CWD Sampling Training in Colstrip Nov. 2

MILES CITY – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will present a chronic wasting disease sampling training in Colstrip on Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Colstrip Sportsmen’s Club indoor shooting range at 7 p.m. The free training is hosted by the club but will be open to the public.

Everyone is welcome to attend the information and training session, which will include hands-on instruction on how to collect CWD samples. People are encouraged to bring heads from their harvested deer or elk to the clinic for sampling. FWP will also try to bring some heads for people to practice but cannot guarantee a head for everyone. Heads should include about four inches of neck meat in order to extract the retropharyngeal lymph nodes from the neck area. Frozen heads are difficult to sample and should be well thawed beforehand. People without heads are also welcome to come and just observe.

People are asked to pre-register for the event so FWP can get a count for CWD kits and heads. Sign up by Tuesday, Oct. 31 by calling CWD regional coordinator Will Fowler at 540-598-2217 or emailing william.fowler@mt.gov. Door prizes will be included in the training session.

The indoor shooting range is located directly off highway 39, on the access road to Castle Rock Lake. The Colstrip Sportsmen’s Club’s business meeting will follow the CWD clinic.