Southwest Wisconsin CWD, Deer and Predator Study

Fall 2016 marked the beginning of the largest and most comprehensive deer research project ever undertaken in Wisconsin: The Southwest Wisconsin Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), Deer and Predator Study.

The goal of this project is to comprehensively examine factors that could impact deer survival and deer population growth in southern Wisconsin. Those include CWD, predation, habitat suitability and hunter harvest. Simultaneous studies will take place in areas with differing rates of CWD infection, which will help the agency better understand how CWD may or may not be interacting with other factors that ultimately impact the deer herd. Uniquely, this study will directly estimate the abundance and distribution of deer predators (bobcats and coyotes) within the study areas and will examine their impact on deer survival and behavior.

This project was possible with the support of: 

• Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration
• National Wildlife Health Center
• Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
• Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
• UW-Madison Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology