Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced the appointments of Dr. George R. Anderson, Dr. Rosina M. Bierbaum, and Dr. Lonnie J. King to the state’s new Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) task force. The task force was created by Executive Order 2003-5 which was signed by the Governor on February 28th. Former Department of Natural Resources Director Howard A. Tanner and William W. Taylor, chair of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University, serve as co-chairs of the task force.

“These conservation professionals are key ingredients in the task force’s success,” said Granholm. “They will help Michigan move forward with a plan to stop CWD at our borders and to protect our wildlife resources across the state.”

Dr. George R. Anderson, East Lansing

• Executive Manager, Michigan Association of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Physicians (MAPPP)
• Member, Public Consortium CME Committee, School of Public Health, University of Michigan
• Due Diligence Coordinator, Michigan Biologics Products Commission
• Master’s of Public Health degree, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, The Ohio State University, Columbus

Dr. Rosina M. Bierbaum, Ann Arbor

• Dean and Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan
• Board Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Board Member, Federation of American Scientists
• Ph.D. (Ecology and Evolution), State University of New York, Stony Brook
• Bachelor’s of Science, Boston College, Boston
• Bachelor’s of Arts, Boston College, Boston

Dr. Lonnie J. King, Okemos

• Dean and Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University
• President, American Veterinary Epidemiology Society, 2003
• Chair, National Committee on Emerging Needs in Veterinary Human Resources, 2003
• Master’s of Public Administration, American University, Washington, D.C.
• Master’s of Science (Epidemiology), University of Minnesota
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University
• Bachelor’s of Science, The Ohio State University

CWD is a brain disorder that kills deer and elk. The exact form of transmission is not known. CWD has appeared in deer and elk in Wisconsin, making it a threat to Michigan’s deer and elk populations. The disease has been found in whitetail deer in Illinois and has been discovered in free-ranging deer in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The disease has also been diagnosed in captive deer in Colorado, Nebraska, South Carolina, Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada.

The task force will:

• review existing state efforts regarding prevention of CWD;
• develop and make recommendations to implement a comprehensive and coordinated state CWD prevention plan;
• make recommendations on the clarification of enforcement authority to prevent the spread of CWD into Michigan and, if ever detected in Michigan, to prevent the spread within the state;
• recommend a process for the development of a widely-accessible reference database of available and current information concerning CWD;
• identify mechanisms to promote effective communications and coordination of efforts between state, federal, provincial, and local officials regarding CWD.