St. Paul The Minnesota DNR has hired Dr. Gary L. Hart, a Michigan veterinarian with experience in wildlife population medicine and soil science, to direct wildlife disease management efforts, with a focus on chronic wasting disease.

Hart, who also holds a doctorate in soil science, has been
directing wildlife disease control for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture in Lansing, Mich., for the past year. His previous
experience includes work in soil ecology, water quality and
genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The new position was created and funded as part of the CWD
initiative approved by the Minnesota Legislature in 2002.