Roadkilled Blacktails Now Salvageable In 3 Southwest Washington Counties

Blacktail deer hit and killed by vehicles in Cowlitz, Clark and Wahkiakum Counties can now be salvaged under a new rule recently approved by WDFW.

According to the agency, the change was inspired by a citizen petition, but it’s still illegal to possess federally listed Columbia whitetails, for which the three-county exemption to roadkill salvaging was carved out when the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission – in one of its most popular moves – allowed the public to begin collecting roadstruck deer and elk statewide back in 2016.

“We carefully reviewed available data and determined the risk of mistakenly salvaging Columbian white-tailed deer is low,” said Kyle Garrison, WDFW ungulate section manager, in a press release out yesterday. “This rule change expands salvage opportunities for black-tailed deer, in addition to elk, while continuing to support protections for Columbian white-tailed deer.”

In part, WDFW looked at information from Oregon, where the whitetail subspecies also exists on Lower Columbia islands and the Roseburg area to confirm the remote odds of possessing the deer, which are also state-listed in Washington as threatened.

The change went into effect Saturday, May 17.

Salvagers are required to obtain a roadkill permit within 24 hours of collecting a carcass. They are free and available here and at WDFW regional offices.

The public is also asked to report dead whitetails they see near Longview, Ridgefield, Cathlamet and elsewhere in the three Southwest Washington counties via WDFW’s report-your-observations webpage.

One other note on salvaging roadkill: With chronic wasting disease confirmed in both Spokane and Pend Oreille Counties last year, those salvaging deer and elk in 100-series game management units in WDFW’s Region 1, far Eastern Washington, are required to submit the entire head plus 3 inches of neck or the extracted lymph nodes within five days of receiving a salvage permit.

That rule also went into effect May 17; using your permit ID number, test results will be posted online here.

“Results may take weeks to post depending on laboratory demands,” WDFW states, adding. “You cannot transport whole carcasses including the head for testing to other areas of the state if they originated in the Transportation Restriction Zone (TRZ; 100 series GMUs) unless it is in compliance with the requirements outlined in WAC 220-413-030 for importing and possessing carcasses.”

See the agency’s CWD page for on the disease, testing and proper disposal.