Chronic wasting disease creeps farther north in Wisconsin
Outdoors report
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IRON MOUNTAIN -- A report this week that a wild deer in Marinette County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease comes after several thousand deer harvested in the county since 1999 have tested negative.
The 3-year-old adult buck near Peshtigo that was found to have CWD was humanely dispatched due to signs of illness, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.
According to the DNR's online data, 3,155 Marinette County samples analyzed over the past 27 years have come back negative.
Due to confirmed CWD in some neighboring Wisconsin counties, deer baiting and feeding in Marinette County had already been banned. That order will now be extended for at least three years.
CWD is a fatal, infectious nervous system disease of deer, moose, elk and reindeer/caribou. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or prion diseases. The Wisconsin DNR began monitoring the state's wild white-tailed deer population for CWD in 1999. The first positives were found in 2002.
According to the Wisconsin DNR, baiting or feeding deer encourages them to congregate unnaturally around a shared food source where infected deer can spread CWD through direct contact with healthy deer or indirectly by leaving behind infectious prions in their saliva, blood, feces and urine.
Baiting or feeding bans are now in place in 60 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, including Florence. In Florence County, 1,255 samples have tested negative for CWD since testing began.
Just two Florence County samples have been analyzed to date this year, while 34 were negative in 2025 and 38 in 2024.
The only confirmed free-ranging wild deer case of CWD in the Upper Peninsula was found in 2018 in Dickinson County. Meanwhile, a captive deer farm case was identified in Mackinac County in August.
In Dickinson County, 156 deer samples tested in 2025 were negative, according to the Michigan DNR's online data.
According to the National Deer Association, whitetails carry CWD for an average of one to two years before outward visible symptoms begin to appear. During this incubation period, they may appear healthy to an observer but are capable of spreading the disease. Only in the final "clinical" stages of the disease will deer begin to appear bony, weak or disoriented.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that to date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people. As a precaution, health agencies recommend that people only consume venison from healthy-appearing deer with test results indicating that CWD was not detected.
Wisconsin's CWD sampling webpage can be found at: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/registersample.
In Michigan, go to https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/managing-resources/wildlife/wildlife-disease/disease-monitoring/cwd/cwd-testing.
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The Wisconsin DNR reminds all spearers interested in harvesting a lake sturgeon from Lake Winnebago during the 2027 sturgeon spearing season to purchase their license before Saturday, Oct. 31.
All license holders must be a minimum of 12 years old. There are an unlimited number of licenses available for Lake Winnebago, and both residents and nonresidents can purchase a license through the Go Wild system or at any license sales location.
The Upriver Lakes fishery (lakes Poygan, Butte des Morts and Winneconne) is managed by a preference point system and lottery that is limited to 500 permitted spearers. Successful Upriver Lakes tag applicants have already been notified for the 2027 season and have until the start of the spearing season to purchase a license.
Successful Upriver Lake tag applicants cannot purchase a tag for Lake Winnebago.
The 2027 sturgeon spearing season will open on Feb. 13, and will run for a maximum of 16 days or until any of the predetermined harvest caps are met.
Additional season information can be found at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fishing/sturgeon/WinnSysSturgeonSpear.
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As of Friday, the Michigan DNR's Turkey Harvest Report Summary showed 15 turkeys harvested in Dickinson County; 11 in Iron County; 22 in Marquette County; 12 in Menominee County; and 11 in Delta County.
Starting this year, all successful Michigan turkey hunters must report their harvest within 72 hours of harvest or before transferring possession of the bird, whichever comes first. Harvests can be reported online or through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Hunt Fish mobile app.
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The Michigan DNR reported this U.P. fishing activity:
Little Bay de Noc: Angling pressure was down over the past week due to strong winds. Anglers who ventured out caught walleye despite slow conditions, with anglers noting that typical fall catch rates had not yet materialized. Anglers targeting yellow perch reported poor fishing and difficulty locating schools. Smallmouth bass angling produced fair to good results. Anglers targeting northern pike caught fish while casting or trolling near the Escanaba River.
Marquette: No creel interviews were conducted with boat anglers targeting lake trout while trolling over the past week, though anglers caught fish off the lower breakwall when weather permitted. Reports indicated shore anglers caught lake trout and coho salmon off the lower breakwall near the lighthouse during early morning and late evening hours. Boat anglers trolling near river mouths out of Lower Harbor continued to catch fair numbers of coho salmon and steelhead, along with an occasional Chinook salmon. Brown trout counts remained consistently higher than in previous years across both rivers and river mouths. Coho salmon numbers were excellent throughout the week but began to decline over the past two days alongside rising temperatures. Anglers also reported catching steelhead in the Carp River, with additional reports of a few caught in the Chocolay River, particularly near the river mouth.
Manistique: Anglers targeting salmon reported seeing Chinook salmon in the river. The run appeared to be nearing its end, though anglers reported experiencing moderate success despite slow action. Anglers targeting steelhead reported no catches.
Munising: Anglers did well when targeting coho salmon and splake off the Anna River mouth casting spoons and using spawn. Boat anglers trolling the bay also did well targeting coho salmon.
Black River Harbor: Angling effort from the harbor was very low over the past week. Inclement weather continued to limit lake access throughout the week. A few boat anglers reported low catches of coho salmon and lake trout. Shore anglers fishing from the breakwall and within the harbor reported minimal success.
Grand Marais: Shore anglers did well on rainbow trout and coho salmon off the Sucker River mouth casting spoons and using spawn.
Les Cheneaux/DeTour: Anglers in the Les Cheneaux area caught a few yellow perch off the Cedarville Marina; however, angling pressure decreased significantly. A few shore anglers fished at the marina with minimal success. In DeTour, a few walleye and smallmouth bass were caught upriver. Yellow perch were also reported in Scotts Bay, though no boat anglers were observed from DeTour.