Improve the management of CWD-affected wild cervid populations

Activities to be performed include estimate probability of detecting chronic wasting disease on tribal lands. Funding priority 1) improve the management of CWD-affected wild cervid populations: detection and prevention of CWD in wild cervid populations not currently affected with CWD. Expected results/benefits: results of this objective will be a rigorous quantitative framework to estimate CWD prevalence and inform disease surveillance efforts by modeling heterogeneities in disease distribution and observed sampling biases. We will adapt and leverage a series of agent-based modeling tools to simulate CWD in deer populations on tribal lands to provide a decision-making framework to enhance surveillance efforts on tribal lands. Simulations will be used to determine CWD detection thresholds, calculate optimum sample sizes to confidently detect CWD in target populations, and design a sustainable CWD surveillance strategy on tribal lands. Simulated estimates will be compared to recent weight-based surveillance estimates generated for partner tribal agencies.; compare the effect of various management actions on long term CWD prevalence on tribal lands. Funding priority 1) improve the management of CWD-affected wild cervid populations: detection and prevention of CWD in wild cervid populations not currently affected with CWD; epidemiology and risk analysis. Expected results/benefits: results of this objective can be used to understand the transmission and spread of CWD under different CWD management scenarios (e.g., hunting mortality, post-harvest density, age and SEX ratio). By adapting a series of agent-based modeling tools to local deer populations and incorporating tribal hunter responses to management, we will collaborate with tribal biologists to prioritize management decisions proposed in draft CWD response plans for tribal lands.; integrate community knowledge and priorities into agent-based modeling scenarios of CWD management on tribal lands. Funding priority 5) develop and/or deliver educational outreach materials or programs to wild cervid stakeholders or tribal entities. Expected results/benefits: tribal community members will be directly involved in the CO-development and use of an accessible CWD modeling toolbox. Local data and tribal agency and community member priorities will be integrated into the adapted models for real-time exploration of management questions. Tribal agency partners will be trained to use the tool and interpret results, so the modeling framework can be further leveraged to effectively communicate management actions on tribal lands. Effectively communicate management actions on tribal lands. Objective 4 CO-develop tribal-specific animated and social media videos that address community-driven priorities and concerns regarding CWD. Funding priority 5) develop and/or deliver educational outreach materials or programs to wild cervid stakeholders or tribal entities. Expected results/benefits: we will CO-create a series of pilot videos on CWD for dissemination within tribal communities and on social media (e.g., tiktok, facebook, youtube). The video products will feature local tribal members and focus on community-identified concerns regarding CWD and food sovereignty issues such as the importance of hunting deer for subsistence, deer butchery practices, and proper carcass disposal. In collaboration with white earth and leech lake, we will evaluate the educational effectiveness of the pilot videos to assess utility and uptake among different ojibwe communities and stylistic preferences for future productions. This project will empower tribal nations in their ability to prevent and respond to CWD emergence on tribal lands (priority 1), a situation likely to have profound negative impacts on food sovereignty and cultural practices. Integration of formal models with management policy guidelines and community perspectives provides a decision-making framework that can be used by tribal nations to engage community members in CWD management and control (priority 1 & 5). Videos developed in this project will further educate and engage more community members on the issue, and may have potential applicability to other regional ojibwe communities this cbpr project was conceived through ongoing collaborative research with white earth nation and leech lake band of ojibwe. Therefore, the study is primarily focused on the ecological, social, and political characteristics related to deer hunting and CWD on these reservations and meets immediate needs identified by these communities to address CWD. However, IT is clear from mnpro's ongoing partnerships with tribal natural resource agencies across the region that knowledge derived from this project may have utility for the management of CWD across tribal nations in minnesota and elsewhere in the midwest, there is no sub award.