Hunting

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia no longer requires children to be at least eight years old to participate in the state’s special youth hunting seasons, a change taking on new relevance as the first youth black bear season of the fall opens Saturday. The W.Va. Natural Resources Commission eliminated the minimum age requirement in 2025. … Read more

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

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

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hunters planning to head into West Virginia’s woods this fall should review the state’s newly released hunting regulations, as several changes could affect where, when, and how they hunt during the 2026-27 seasons. The W.Va. Division of Natural Resources has released its annual Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary, outlining season dates, licensing … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It wasn’t long ago that hearing the gobble of wild turkeys at daybreak was a rare experience across much of West Virginia. By the early 1900s, unregulated hunting and widespread logging had pushed the state’s wild turkey population to dangerously low levels. In many areas, the birds had disappeared altogether. Today, they … Read more