Develop and/or deliver educational outreach materials or programs to wild cervid stakeholders or tribal entities

The recipient will develop a scenario-based horizon scan that will assist the recipient in decision-making for implementing public education, management, regulatory, and surveillance changes in order to improve prevention of the incursion and spread of chronic wasting disease in massachusetts. Additionally, the recipient will establish a proactive chronic wasting disease surveillance program of wild white-tailed deer in massachusetts. Lastly, the recipient we will utilize results from the previous project to deliver targeted educational programming, outreach, and staff training that will be effective in preventing high risk behaviors that could lead to the introduction of chronic wasting disease in massachusetts and elsewhere. As a small state with limited resources for wildlife management, massachusetts has unique challenges that chronicwasting disease incursion would magnify. The risks within massachusetts are higher than previously thought. A process of structured decision making (SDM) is the perfect approach for capitalizing on the opportunities identified by our surveys and developing the education and management strategies necessary to prevent chronic wasting disease incursion into massachusetts. In the event that chronic wasting disease is detected in the future, this process would lay the foundation for efficient allocation of resources in a rapid response context. Intended beneficiaries include decisio N-makers, hunters, recipient staff, captive cervid farm permittees, tribal nations, cervid processers, taxidermists, zoos, and other wild cervid stakeholders that will be impacted by chronic wasting disease management. The university of massachusetts is partnering as a subrecipient under this project, in order to benefit from the unique relationship already established at the university. Additionally, a subset of samples will be sent out for additional validation at the cornell university animal health diagnostic center to ensure accuracy of results.