Are we trying to keep deer populations low in areas with CWD, and will we ever try to exterminate all deer in these areas?

Maintaining a lower deer density is one approach to slowing the spread of CWD within an area and reducing the likelihood of an infected deer dispersing and introducing CWD to a new area. In order to do this, Game and Fish has issued more licenses in 3F2 than otherwise would have been the case over the past several years. Hunter success has remained steady in that unit, but we need hunters to help maintain lower densities.

Game and Fish has and will continue to use lessons learned from other states, as well as the best available scientific evidence to make decisions on how to address the issue of CWD in North Dakota. There are few examples where depopulation of a wild deer herd was feasible or effective, and we have no current plans to take this approach. However, wildlife management is dynamic. If a new scenario was to occur that would potentially warrant depopulation in order to save the rest of the herd, all management options would be considered.