Blue Tongue

[Zag11]

Is this primarily affecting deer that live in lower elevations? How about deer upwards of 3000+ feet?

Or is the idea that since the drought concentrated deer around lower water sources that all deer are pretty much affected?

[buckfvr]

Still plenty of deer to hunt 3k+ provided you are not in a wolf and other predator hot spot.

[Zag11]

Great, thank you for the response.

[highcountry_hunter]

Neighbor went for a walk last week behind his place just outside of colville last week and found a dead doe then found a forked horn whitetail on its feet but a complete zombie. Would barely move it’s tail and hardly move it’s head. He had pics on his phone of the buck and his black lab nose to nose sniffing each other. He said he gently touched it on its back with a stick and it didn’t even look over. I told him I’d go put it down for him if he wanted but his wife is a big time animal lover and wouldn’t have went for something like that. He went back the next day and it was in the same spot deader than a bag of hammers.

[jjhunter]

Found 4 dead bucks yesterday in one field.  Died within last two weeks.  We didn’t see a whitetail alive covering a damned good section of whitetail country in Whitman County.

[dvolmer]

WDFW came out today with a special email to all hunters that have hunted in Eastern WA in the last 5 years letting them know that they expect low whitetail harvest this season due to blue tongue.  Getting hunters ready for a next weekend opener with not whities around.

[MerriamMagician]

I can provide a hunting report for bluetongue from the Clearwater/Salmon river breaks area in Idaho. Obviously not Washington, but not far from the Palouse region of WA.  I've hunted this area for whitetails the last 4 years. Every year have harvested good quality bucks and seen lots of deer. Idaho's deer season opened on the 10th. I was stunned at what I observed this year compared to the last 4. Was there 4 days, 2 scouting and 2 of hunting. All of the areas I normally hunt were devoid of whitetails. I'm talking about 90% less of what I've seen the last 4 years. Even on the private land. I normally see 50-100 whitetail deer a day easily in this area on previous years. This past weekend, in 4 days afield, I saw around 15 whitetails, all does. Heard a lot of the locals saying the whitetail deer have been wiped out this year. So this is just my  I saw plenty of mule deer and elk in the area. It would appear that Blue tongue has hit hard all across Eastern WA and Northern Idaho. I'll be making a return trip in November, but I'm not too optimistic things will be better than now.

[Ridgeratt]

This is the best line from the letter.

 
Thank you for your help and awareness when it comes to managing "our" deer populations.
 
Sincerely,

 
Steve Pozzanghera, WDFW
Region 1, Regional Director
2315 North Discovery Place
Spokane Valley, WA 99216



Welcome everyone from western side of the state. Enjoy your time.

[NWBREW]

I must be missing something??

I’ll be heading up to the cabin this weekend to see what has taken place in the northern area. I don’t hunt until the late season but I do want to take note of what I see…or don’t see. Does not sound encouraging

[elkboy]

I had the misfortune to draw the second deer WT muzzleloader tag for GMU 142 Almota.  I returned that tag to WDFW with a letter of explanation.  I just can't hunt that tag under the circumstances, and I will likely not hunt my OTC tag this year either, at least not for a whitetail.  Just sad for my beloved Whitman County whitetails.    

[T-Dozzer]

I have hunted the Palouse for 30 years & haven't seen in this bad. #s are way down.

[vandeman17]

any reports from western montana?

[lastmk8]

any chance someone can post a copy of the email from WDFW?  I didn't get the email although I have been hunting the east side for deer the last 15 years.  WDFW should know this as I also do my harvest reporting on time as well.

Thanks

[Ridgeratt]

Hello,

You are receiving this email because you have indicated that you have hunted deer in Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Eastern Region in the past five years. If you plan to do so again this year, we would like to make you aware of a disease outbreak that could potentially impact your hunt.

Many white-tailed deer have been affected by an outbreak of Bluetongue and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in Eastern Washington this summer and fall. We are monitoring this outbreak with the help of the public as well as local and state organizations. The current outbreak appears to be more widespread than in 2015 with reports of affected deer throughout the eastern third of the state and into Idaho.

Hemorrhagic diseases are common in deer and spread by biting Culicoides gnats that live in wet, muddy areas where deer congregate during hot, dry weather. White-tailed deer are commonly affected by these diseases and may die as a result of infection. Mule deer do not typically die from these diseases, but we have documented a few mortalities during this outbreak.

Cooler, wetter weather will allow the deer to spread back out across the landscape and avoid the gnats, but the outbreak will not end until there is a hard frost to kill the gnats that spread these diseases.
 
Given the extent of the outbreak and local severity, it is possible that your success this fall will be impacted. Adult does are the drivers of population growth and prior to this outbreak, WDFW took regulatory steps to substantially reduce harvest of antlerless white-tailed deer. In 2019, we eliminated antlerless harvest throughout District one and, at a broader regional scale, we reduced antlerless harvest around Spokane for the 2021-23 seasons. These changes should mitigate declines attributed to this summer’s EHD outbreak. There are no further reductions in white-tailed deer seasons planned at this time. Restrictions or regulations to modify buck harvest are unlikely to change the population trajectory and are therefore unwarranted.
 
Humans are not affected by either EHD or Bluetongue viruses, but we strongly recommend not harvesting and consuming animals that are obviously sick. More information on Bluetongue and EHD is on the WDFW website.
 
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a completely separate disease from Bluetongue and EHD. We have NO confirmed cases of CWD in Washington to date. However, we are initiating a CWD surveillance program this year in northeast Washington.
 
CWD is a fatal illness of deer, elk, moose, and caribou. It is caused by misfolded proteins known as prions that can contaminate the environment and be transmitted between animals through feces, saliva, urine, and other bodily fluids. CWD has been detected in a number of Canadian provinces and U.S. states, the closest being Libby, Montana.
 
If you hunt in game management units (GMUs) 105, 108, 111, 113, 117, 124, or 127, please have your harvested white-tailed deer tested for CWD at a game check station or testing location listed on the attached information sheet. The sheet also includes additional information on CWD, how to help slow the spread of CWD if you hunt in other states, guidelines for handling and consuming deer that are potentially sick, and more. Additional information on CWD and the CWD surveillance program can be found at wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/diseases/chronic-wasting.
 
Thank you for your help and awareness when it comes to managing our deer populations.
 
Sincerely,

 
Steve Pozzanghera, WDFW
Region 1, Regional Director
2315 North Discovery Place
Spokane Valley, WA 99216


Here you are. I don't believe they would give you an accurate number of deer that have died from this if You were to call them. But it could be as high as a 50% perhaps more.

[bustedoldman]

any chance someone can post a copy of the email from WDFW?  I didn't get the email although I have been hunting the east side for deer the last 15 years.  WDFW should know this as I also do my harvest reporting on time as well.

Thanks

I did not receive one as well...So don't feel left out.