Waterfowl testing underway at Overland Avenue Pond

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BILLINGS —   USDA Wildlife Services and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, in collaboration with several other state and federal agencies, is sampling waterfowl across Montana as part of a national effort for the early detection of avian influenza (AI).Testing on ducks at Overland Avenue Pond in west Billings began in September and will continue intermittently through December.

While the sampling is underway, wildlife officials are asking people to refrain from feeding waterfowl around the ponds. John Steuber of Billings, Wildlife Services state director, said traps baited with corn are less effective when ducks eat bread, french fries and other food thrown by people.

"The AI team will collect ducks, sample them and release them unharmed," said Rose Jaffe, FWP’s avian influenza project coordinator in Bozeman. Jaffe said visitors to the waterfowl pond can continue to enjoy watching the birds, but she asks that visitors refrain from feeding waterfowl while land traps are present.

Open, baited traps are in place on private land, Steuber said. At intermittent intervals, workers close the traps and capture ducks unharmed. The next sampling session in Billings is scheduled for the second week of November, he said. Wildlife Services posts signs near the traps any time sampling is underway.

Although more than 140 different avian influenza viruses are commonly found in wild bird populations, the highly pathogenic H5N1 Asian strain has not been detected in any wild bird in North America. The virus does not move easily between birds and other species, and there was only one suspected case of human infection from wild birds worldwide during 2007.

  Wildlife Services and FWP are collecting 1,600 samples in Montana this fall and early winter from areas where waterfowl concentrate, including urban duck ponds and national wildlife refuges. Ducks brought to hunter check stations also will be tested, Jaffe said. "Montana’s participation in the early detection effort will supply information used to create a national database to track avian influenza information collected from wild birds throughout the country," she said.

For more information about the project, visit the FWP Web site at http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/avian or call FWP Bozeman office at (406) 994-6967.

 

-FWP-