Chronic Wasting Disease detected on National Elk Refuge

First case had been expected for years as fatal disease encroached on Wyoming’s largest feedground.


Elk congregate on the National Elk Refuge. (Wikimedia)

by Sophia Boyd-Fliegel | KHOL | May 11, 2026 | Environment, Natural Resources, Wildlife

An always-fatal, highly contagious neurological disease has been detected on the National Elk Refuge for the first time, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish.

Teddy Collins, Wyoming conservation associate with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, said he knew this day was coming. ... “I am not that emotional,” he said. “Because it was not a matter of if, it was a matter of when.”

In recent years, biologists have looked on as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a prion-caused condition, accelerated its encroachment on Wyoming’s largest feedground. Following the May 4 announcement of a detection near Pinedale, the refuge is the sixth feedground in Wyoming to have a positive elk CWD case.

Collins said it remains to be seen how quickly it will spread and kill elk in the approximately 10,000-member Jackson Herd. But he said Monday’s announcement highlights a need for change. ... “We cannot keep operating in the status quo,” he said. “The science clearly states that feeding operations, whether it’s state-run feedgrounds or the National Elk Refuge, these feeding efforts will have negative impacts on Wyoming’s elk herds because of disease transmission.”

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About Sophia Boyd-Fliegel | KHOL
Before leading news coverage at KHOL, Sophia was a politics reporter at the Jackson Hole News&Guide. Her reporting on elections, labor and land use has earned state, regional and national awards. Sophia grew up in Seattle and studied human biology and English at Stanford University.