Bryan Richards of the USGS instructs the class on the status of CWD. August 17, 2006. Photo by Cindy Driscoll, Wildlife Veterinarian, MD DNR

Mark Barrett of Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge dissects a deer head while Ray Brown of Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and Cindy Driscoll, Wildlife Veterinarian for Maryland Department of Natural Resources look on. August 17, 2006. Unknown photographer.

Regional Refuge Biologist Hal Laskowski dissects a deer head while workshop organizer and Regional CWD Coordinator Craig Bitler looks on. August 17, 2006. Photo by Cindy Driscoll, Wildlife Veterinarian, Maryland DNR

On August 17, 2006 the northeast region of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) held a successful chronic wasting disease (CWD) workshop at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Sheperdstown, West Virginia.  CWD is a fatal, neurological disease of deer, elk, and moose that is in the same family of diseases as mad cow disease.  Organized by Craig Bitler, northeast region CWD coordinator and wildlife biologist at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, the one-day session featured presentations on the current status of the disease and monitoring and surveillance efforts of states in the region where CWD has been detected (New York and West Virginia) and adjacent states (Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania).  A classroom session was followed by hands-on tissue sampling from deer heads at NCTC’s state-of-the-art laboratory.  Presenters at the conference included Bryan Richards, USGS CWD project leader of the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and wildlife biologists and veterinarians from the participating states.  Participants included managers and biologists from regional and field offices of the National Wildlife Refuge System, including a biologist from Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.  Land managers from NCTC and biologists from Maryland, Delaware, and Kentucky also attended the workshop.  “Not only did our refuge staff benefit from instruction by top-notch CWD experts, the instructors and attendees enjoyed the opportunity to network,” observed  the Service's Northeast Region alternate CWD coordinator Catherine Hibbard, who assisted with the workshop.  Although CWD is a serious wildlife concern, no compelling evidence exists to suggest CWD poses a health risk to humans.