DNR to train chronic wasting disease ambassadors in Black Hawk and Marshall counties

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is offering free training courses on chronic wasting disease in deer for hunters and community members interested in managing, testing for and educating others on the disease.

The courses will be held over three evenings, one a week, at Iowa State University Extension offices in Marshalltown and Waterloo. Once completed, graduates of the course will be dubbed chronic wasting disease ambassadors and will have the skills to help others in the community manage the disease, which continues to mount.

Chronic wasting disease is caused by infected prions, which are naturally occurring proteins in the body, and is fatal to deer and elk. Over time, the infected prions damage neural and lymphatic tissues in the deer, though it can take between 18 and 36 months for clinical signs to appear in the deer.

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This is why DNR has stressed the importance of testing deer for the disease if hunters plan on eating their game. While the disease has never been reported in humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said ingesting infected meat would be the most likely way a human could contract the disease.

The disease, which was first detected in Iowa in 2013, spreads across deer populations through bodily fluids, like saliva. These prions can persist for several years after they are shed, which means the disease can be prevalent even in areas without dense deer populations.

Each year, the DNR tracks the number of infected deer from deer samples submitted by hunters.

In 2024, DNR reported 136 wild deer with the disease. Since 2013 when the first case was reported, there have been more than 520 reported cases in 29 counties.

To manage and monitor the disease, DNR has been testing for the disease and has established deer management zones and chronic wasting disease zones that have additional hunting tags and management practices in place to help control the populations.

The ambassadors learn the scientific management practices for the disease, including sampling, diagnosis and communication skills to help other members of the community.

The DNR partnered with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for the ambassador program, which runs through the middle of September. Participants have two online modules plus three in-person courses that last 1.5-2 hours and include dinner.

Jordan Koos, a Decorah deer hunter who took the course in 2021, said in a news release with DNR that he “learned a lot” from the program and didn’t realize how widespread the disease was.

Hunters, non-hunters and “anyone interested in white-tailed deer conservation and management” can register online for the classes, which will have between 12 and 25 participants each.

The Waterloo classes will be held on Sept. 2, 9 and 16, from 6-8 p.m. at the Black Hawk County Extension office, 3420 University Ave. # B.

The Marshalltown course will be offered Sept. 3, 10 and 17, from 6-8 p.m. at the Marshall County Extension office, 2608 S Second St., in Marshalltown.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.