225: CWD Discussion with MDC’s Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle

Join Living the Dream Outdoors Podcast host Bill Cooper as he interviews MDC’s Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Isabelle discusses the history of the disease, its prevalence today, and the importance of controlling the disease.

There is a lot of controversy about how MDC is managing CWD. Isabelle addresses those concerns and gives a scientific basis for their management policies. One can look to Wisconsin, Arkansas and now Kansas to see what lack of management of CWD brings. It’s not a pretty picture of deer herds. 

There is a small element of people in Missouri who want to totally do away with our Missouri Department of Conservation. They would willingly destroy what has taken decades for Missouri citizens to build, the most respected conservation department in the nation. We set our MDC up through the initiative petition process and created it in 1936 as a part of the Missouri Constitution (Amendment 4) as a separate entity to be managed by professional biologists, thus removing it from the hands of politicians.  

We all pay a 1/8th of 1 percent sales tax to support MDC. The per capita cost is roughly $30 per year. For $30/yr. every Missouri citizen has access to over 1 million acres of public MDC lands,enjoys incredible hunting and fishing opportunities, camping, hiking, and outdoor education programs through our schools and local communities. It is the best deal in conservation in the entire USA. Let’s keep it that way.