EHD vs CWD - Which is worse?? | Skip Sligh - Ep 025

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Thanks for having me! this was done for YOU, the resource & the future hunters! This was in description by the minute… 0:00 Intro 0:16 Who is Skip Sligh 1:05 EHD Outbreak in Iowa 2:14 Skip's Background 4:50 Skip's 230"+ Buck 8:15 Letting Deer Get Old 10:35 The Next Generation 12:59 Putting the Work Into Your Farm 15:24 Golden Years of Iowa Hunting 17:30 Decimation of Iowa's Deer Herd 21:19 Impact of EHD on Deer Populations 28:18 EHD vs CWD 48:25 Economic Impact of Deer Hunting in Iowa 50:11 Legislative Efforts & Advocacy 1:04:29 How to "Keep Iowa Great" with IBA & ISC

[@buydirtlife]

Wisconsin has definitely changed over the years, and land ownership shifting to out-of-state buyers has had a big impact. CWD is another tough battle-no easy answers there, but it’s clear that management efforts have shifted over time. It’s crazy to see how different states approach it. Appreciate the discussion in this video-always good to hear different perspectives on how to handle these challenges!

[@Paulannear]

No one is arguing with you that EHD in Iowa is a larger problem than CWD in Iowa...AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. Wait until CWD takes hold though, whenever that might be in Iowa. In SW Wisconsin where I hunt. 34% of the deer that are tested are CWD positive. I have killed 11 deer on the property I hunt in SW Wisconsin since 2019, and 8 have been positive. I have put down a sick buck during turkey season with DNR permission, killed a sick doe last fall (tested positive), had another sick doe walking around that we couldn't get a shot at, and had another sick buck on trail camera back in September, that I just found last week. All on 115 acres. I work full time in the hunting industry and see TONS of photos of sick deer walking around with CWD in the surrounding area I hunt. People send them to me on a near WEEKLY basis during fall. CWD is way worse than EHD. It's not even close. I am seeing population decline now due to CWD in my county. NO ONE in SW Wisconsin says "Wow, I am seeing more mature bucks now than ever before." No one. Yet, everyone is managing for older age class bucks, everyone. In SW Wisconsin, people are starting to open their eyes that CWD is a massive problem. EHD is the acute killer, I get it. Wipes out 80% of deer herds in pockets, but its not the long-term problem that whitetails face. Unfortunately, I see tons of hunters illegally baiting, running mineral sites and using watertank waterholes. None of this is helping, and anything that isn't helping is drastically hurting at this point. I don't have the answers for CWD but thank goodness people in the epicenter of this thing in Wisconsin are starting to realize it's the issue. The WI DNR tried to do the right things when first discovered in 2001, but politicians and hunters blocked their efforts. Do not blame the WI DNR for their approach. Gov. Scott Walker signed Earn-a-Buck out of law, and unfortunately that was our best deer management tool. There isn't an answer at this point for many areas of SW Wisconsin - it's too far gone. I am going to do the following...harvest does like crazy when I can, and probably not be too picky when it comes to bucks, although that will be difficult since I enjoy the challenge of a little bit older deer. I plan on going back to just enjoying my hunting experience and see what happens. Again, don't have the answers, but people need to realize it is to the point where it's causing population decline in SW Wisconsin.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Agreed; however, is it easier to administer whatever cure in 2 counties or 25? Targeted sharpshooting was NEVER used as a complete cure, it was used to manage spread, lower densities in infection areas and remove sick individuals from the herd. Been there, done that.

[@derrickwarner9578]

That's what Wisconsin is. So broken up from small farms being run out and then property getting sectioned up and out of state and non residents buying land here turned it into an non resident land owned state

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Iowa and Dane counties now have prevalence of over 50% per Wisc latest CWD report. The 2 counties where the infection started. I worked on CWD for 16 years, the predominate mode of transmission is still deer to deer, prion transfer thru bait or soil is far less likely. Remember, we remove most the deer that show fidelity to a bait site. Cost of any project, as you identified, pales in comparison to what is generated thru the deer hunting industry. We held prevalence low for years

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

All fair points & appreciate your perspective! Let me ask you this…. What approach would you like to see WI adopt at this point?

