Deer shooting near Pine Island winds down

Federal sharpshooters likely will end their effort to kill deer near Pine Island for chronic wasting disease testing by the end of the week — unless they discover a deer with the disease. That likely will leave the Department of Natural Resources shy of the 900 yearling and adults they had sought to test after a wild deer was found there with the fatal brain disease earlier this year. Including deer shot by landowners and the sharpshooters, the DNR has collected about 650 yearling and adult whitetails, and all so far have tested negative. During the culling another 350 fawns have been killed and tested, though deer that young wouldn't be expected to test positive for CWD. The killing of fawns has upset some local residents, but Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game wildlife program leader, said part of the goal all along was to also reduce deer densities there. "We can't sustain 80 deer per-square-mile in an area that has CWD,'' he said. The DNR will do intensive surveillance of hunter-killed deer in that area this fall, and will create a separate permit area there. Did you know? •Officials are investigating the shooting of a radio-collared wolf, which was left along a township road in Cass County. •Anglers have been catching steelhead trout and kamloops salmon along the shore of Lake Superior. •Six illegally killed deer were found dumped in a public hunting area near Austin. Anyone with information can call the TIP line at 800-652-9093.