CWD

asting Disease (CWD) was first identified in Colorado in captive mule deer in the late 1960s. Nearly 40 years later in approximately 2002, the first utterance of CWD was heard among the ranks of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR). With a case turning up in nearby West Virginia, the VDWR began research and planning to prevent the disease from crossing the state line. I was an employee at the time and recall sampling and the agency releasing regulations on transporting carcasses into the state, but it was likely too late. CWD was detected in Shenandoah County, Virginia within a year or two.