By MIKE CORN

Hays Daily News

OBERLIN -- With the slow, steady progression of chronic wasting disease, the long-term outlook for the state's deer herd is bleak, Oberlin residents were told Wednesday.

In the meantime, however, residents agreed the state's wildlife agency should re-establish mandatory check stations to ensure a greater number of deer can be tested for the always-fatal brain-wasting disease.

Officials from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks put together the public meeting after three white-tailed deer killed in Decatur County tested positive for CWD. Samples from northwest Kansas were moved up in the testing schedule after Nebraska reported a CWD-positive deer about 2 miles from the Decatur County line.

Several new details emerged at the meeting, including the suggestion that unusually harsh weather in late 2006 might have been when the CWD-laden deer were infected.

"There's a good possibility they acquired that disease last year," said KDWP big-game coordinator Lloyd Fox.

All three of the animals infected with CWD, he said, were reported to have been in good physical condition. Generally, it takes about 17 months for symptoms to appear.

What Fox didn't say, however, is if the concentration -- brought about by up to 3 feet of snow in the final days of 2006 -- will mean additional cases of the disease will surface.

In addition to the traditional fare of people connected to the wildlife agency, Wednesday's meeting included pathologist Lyle Noordhoek, who also serves as the district coroner in Hays.

While he said there is no evidence of transmitting the disease to humans, he also strongly urged hunters to take precautions when cleaning deer.

When Noordhoek asked how many people dressed out their own deer, a flurry of hands appeared. He then asked if they wore gloves while doing so.

"You might want to," he said. "They might protect you from the disease."

Even without evidence of transferring the disease, KDWP veterinarian Ruby Mosher said she wouldn't eat a deer with CWD.

"I don't want to be the first test case that says, 'Yeah, it can,' " she said.

At the meeting, Mosher, in charge of the agency's wildlife disease program, reported the small sample number suggests an unusually high incidence of CWD in the Decatur County deer herd.

Only 11 tests came from the area north of U.S. Highway 36, indicating nearly a third of the deer could be suffering from CWD.

"Is that true, or is that a low sample size?" she asked.

Countywide, only 19 samples were tested, which still reflects a 16-percent infection rate.

By sampling 25 to 50 more deer, the gaps can be filled in.

"Do we really have one out of four infected with CWD?" Mosher asked. "I don't know, but I don't think so."

But she did note that in areas of Colorado and Wyoming, where CWD has been prevalent for years, the infection rate stands at about 30 percent.

As she was being peppered with questions, Mosher said she would like to sample a greater number of deer from the area.

That's when one of the people in the audience suggested it be made mandatory to offer samples.

Most people quickly agreed.

Mandatory check stations were in place several years ago, but Fox said a hue-and-cry from hunters ultimately prompted the agency to change to a strictly voluntary program.

But with only 19 samples, several of them coming from road-kill animals, that reflects only a small portion of the deer killed in Decatur County.

Fox suggested perhaps as many as 200 deer are killed each year in Decatur County during firearms season.

It was Fox who presented the somber forecast for the state's deer herd, even though he notes CWD is a slow-spreading disease.

In the short term, there won't be much change in deer numbers or in the number of hunters pursuing deer.

During the next decade, he said, as the disease spreads to the south and east, there will be changes.

There will be an increase in the number of deer being hit my automobiles, which will contribute to a "slow negative shift in public attitude," Fox said.

And there will be fewer trophy bucks taken, reducing the demand for licenses by both in-state and out-of-state hunters.

During the next 50 years -- absent finding a solution to the spread of CWD -- Fox said a fourth of the state's deer herd could suffer from the disease. Older male deer would be more likely to have CWD, lowering the aesthetic value of deer.

The public will develop a "strong negative" attitude toward deer.

Right now, there aren't many solutions, Fox said.

"Boy, we're grasping at straws," he said. "We don't have good solutions."

Special-projects coordinator Mike Corn can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 129, or by e-mail at mcorn@dailynews.net.