MISSOULA, Mont.-It appears that Montana has dodged the CWD bullet once again.

Early results from the fall testing show no sign of chronic wasting disease in the state's deer and elk herds.

"Though there is no sign of the disease in the state's wild, free-ranging herds, the disease has turned up nearby in Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming and Saskatchewan and Alberta," said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Jeff Hagener. "With that proximity, it's probably only a matter of time before it enters Montana."

Nearly 2,000 deer and elk in Montana have been tested so far this year, which includes animals harvested by hunters throughout the state as well as roadkills and a small number of animals in key areas killed by wildlife biologists. There is no reliable test for CWD on live animals.

To date, 9,000 free-ranging animals and 3,700 captive deer and elk from the state's alternative-livestock facilities have been tested for CWD since 1999. So far, the disease has been detected only at an alternative-livestock ranch near Philipsburg in 1999.

CWD is a rare brain disease that causes infected deer and elk to lose weight and body functions, behave abnormally and eventually die. The ailment belongs to a family of diseases called "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies," which include mad cow disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

So far, it appears that CWD doesn't have the potential to infect humans or other species, said Tim Feldner of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The state is developing a plan to address CWD should it jump the border.

"In the next month or two, we should have a plan of action should we find the disease in the state," said Feldner.

That plan includes identifying the location where the infected animal died, collecting additional samples to understand the infection rate and then monitoring the herd in an effort to learn the source of the disease.

If the infection rate is high, the state might consider reducing the herd in an effort to slow the spread of the disease.

"Population reductions are one tool that wildlife biologists have used to try to manage hot spots," Feldner said.

For instance, in Wisconsin officials worked to eliminate all deer within a 5-mile-square area to try slow the spread of the disease.

Wyoming, which has documented CWD cases since 1980, initially did not attempt to actively manage for the disease.

"They chose to monitor it, but they've now shifted gears," said Feldner. "They are very concerned that the disease could make its way into the elk feeding grounds (near Jackson Hole) and they don't want that to happen. Neither do we."

Researchers in Colorado have learned the disease can be passed through contaminated soil, said Feldner.

Their research included placing two infected deer carcasses in a corral and allowing them to decompose over a two-year period. Half of the deer later put into the pens became infected with the disease, he said.

Researchers still have a lot to learn about how the disease is transmitted. Montana is looking at a number of ways to keep it from appearing here.

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is considering a ban on transportation into Montana of heads and spinal columns of deer, elk and moose harvested in states where CWD has been identified in ungulates.

If attendance at public meetings is an indication of people's interest, then CWD hasn't made much of a mark on Montana residents. Only a few people showed up during a round of meetings on the state's plan last fall.

"They were poorly attended," said Feldner. "It's going to take the first case to show up in Montana for people to get a little excited about it."