2024 in review: Chronic wasting disease in Unit 1 in the Panhandle Region

Throughout the course of the 2024 hunting season, three additional white-tailed deer in Unit 1 tested positive for chronic wasting disease, bringing the total number of positive detections to six since the initial detection in July 2024. The three additional positives came from deer harvested by hunters within the bounds of the Unit 1 CWD management zone.

Timeline

• July 2024: CWD was first detected in Unit 1 roughly three miles outside of the town of Bonners Ferry
• August 15, 2024: Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved a CWD surveillance hunt in a portion of Unit 1 to determine the initial prevalence of the disease.
• August 20, 2024: CWD Community Chat open houses began each Tuesday evening in Bonners Ferry.
• September 27, 2024: Sample results from the CWD surveillance hunt yielded two white-tailed deer that tested positive for CWD. Both deer were harvested within less than one mile of the original CWD detection.
• October 1, 2024: A CWD management zone was established in the portion of Unit 1 within Boundary County and east of the Selkirk Mountains crest. The establishment of the CWD management zone enacted mandatory CWD testing of all hunter-harvested mule deer and white-tailed deer.
• November-December 2024: Idaho Fish and Game worked with hunters to gather as many CWD samples from within the CWD management zone as possible, resulting in three additional positive detections from white-tailed deer harvested within the management zone.

Takeaways

A total of 936 white-tailed deer was sampled within the Unit 1 CWD management zone during the 2024 regular deer season, representing a drastic increase from 2023. Fish and Game would like to genuinely thank hunters for their contributions of samples and therefore a better understanding of CWD in Unit 1. 

Relative to many other states, the current estimated prevalence rate (less than 1%) of the disease in the management zone is low. Low prevalence rates suggest that Fish and Game in collaboration with hunters detected the disease early. Early detection of CWD is critical, as it creates opportunities to take action to slow the rate of spread of the disease. Recent studies in Wisconsin and Wyoming, states where CWD has been present for longer periods of time, have begun reporting major declines in big game herds, underscoring the potential risks of CWD in Idaho. 

The future

Recent studies have found that hunting can help keep CWD rates of spread and prevalence in check for the long haul. As such, during the 2025-26 Big Game Season Setting process, Fish and Game staff in the Panhandle Region proposed five new controlled hunts for white-tailed deer in the Unit 1 CWD management zone. All five hunts were well supported by the public; therefore, they were recommended to and adopted by the Fish and Game Commission at their March 2025 meeting. 

The intent of the new hunts is to reduce CWD transmission and spread, consistent with Fish and Game’s 2021 CWD management strategy. The new hunts numbers are 1115, 1116, 1120, 1121 and 1122 in the Idaho Big Game 2025 Seasons and Rules book.

Between the addition of 100 extra antlered white-tailed deer tags, addition of 1,000 extra antlerless white-tailed deer tags and reduction of 750 antlerless white-tailed deer tags in Unit 1, there is a net increase of 350 extra deer tags available in Unit 1, with a targeted focus to increase harvest within the CWD management zone.

Unit 1 is a popular hunting destination for many white-tailed deer hunters, with almost 7,100 Idaho hunters harvesting more than 2,900 white-tailed deer in Unit 1 in 2023. Fish and Game needs hunters' help to learn more about CWD to help keep white-tailed herds healthy in north Idaho.

Fish and Game’s goal is to maintain healthy big game herds by slowing the spread of CWD and keeping the prevalence rate low. Achieving this goal is not possible without assistance from hunters. 

Please contact the Panhandle Regional office at (208) 769-1414 with any questions.

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