We spent a pleasant morning watching an informational hearing of the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee on two unpleasant topics: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and Emerald Ash Borers (EAB) and one more cheery subject, MPCA Local Government Water Infrastructure Grants.
What made the hearing pleasant was the lack of partisan or regional bickering among committee members, and the professionalism of the agency staff.
Here's the Minnesota House Information Service YouTube of the meeting:
Chair Hansen summed up the discussion in a legislative update:
The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee, which I chair, met this morning to receive updates from several state agencies. Staff from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and members of the Board of Animal Health kicked off the hearing. They shared information about efforts to track and prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) - a fatal neurological disorder that affects deer and similar species - this fall. They also talked about working jointly to regulate captive deer farms; legislation we passed this year gave the DNR more oversight of this industry.
DNR staff also provided an update on grants we secured to help communities manage emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive species that kills ash trees. Several local governments received funding to perform public tree inventories, establish ash management plans, and plant new trees. These methods helped slow the spread of EAB, but more funding is needed.
The Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) joined us to talk about grants that will help local governments improve their water infrastructure. . . .
Update, October 28: in an article focused on the CWD section of the hearing, Forum News Service staffer Dana Ferguson reports in Deer hunters to see changes as chronic wasting disease protocols roll out in Minnesota:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials said they're gearing up for the fall 2021 firearm deer hunting season and urging hunters to make a plan to test for chronic wasting disease before they go out into the field.
Less than two weeks before opening day for the firearm hunting season, DNR Wildlife Section Manager Kelly Straka on Wednesday, Oct. 27, told lawmakers that hunters in some regions of the state will have to prepare for mandatory sampling for the fatal brain disease in deer over opening weekend.
“I realize it is a change for hunters, it may be an insurmountable change for some hunters, but (we recommend) making sure that you make a plan," Straka said.
Hunters can't transport deer carcasses from CWD management areas, where there have been multiple reports of CWD in free-ranging deer until they get a negative test for CWD. The department has provided an exception that allows hunters or others to transport processed parts of the carcass before a test result comes back if they follow DNR guidance. Department officials also advise hunters and others to use designated dumpsters for unused portions.
With state lab test turn-around times running at about seven days, Straka asked Minnesotans to postpone plans for cooking and eating their venison.
I would love to tell people that we’ll have results back in a week but the reality is that we’re a little bit at the mercy of the labs and how fast they can operate, so I tell people to plan for longer if you can," she said. "I realize it’s hard, I do, but we do recommend not to consume anything until you’ve got those test results."
And that is likely to push back the timeline for butchering and cooking venison for hunters going out in CWD management zones.
“I guess we’ll probably be butchering over Thanksgiving break,” said Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville,. Becker-Finn noted that she hunts around the Beltrami County area. . . .
Here are the links to the slideshows and documents discussed in the hearing:
- DNR CWD Presentation
- Board of Animal Health Presentation
- Board of Animal Health Handout
- DNR EAB Update Presentation -
- MPCA Local Government Water Infrastructure Grants Presentation
- DNR EAB Update Handout
Related posts:
- DNR: Chronic wasting disease testing is mandatory for MN deer opener in CWD zones
- CWD: Outdoors writer bags skinny doe, responds to American Cervid Alliance guy's letter
- State rep Tim Miller: MN state public officials beholden to radical anti-livestock enviro groups
- MN Deer Farmers Association sends House environmental committee chair a letter
- DNR temporarily bans farmed deer movement into & within MN to protect wild white-tailed deer
- CWD update: DNR Commissioner's letter to BAH Director on regulation to protect state's wild deer
- Bemidji Pioneer: Must-read article on illegal dumped CWD deer remains in Beltrami County
- Statement: Minnesota DNR learns of 2 deer farms that received deer from CWD+ farm in Wisconsin
- Hunters, tribes, conservation groups and St. Louis County call on state to get rid of deer farms
- Tune in to House Enviro Committee hearing tomorrow morning for latest CWD information
- MN DNR press release: Return to mandatory testing in chronic wasting disease zones this season
- South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks: CWD detected in mule deer in new area, Perkins County
- UMN MNPRO’s latest research detects CWD prions in cervid muscles using RT-QuIC
- MNReformer Radio podcast interviews Jamie Becker-Finn on Chronic Wasting Disease politics
- Listen to MN House environment committee chair Rep. Rick Hansen talk CWD on Matt McNeil Show
- Special Board of Animal Health meeting to review farmed Cervidae rulemaking postponed
- Bad news from the North: CWD sweeps through Alberta & Saskatchewan deer & elk herds
- Forum News Service: MN Deerhunters Association wants to end deer farming
- Just in: House DFL Lawmakers urge resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health President
- Star Tribune: Deer farming and "CWD-infested dump site on public land" in Beltrami County
- Are deer farmers posing against MN DNR rule pausing movement of captive whitetails?
- MN DNR temporarily bans movement of farmed whitetails in state to protect wild deer health
- 5 more MN deer farm herds exposed to CWD; Beltrami carcass dump site inquiry continues
- News release: U of M testing finds presence of CWD prions at Beltrami Co. carcass dump site
- BAH: Southern Minnesota CWD investigation identifies new infection in Beltrami County
- Concerned about CWD in MN deer? Learn about new research from MNPRO's Peter Larsen
- Some of the science at the center of Update on Chronic Wasting Disease Efforts hearing
- VIDEO: MNHouse passes bill for process to extend funding for ENRTF projects for one year
- Session Daily: Experts want to study how CWD flows in state's waterways
- Sen. Andrew Lang seems behind the curve on current funding & progress of CWD test research
- VIDEO: University of Minnesota scientists share CWD research, search for test with lawmakers
- Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund plan from U of M for CWD diagnostic test
- Peter Larsen slideshow: Development of Advanced Diagnostic Tests for CWD by U of M
Photo: The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a destructive wood-boring pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Native to China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Russian Far East, the emerald ash borer beetle (EAB) was unknown in North America until its discovery in southeast Michigan in 2002. Today, EAB infestations have been detected in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Photo via Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture.
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