West Virginia Explorer West Virginia Explorer News
Browse

Will ReedyWill Reedy

Will Reedy is a West Virginia writer and contributor to West Virginia Explorer Magazine whose work focuses on hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. Through essays and feature writing, he explores the landscapes, communities, and traditions that define West Virginia, bringing a thoughtful perspective to stories about heritage, travel, and everyday Appalachian life.
Bear Lake is one of several small fishing lakes at Bear Rock Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Ohio County, West Virginia. Fishing access is temporarily closing while the state modifies two dams at the property. (Photo by Brian M. Powell/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Wildlife Refuges, Management Areas

Fishing closes at Bear Rock Lakes WMA as $1.5 million dam project begins

by Will Reedy

VALLEY GROVE, W.Va. — Fishing access at Bear Rock Lakes Wildlife Management Area near Wheeling will temporarily close as the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources begins modifications to two dams at the popular Ohio County fishing area. The work aims to bring the dams into full compliance with the West Virginia Dam Control and Safety Act, according … Read more

Hikers document an apparently ill white-tailed deer they encounter along a wooded West Virginia trail, illustrating the kind of observation that can now be reported through the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources' new online Wildlife Disease and Mortality Reporting Tool.
Wildlife / Conservancy

West Virginia launches online tool for reporting sick and dead wildlife

by Will Reedy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia wildlife officials have launched a new online reporting system that allows residents and visitors to quickly report sick, injured or dead wild animals, giving state biologists another tool to detect disease outbreaks before they become widespread. The W.Va. Division of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that it has begun using a … Read more

A kayaker paddles through a spectacular bloom of pink water lilies at Plum Orchard Lake Wildlife Management Area near Pax, one of southern West Virginia's most peaceful paddling destinations. The 202-acre lake is known for its quiet coves, excellent fishing and abundant wildlife.
Travel / Transportation

Hidden New River Gorge lake, Plum Orchard welcomes visitors after $1.2 million makeover

by Will Reedy

PAX, W.Va. — Millions of travelers visit the New River Gorge each year, but relatively few discover nearby Plum Orchard Lake, a quiet mountain retreat where anglers, paddlers and campers trade crowds for calm water and forested shorelines. Now, more than $1.2 million in improvements is making one of southern West Virginia’s hidden outdoor destinations … Read more

A spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) adult winged.
Agriculture

Spotted lanternfly reaches Kanawha County as invasive pest spread across West Virginia

by Will Reedy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The invasive spotted lanternfly has been confirmed in Kanawha County, marking another step in the insect’s steady expansion across West Virginia. Officials with the W.Va. Department of Agriculture said an infestation was discovered in St. Albans near the intersection of West Main Street and Strawberry Road. The U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s Animal … Read more

A white-tailed doe pauses in a West Virginia forest. The state's controlled antlerless lottery hunts are designed to manage deer populations while protecting forests and wildlife habitat.
Hunting

Hunters can apply for rare deer hunts in West Virginia state parks

by Will Reedy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hunters seeking an opportunity to pursue white-tailed deer in some of West Virginia’s most scenic public lands can now apply for a series of controlled lottery hunts designed to manage deer populations while protecting forests and native wildlife habitat. The W.Va. Division of Natural Resources in Charleston has opened applications for its … Read more

An American woodcock pauses on the forest floor during its annual migration through Appalachia. The secretive bird depends on young forests and moist woodlands that provide shelter and abundant earthworms as it travels between its northern breeding grounds and southern wintering habitat.
Hunting

As autumn migration approaches, West Virginia sets seasons for dove, rail, woodcock

by Will Reedy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Every autumn, millions of birds stream south across eastern North America, filling Appalachian forests, farm fields, and wetlands with migrants bound for warmer climates. Among them are mourning doves, American woodcock, Wilson’s snipe, and elusive marsh birds known as rails, whose annual journeys have long signaled the start of West Virginia’s migratory … Read more