[@iane8705]

it is delusional to think you could have any impact or win long term with that strategy. The only way is a cure. Testing and monitoring for the sake of continued funding accomplishes nothing

[@steven1751]

100% agree with the bs non resident take. The late antlerless season is not as big of a concern to me. It's all about self regulation, if your area has low deer numbers don't hunt. If my area has good numbers and I want to shoot a doe I should be able to.

[@steven1751]

The population concerns need to be addressed by zones. There can't be statewide blanket regulations. Skip and others have proposed iowa become a one buck state. That would have a negligible impact on both population and age structure. The vast majority of hunters don't shoot two bucks a year. It would, though, limit guys who like to bow hunt and late muzzy hunt. Iowa has been a two buck state for at least 30 years since I've been hunting, which includes the "glory days".

[@steven1751]

The major regulation that changed about 15 years ago is the ability to party hunt during gun 1 or gun 2 with a doe tag and then still be able to get a late muzzy buck tag. It needs to go back to only able to hunt during gun 1 or 2 if you have an any sex tag.

[@travissmith-wz5nc]

Skip please explain the minerals you're adding to soil in food plots. Boron, iodine, zinc, copper ect? I heard you talk about this on other podcasts. I found Boron and trace mineral salt asded to soil makes huge difference just need more guidance.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

Yes, u likely need all those & can add them…. I go into detail on podcasts, IW & IW website on that but I’ll get some more info on how to add micros effectively. For sure makes a big difference & most land is lacking big time. More coming

[@Mo75149-j]

Found alot of dead bucks on our permission farms in Mid MO also this year. All looked healthy.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

That’s very likely EHD. EHD kills very fast - why a deer might go from healthy to dead in 24 hours. CWD is a long term regression they would likely have the deer looking “sickly”.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

You’re incorrect. Accurate deductive logic strongly suggests had Wisc DNR been ALLOWED to continue its management efforts on 2002, they might of stopped it. It was the hunters thru political pressure that terminated it. Then we got it in Illinois, and so on. Interview an agency person attached to the program next time. Data is data. The management is aligned to simply slow The spread while the better science prevails.

[@Iowa_Whitetail]

I agree with some of this & agree it’s very complex. WI spent somewhere to the tune of 10’s of millions & probably 100’s of millions (if calculate in loss of hunters/economy, real estate values & hunters that will now never join the sport). I do not believe, I may be wrong, any data during that point lead to a decrease in CWD positives. IMHO- all of that $ should have been diverted to a CURE. During this time they wiped out all the deer but freely moved hay around the Midwest. Had they kept with eradicating deer to this day, WI is no further towards a cure & the economic impact would have been how many more hundreds of millions- still waiting for that cure as that’s the only true answer here. Somehow the population has recovered & the mature older bucks are once again on landscape. CWD killing proponents will say the deer #’s are slowly declining now in say, iowa county. Let’s TRY to bottom line this…. To this day the CWD killing proponents would be killing every deer & spending infinite amounts. No hunting. Based on their “expertise to slow or solve a problem”. MY QUESTION is: do we let the government bureaucracy continue to define what to spend, kill & how to solve OR do we let the citizens & hunters have the same information & allow their influence on decisions. I believe citizens & hunters should have input & I don’t believe the tactic took in WI before had any clear resolution & understood limitless dynamics they have no answers to to this day. Just my opinion that the “ kill em all forever until there’s a cure” is not the best policy.

[@icehog2367]

I agree, find the cure for CWD, killing something that's already doomed seems futile. There's no doubt it can be devastating, areas of Wyoming hit hard have 70% of their bucks dying from the disease and they feel herds will be completely wiped out in no time. Wisconsin spent a bunch of money, but they did make progress until the public outcry.