Colorado Parks And Wildlife (CPW) announced big changes in game management this week.
That’s due to concern over Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal brain disease that affects deer, elk and moose. The sickness is present in 26 states and over half of Colorado’s deer herds are known to be infected.
The changes are a part of the new Colorado Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan. It’s a 15-year roadmap that recommends a local approach to managing herds.
Other recommendations include changing the buck to doe ratio, increasing the deer harvest - and adding late-season tags.
CPW will test a sample of bucks for the disease every five years.
As of last month’s estimate, 15 percent of the bucks in the white river deer herd were infected with Chronic Wasting Disease.