A large area of the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area in southeast Washington’s Asotin County is closing for the winter to protect elk that lost habitat to the Lick Creek wildfire this summer, as well as to protect private crops from elk feeding on them.

While on the lookout for chronic wasting disease since the late 1990s, with the discovery of two infected deer in nearby Idaho, ODFW is ramping up testing in the border zone and taking more steps in 2022.