The bill also requires that an official data base for CWD reside with DOI, including information on the farm cervid population. Under the Animal Health Protection Act, the USDA has the lead, or is the lead department for livestock diseases. We do not believe that a data base for livestock should reside at the Department of Interior. CWD is an important issue to USDA. There is a lot of work being done and it will continue. And with our working together with our Federal and State counterparts, we can get a handle on this dis ease. And I would also just conclude by saying that I think that we have had a wonderful working relationship with the State Fish and Wildlife agencies, particularly with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, that has provided a lot of leadership on this issue. We look forward to continuing that good work. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That concludes my remarks and my statement will be submitted for the record. [The prepared statement of Mr. Acord follows:] Statement of Bobby R. Acord, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, on H.R. 2057 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to speak with you on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about H.R. 2057, a bill to provide for a multi-agency cooperative effort to combat chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of deer and elk, in the same family of diseases as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie. It has been diagnosed in farmed elk and deer herds in eight States; known positive or exposed herds remain only in Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. CWD has also been identified in free-ranging deer and elk in areas of Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The origin and mode of transmission of CWD are unknown. It was just about a year ago that Dr. Jim Butler updated you on our efforts to manage ČWD in deer and elk. Many things have moved forward since 2002, and I'd like to take a moment to discuss some of these with you. First and foremost is the management plan for CWD. To ensure a coordinated and cooperative Federal approach to assisting States, a task force including USDA and the Department of the Interior (DOI), along with universities and State wildlife management and agriculture agencies, drafted a national management plan for assisting States, Federal Agencies, and tribes in managing CWD in wild and captive cervids. The plan was shared with Congress in June 2002. The plan's components include action items for surveillance, diagnostics, and research, among other things. With input from industry and States, USDA is developing a voluntary national herd certification program to eliminate CWD from farmed cervids. Although initially aimed at farmed elk, the program will now include susceptible farmed deer species. Rulemaking must be completed before the plan is implemented and we expect publication of the proposal shortly. We are planning for implementation to occur by the end of this year. In addition, USDA continues to pay for all laboratory costs associated with CWD testing in the farmed cervid population. Positive and exposed farmed cervid herds are eligible for indemnity. USDA also pays the costs of depopulation and disposal. Our goal is nothing less than eradication of the disease in the farmed cervid population. USDA has also moved ahead in assisting the States to deal with the wildlife aspect of the disease. In Fiscal Year 2003, USDA received $14.8 million for CWD in captive and wildlife herds. USDA recently made $4 million of that available to assist State wildlife agencies in addressing CWD. Funding is being distributed according to a formula developed in conjunction with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Under this formula, States are classified according to tiers. Tier 1 States, which have known occurrences of CWD in free-ranging cervids as of March 1, 2003, are eligible for the highest sums. States falling in the Tier 2 and 3 are eligible for lower amounts. A detailed breakout of the $14.8 million is available for your review. USDA has also paid laboratory costs for hunter surveillance testing from the 2002-03 hunting season for all States submitting approved surveillance plans. In addition, our Wildlife Services program is working closely with several States, including Colorado, Illinois, and Wisconsin, to assist them in the surveillance and monitoring of deer in the wild population. Our personnel have assisted in the harvesting of deer for test samples, and have also guided landowners on the removal of deer from their property. Testing has also been an important issue related to CWD. With the increased testing for CWD, laboratory capacity has been an issue. USDA realized that an increased testing capacity was necessary and expanded the number of laboratories that would be able to run the immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay for CWD. We now have 26 laboratories that can run the IHC test; the estimated capacity is now a quarter of a million samples, more than adequate to meet current demand. Official diagnosis of CWD continues to be performed exclusively by Federal and State regulatory agency laboratories and this remains the current USDA policy. With ever-increasing international trade, it is essential that we can guarantee the integrity of our diagnostic laboratory network in the United States. A "false positive" for any disease, not just CWD, could result in unnecessary public concern and costly regulatory action. And in the case of a disease like bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a false positive could be devastating, costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars in unnecessary domestic and international market disruption from which it could take years to recover. This past year has also seen progress in the development of new tests. Our Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) recently approved two new diagnostic test kits: one for use on elk, mule deer, and white-tail deer and another kit that has been approved for mule deer and white-tailed deer. These new tests run on an ELISA system, which allows more samples to be processed at once. Until further data can be obtained on their effectiveness, IHC remains