Four years ago, deer infected by chronic wasting disease were illegally dumped on public land in Beltrami County. Since then, a team from the University of Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach has been studying CWD’s effects on the environment. MNPRO’s study site is in rural Beltrami County, near Hines.

Upon discovery of the site where the carcasses were dumped, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fenced in about 11 acres creating an exclusionary zone to limit potential spread of CWD to wild herds.

MNPRO associate director, Marc Schwabenlander, said CWD can remain in the soil and water for 2-16 years.

“It's probably longer than that, so that environmental persistence can be leveraged to understand disease spread and risk,” he said. “And that is what we're doing in

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