Nine workshops will be conducted at department headquarters, regional offices

The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) encourages all deer and elk hunters to attend an upcoming workshop about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal wildlife disease that affects the nervous system of cervid animals.

A total of nine workshops will be conducted at department headquarters and regional offices. All workshops will include a brief PowerPoint presentation, followed by an outdoor demonstration on how to collect and submit the required lymph nodes and/or obex for testing. There also will be opportunities to speak with wildlife health personnel.

Hunters can register by sending an email to: kheiner@azgfd.gov and include name, phone number, email address for each registrant, and preferred workshop date and location. Or register here.

The workshops:

• 6 p.m. Aug. 5: 555 N. Greasewood Road, Tucson.
• 10 a.m. Aug. 9: 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road, Kingman.
• 6 p.m. Aug. 12: 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix.
• 10 a.m. Aug. 16: 9140 E. 28th St., Yuma.
• 10 a.m. Aug. 23: 7200 E. University Drive, Mesa.
• 10 a.m. Aug. 30: 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop.
• 6 p.m. Sept. 2: 3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff.
• 10 a.m. Sept. 6: 555 N. Greasewood Road, Tucson.
• 10 a.m. Sept. 20: 3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff.

AZGFD has been testing for the presence of the disease in Arizona since 1998 and has tested more than 30,000 samples. While CWD has been found in the neighboring states of California, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, the disease has not been detected in Arizona. CWD has not been documented to cause disease in people.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department receives no general fund tax dollars. The majority of funding to manage more than 800 native wildlife species comes from Arizona's hunters and anglers.