the internationally recognized method of choice. CVB officials are also reviewing a number of other test kits and have placed a high priority on the evaluation of ČWD test kits. Research into the area of CWD has continued as well. Our National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is researching the possibility of vaccines for CWD. NWRC is also continuing to research ways to identify improved barriers and repellents to keep wild deer and elk separated from captive cervids and other livestock. This research is being conducted to control bovine tuberculosis, but much of the information will apply to CWD. NWRC also plans to examine new decontamination methods for CWD-affected facilities The Agriculture Research Service has also undertaken several projects, including assessing the interspecies transmission of TSES among livestock species and cervids, assessing herbivore susceptibility to TSE, and identifying and developing new methods for detecting prion protein molecules in the environment and feedstuffs. The Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service is also continuing to support research projects through both competitive and formula-funded programs to determine the causes and methods of control for CWD. In Fiscal Year 2002 the National Research Initiative Competitive Grant Program awarded $250,000 to Case Western Reserve University to understand how CWD causes disease and is transmitted between animals. The University of Wisconsin has dedicated resources from its CSREES-supported Agricultural Experiment Station to the management of white-tailed deer, with a special emphasis on CWD. The National Research Initiative once again requested proposals related to CWD in fiscal year 03, and at this time staff is currently reviewing proposals. As you can see, USDA has been moving steadily forward on its program to combat CWD. However, we feel that even though H.R. 2057 has good intent, much of what is required in the bill is already being done. The bill, if passed, requires that USDOI and USDA conduct certain activities regarding CWD. The USDOÎ activities include a national database for wild and captive cervid information, surveillance and monitoring programs in wild populations, money for State programs, and the expansion of USGS research. In total, the bill authorizes $17.5 million for USDOI activities. The USDA activities include the development of a surveillance and monitoring program, and the expansion of diagnostic testing capability and ARS and CSREES activities. In total, the bill authorizes $9.5 million for USDA activities. The bill also requires USDA and USDOI to enter joint rulemaking when promulgating rules to implement the Act. Again, we agree with the intent of the bill, which is to establish a program to combat CWD. However, many aspects of the program are already in place at USDA. In addition, the bill does not take into account changes that have been made to the USDA program in the past year. For example, the bill requires that Federal facilities be upgraded to facilitate the timely processing of samples from the surveillance and monitoring. As stated earlier, we currently have the capacity to run 250,000 samples and USDA is working to expand testing capacity for all TSES, which would also benefit CWD. We should also point out that because the States have not submitted as many wild cervid samples as APHIS had anticipated, $500,000 that was allocated for testing is being used to set up cooperative agreements with Tribal Nations. The bill also requires that the official database for CWD reside with DOI, including information on the farmed cervid population. Under the Animal Health Protection Act, USDA is the lead Department in livestock diseases. We do not believe that a database for livestock, such as farmed cervids, should reside with another Department, especially since we must be conscious of the privacy concerns of producers. In addition, we are currently working with industry on an animal identification program for livestock; both the North American Deer Farmers Association and the North American Eĺk Breeders Association have been a part of that process. We are concerned about the impact that this provision may have on a livestock animal identification program. CWD is an important issue to USDA. There is a lot of work being done and it will continue as we implement our herd certification program and expand our testing capabilities. By continuing to work together with our Federal and State counterparts, we can get a handle on this disease. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Mr. McINNIS. Thank you, Mr. Acord. STATEMENT OF HON. RUSSELL GEORGE, DIRECTOR, STATE OF COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Mr. GEORGE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committees. I am Russell George, Director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. I appreciate the opportunity to be here this morning to talk about the potential for increased Federal assistance to the States to manage chronic wasting disease. I appreciate the support and leadership of Congress on this subject of chronic wasting disease, and as you can imagine, it is of utmost importance to us in the State of Colorado. We are uniquely positioned to take advantage of any Federal grants or other assistance relative to managing and studying the disease. Thus far our State agencies have invested heavily in tackling the challenge of CWD, and we have done so largely with State funds, especially using revenues that we receive from the sale of hunting licenses. So we can welcome and can use increased Federal financial support. This is why I especially applaud Chairman McInnis' bill for two particular reasons. One is that it provides significant new funds for State wildlife managers, and second, it asserts the primacy of the States in policymaking authority with regard to wildlife management, both in general terms and specifically with respect to chronic wasting disease. We have been concerned with the second point of State primacy and wildlife management has often been overlooked by some Federal agencies. States that have had outbreaks of chronic wasting disease, such as Colorado and Wisconsin, have aggressively responded to the threats that it poses to wildlife, both free