Funding the Fight Against Chronic Wasting Disease

How the Boone and Crockett Club Turned $300,000 into $1.25 Million for Chronic Wasting Disease Research

The proteins that cause chronic wasting disease are all but impossible to eliminate. Researchers know that when herds infected with CWD frequent an area, prions present in deer saliva, urine, fecal matter, and decomposing carcasses can contaminate the soil. From there, the prions can be absorbed into plants and then potentially ingested by other deer.

When researchers attempted to wash the contamination off plant leaves, vigorous rinsing only partially reduced the presence of prions. Deer consuming those plants could potentially contract CWD. When researchers tested 10-year-old samples of barley and alfalfa that had grown in prion-contaminated water, they found the presence of prions in both leaves and stems, even when stored at -80 °C.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease, similar to mad cow disease, that has infected deer, elk, and moose across 36 states and five Canadian provinces.

The fact that CWD can persist in vegetation isn’t new. However, a recently published study revealed a consistent and rapid test to detect prions within plant tissues. With the methods outlined in this particular study, biologists will be able to collect plant samples from potential CWD hotspots (feed grounds, carcass sites, wallows) and detect the presence of CWD. Instead of relying solely on harvested animals, wildlife managers can test plants in deer and elk ranges to assess the presence of CWD using what’s called the RT-QuIC. This test is faster and more sensitive than previous methods, improving early disease detection.

“Why bother researching this?” says professional member Matt Dunfee. “Well, for one, is there risk of spreading the disease by shipping contaminated alfalfa across the country?” As the Director of Special Programs for the Wildlife Management Institute, Dunfee also works as the coordinator of the CWD Alliance and is deputy chair of the Club’s Conservation Grants Sub-Committee. “CWD is extremely hard for some people to understand,” he adds. “It is caused by a non-living protein that does weird things in infected animals and always makes them die.” Even so, researchers are learning new details about the disease with every study, thanks to efforts by the Club and other hunter-funded conservation groups,

When Traditional Funding Falls Short

Since 1948, the Boone and Crockett Club has supported wildlife research through its Spencer/Hixon Conservation Grants Program (CGP), with grants typically of $15,000 or less. While these funds have historically supported significant research—from David Mech's wolf studies on Isle Royale to Lynn Rogers' black bear research—Club members realized this approach was inadequate for tackling chronic wasting disease.

First discovered in 1967, CWD was identified as a clinical disease in captive mule deer at the Colorado Division of Wildlife Foothills Wildlife Research Facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Modeling suggests that the disease may have been present in free-ranging mule deer populations prior to it discovery in the late 1960s. CWD isn't just another wildlife management challenge. The research needed to combat it is expensive, complex, and requires years of sustained investigation. “Despite significant advances in the wildlife management community’s understanding of CWD over the past 40 years, there remains very little published research capable of informing effective and practical disease management techniques or practices,” noted Dr. John Fischer, a member of the grant selection committee and current chair of the Boone and Crockett Club's Conservation Grants Committee.

In 2018, recognizing the rising costs of research and the urgent challenge of CWD, Dr. Joshua Millspaugh, sub-committee chair and Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Conservation, and Dunfee created the Chronic Wasting Disease Applied Research Grant Program. Instead of continuing to disperse small grants across multiple projects through the Conservation Grants Program, the new program focuses research efforts and funding through more strategic and collaborative partnerships.

A $300,000 Investment That Became $1.25 Million

In collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Mule Deer Foundation, the Boone and Crockett Club pooled resources with like-minded organizations to fund substantial research projects up to $100,000. “It’s the kind of comprehensive, multi-year research that a complex issue like CWD needs,” says Dunfee.

Since 2019, the Club's $300,000 in research contributions have leveraged more than $1.25 million in total in-kind research support, more than quadrupling its conservation impact through strategic partnerships. The program operates through rigorous cycles, with North America's leading CWD experts evaluating proposals and setting research priorities.

"This program represents another example of the Club leaning into a wicked problem," notes Millspaugh.

Mathematical Models and Real-World Applications

The 2024 release of the RT-QuIC study is just one of eight major research projects the program has funded. Other research funded by the program is developing more sensitive methods to detect CWD in living animals—potentially allowing wildlife managers to identify and remove infected deer to minimize the risk of transmission.

Another funded study developed sophisticated mathematical models to analyze how CWD spreads among deer populations with overlapping territories. By incorporating factors such as host density, sex ratios, home range sizes, and male dispersal patterns, researchers can now predict disease transmission rates across various landscapes. These models provide wildlife managers with practical tools to evaluate control strategies and predict where CWD might spread next. For hunters wondering whether their favorite hunting spot might be at risk, this research provides the first scientifically based answers.

Scientific research doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Issues affecting wildlife, from habitat loss to emerging diseases, require sustained, well-funded research that traditional grant programs struggle to support. With an additional $200,000 secured for 2025 research projects, momentum continues to build toward practical solutions.

“It seems whenever we research CWD, it will bring up more questions than the current science can answer,” Dunfee says. “The reality is that we don’t know everything needed to manage CWD effectively across species and habitats. Nor do we have tests sensitive enough to detect CWD in all the animals and conditions needed to guide disease control policies and regulations. And these are just a few of the questions that underscore why we have to continue research programs supported by the Boone & Crockett Club and others.”