristin Combs, executive director for Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, told MoJo last April that Wyoming isn’t doing enough to address CWD in and around elk feedgrounds. “Other states years ago just decided that it's not healthy to feed elk, so they got rid of this system,” Combs said. “But they helped livestock producers transition into preventing conflicts by giving them some resources … and Wyoming just didn't do that.”

Akhtar said the department has made several adjustments to minimize disease transmissions at feedgrounds, including Scab Creek, over the past few years. These actions include feeding every other day in certain situations and when conditions allow, expanding feeding areas to spread out elk, monitoring feedgrounds for unhealthy animals, and reducing the overall length of the feeding season when conditions allow.

Without changes to feedground management, scientific projections paint a stark picture of Wyoming elk populations. Recent U.S. Geological Survey research predicts the Jackson Elk Herd could decline by more than 50 percent if current feeding practices continue on the National Elk Refuge.

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