Jeff, I believe it has to do with numbers (population) in some cases, like TX. There are SO many deer in TX, IMO, the TPWD, allows baiting for deer to try to help keep the numbers in check. For bears, we CANNOT bait them, because we CANNOT shoot them. There are only a few Louisiana Black Bears starting to show up in E. TX, but they are protected.Another scenario is with turkeys in E TX. TPWD has been trying to reestablishthe population in E TX. Wedo have spring seasonBUT we cannot bait them, but W TX and S TX, there's spring and fall season baiting is okay and pretty much pick your weapon, BUT there are A LOT more turkeys in the western and southern parts of the state. THEN, there's hogs,....bait 'em, trap 'em,hunt 'em at night, use dogs, use horses, just about anyway you can get 'em. (Some restrictions may apply in certain areas)THEY'RE EVERYWHERE MAN!!!

This is just my guess/opinion so don't take it to the bank.

One thing I don't get is, if baiting causes CWD then I would guess that TX would have the highest number of CWD cases,.....I have not heard of a single case in TX. Maybe CWD is here, I just haven't heard of any cases.

SometimesI bait, sometimes I don't.

One more thing:
Everything changes a deer's "NATURAL" travel route! Any abnormal scent, noise, treestand that just showed up in a buck's bedroom,COULD make them change their path. If a deer "decides" to go get a few nibblets of corn from a feeder that just popped up a few yards or even several yards off his "normal" path, then it became his natural path. The same thing happens when a White Oak starts producing acorns one year. I'd bet $$$ that a deer will alter his "natural" path to snag a few big white oak acorns. If we grunt a deer in, use scent, or anything else, then we alter their natural path. The "I don't because it alters the natural path.", argument don't hold water with me. JMO

Sorry Jeff, for getting off subject there for a minute.
Population!!! That's my guess.

TXMM