DENVER — The Division of Wildlife’s spring management efforts to reduce and monitor deer herds infected with chronic wasting disease are completed, with nearly 200 adult deer being removed and examined from affected herds in northeastern Colorado.

"Our goals in terms of chronic wasting disease this spring were three-fold," said Mike Miller, Division of Wildlife veterinarian. "Reduce the numbers of infected deer, reduce the chances for chronic wasting disease to spread further and examine each deer taken to learn more about the disease."

Of the deer taken, 158 adult animals were removed from Game Management Units 9 and 191 northwest of Fort Collins and 36 adult deer were taken from units east of Interstate 25 along the South Platte River. The deer were removed from herds known to be infected with the disease and from properties where little or no hunting occurs.

"Our short-term management objective for chronic wasting disease is to keep herds in the endemic area from growing beyond their 1999 wintertime levels," said Rick Kahn, manager of terrestrial field programs for the Division of Wildlife. "By targeting infected herds that receive light hunting pressure, we were able to work towards that overall objective and successfully remove infected animals."

In eastern units where disease prevalence is relatively low, wildlife managers concentrated their reduction efforts in specific locations where infected animals have been detected in the past.

"We were successful in removing several infected deer from those areas," Miller said. "We hope that will result in an even lower incidence of chronic wasting disease in those spots, perhaps helping to keep the disease in check."

As part of the management effort, researchers examined female deer to determine if the disease can be transmitted to newborn fawns. The results, according to Miller, are that "transplacental transmission" does not appear to occur.

In Unit 9 northwest of Fort Collins, the spring management effort supplemented an ongoing research project to determine the relationship between deer density and disease prevalence. In a special late season last year, public hunters killed 212 deer in the unit as part of the project, which is designed to reduce the unit’s population by half during a three-year period. The initial reduction will be followed by monitoring to determine if lower densities of deer affects disease prevalence. Game Management Unit 9 has the highest rate of infection in the endemic area, with up to 15 percent of the deer being infected.