Chronic wasting disease (CWD)
CWD Priority Areas
CWD sampling is available statewide for hunters who want to know the status of the deer they harvested. However, samples from certain parts of the state (the CWD priority areas) are particularly important to our understanding of where CWD is (and isn't) in the state. Hunters who harvest deer in the priority areas (in orange) are encouraged to submit a CWD sample.
View the CWD Priority Areas For 2026.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, infectious nervous system disease belonging to the family of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases. It occurs only in members of the cervid or deer family, which includes deer, moose, elk and reindeer/caribou. The Wisconsin DNR began monitoring the state's wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in 2002.
CWD Monitoring
Additional Materials
For all three zone maps users can zoom in to see numbers of positives per section.