roaming and captive. States should continue to remain at the forefront of preventing or responding to chronic wasting disease. What States like Colorado really need from the Federal Government are additional resources, and not new programs or institutions. The needs of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and Colorado State University, are extensive and beyond the ability of the State to fully fund. Federal assistance is crucial at this time. The knowledge that we have gained and the programs that we have initiated in Colorado are often used as a model for other States who are just starting to respond to chronic wasting disease issues. The innovative and aggressive approach that Colorado has taken allows other States to save their scarce funds and limited personnel time by enabling them to focus on initiatives, technologies, and approaches that we have demonstrated already to be effective. Let me take a moment to highlight specifically actions taken by Colorado over the past 2 years in response to the spread of chronic wasting disease. First and foremost, we have coordinated with local governing authorities and private landowners to reduce deer populations in areas of especially high prevalence. Secondly, we have significantly redirected existing funding and personnel to chronic wasting disease control efforts, and the numbers themselves are important for me to share with you. Two years ago, we were investing around $700,000 in the work that we were doing on chronic wasting disease. This year's budget will be nearly $4 million. So in 2 years, going on to the third year, we would have jumped from $700,000 to near $4 million. This is hunter paid license fees and revenues that the State of Colorado is investing in this issue. There is no question that we take chronic wasting disease as a most serious threat. By the way, $4 million is about 4 percent of our budget to invest in one issue, one disease, and this takes away from all the other things that we are called upon to do as the State's wildlife managers. Increased coordination and cooperation between agriculture public health, and environment, public State university, and the Division of Wildlife, we have learned in Colorado how to overcome our historical and jurisdictional institutional barriers among these entities. We think that having overcome these barriers is a model that the Federal agencies can follow. We believe that since we have done it that the Federal agencies can overcome those traditional barriers as well. We have created eight new positions in the Colorado Division of Wildlife devoted solely to chronic wasting disease. We have a field coordinator for culling activities, a State-wide wildlife disease coordinator, staff veterinarian, four lab technicians, and a lab supervisor, for new wildlife health unit.Again, all using hunting license fee revenues. Eight new people may not sound much, but when you understand that there have been no new FDES created anywhere in State government in Colorado for a number of years, you can see that the State also generally recognizes the importance of the work that the Division of Wildlife is doing. In the few moments I have left, let me focus upon what we would like you to help us do. First of all, we need to upgrade certified labs. We think that $3-1/2 million of Federal funds will help us to do that, particularly to build a new diagnostic lab at Colorado State University that can be shared by the Division of Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, and the University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. We would expect to find $4 million to upgrade disposal processes at four sampling/testing facilities. The key to dealing with chronic wasting disease, wherever it is, is to test sufficiently to know everywhere it is, and to what degree it exists. So the more testing that we can do across every State, the more we can know about that. Colorado jumped from 5,000 tests statewide a year ago, to 27,000 tests this past year. We intend to step that up again to as much as 40,000 tests. And the other thing that has happened is that we have moved getting the timing for the results from 6 months down to 2 weeks. For us to provide good customer service and good science, we needed to know exactly and quickly whether the animals were positive or negative. Research. There is no question that we need more research. We would ask for $2 million for research on therapeutics, live animal diagnostics, environmental detection, field diagnostics, genetic resistance, and enhanced rapid laboratory tests. Surveillance monitoring and management of wild deer and elk needs to occur, and surveillance monitoring and management of captive deer and elk must also occur. Some of this can be done together and some of it must be done separately. So we like to focus on both. Finally, education and outreach. You all know the importance of telling the public everything that we know and telling them as quickly as we know it what there is to learn from this. The public cares a great deal about TSES, and our responsibility is to be as accurate and as open about that as we can, and that takes time and resources to do it. My time is up. Let me just say again that we support the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies on the position that they, and where they have helped us. We support the comments from Wisconsin. The main thing I want to say is that we are dealing with a disease here. Time matters. The sooner we get on this, learn what we can about it, the sooner the opportunity we can get our arms around it, contain it, and maybe eventually eliminate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have used the time. My formal statements will be offered for the record. [The prepared statement of Mr. George follows:] Statement of Russell George, Director, Division of Wildlife, Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I am Russell George, Director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to share my thoughts about the potential for increased Federal assistance to States attempting to manage Chronic Wasting Disease, commonly referred to as CWD. I appreciate the support and leadership of Congress on the subject of CWD, an issue of considerable importance to the State of Colorado. |