Wildlife

Nuisance Wildlife: Nuisance Wildlife Control Training Materials, http://www.nwco.net or contact Louis Berchielli.

Chronic Wasting Disease: Five white-tailed deer from captive herds in Oneida County have been diagnosed with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Additional testing of wild deer is currently underway in Oneida and Hamilton Counties. Hunters and consumers are concerned about what finding the disease in New York State deer herds might mean. According to Paul Curtis, associate professor of Natural Resources and the PWT's campus co-chair, planned team activities will put CCE and Cornell at the forefront of public educational efforts on the disease and its potential spread in the state. The Managing Human-Wildlife Conflicts Program Work Team (PWT) has developed a web site to answer questions concerning this wildlife disease.

The Managing Human-Wildlife Conflicts PWT was established in 2001. CCE-Ulster senior resource educator Mike Fargione co-chairs the PWT. Several other on- and off-campus CCE educators serve on the PWT, including Gary Goff of Cornell Natural Resources and Holly Wise of CCE-Oneida. Additional educational materials will be developed by the PWT as more is learned about the situation in New York State. The field response is being coordinated by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, and USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services.