The West Virginia Natural Resources Commission is slated to meet Sunday after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the original meeting on May 3. The meeting will be held virtually at 1 p.m.
The NRC will open the meeting with introductions and other house-cleaning items before viewing a presentation by Southwick Associates on the company’s license structure survey results.
The commission will also approve 2020-21 big game hunting regulations, state park deer hunts, review proposed 2021-22 hunting and trapping regulations and 2021 reptile and amphibian regulations, read public and West Virginia DNR Director Stephen McDaniel’s comments and consider reducing the annual bag limit for antlered bucks per hunter per year, from three to two.
First reported by MetroNews, at the August 2019 meeting the NRC tabled lowering the buck limit until May after Commissioner Greg Burnette’s vote failed to garner a second. Reasons for tabling were the then-pending Southwick survey and the overall cost of lowering the limit. At the meeting, McDaniel and Wildlife Section Chief Paul Johansen were clear the DNR was not pursuing raising license costs, and by working with Southwick the agency would see the best way to “bundle privileges and see what sportsmen and women are willing to bare in terms of cost.”
McDaniel was also concerned about the financial impact lowering the buck limit noting, “If you reduce this from three to two you are going to see a financial impact. $1.5 million is a lot to take from the wildlife section over the last two years.”
According to the MetroNews report, McDaniel based the $1.5 million projection on two previous cases of the Commission lowering buck limits, the first in 1995 from five to two and then the last in 2005 then it was lowered from five to three. Each decision saw a drop in license sales and increases in license fees.
Recently, there has been a steady public voice for lowering the limit. At the August meeting, Johansen suggested the three-buck limit remain for three reasons: Antler size will not significantly increase, only a small number of hunters harvest three bucks and a two-buck limit will not show a noticeable shift in the age structure of bucks. However, Kip Adams, the National Conservation Director for the Quality Deer Management Association, noted at the meeting that Tennessee saw an improvement in the state’s buck-to-doe ratio after lower its limit from three to two and that the average age structure increased.
The preliminary 2019-20 deer harvest numbers showed that hunters killed 99,437 deer, a 9% drop from the 2018 harvest of 108,856 and 13% lower than the 5-year average of 114,520. When broken down, 28,336 antlerless deer were harvested over each firearm season, a 13% decline from 2018 and a 21% drop from the 5-year average of 36,082.
Gov. Justice announces a discount for resident campers
Gov. Jim Justice announced May 20 that West Virginia State Parks will offer a “historic discount” on lodging for all West Virginia residents. The move was made to “show [Gov. Justice’s] appreciation for the resiliency and support of West Virginians during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The offer is called the “WVSTRONG Discount” and is active for stays June 1-Aug. 31. The 30% discount applies to lodge rooms, cabins and campsite reservations and is applied at checkout once entering the promo code WVSTRONG.
“We want to encourage all West Virginians to enjoy our beautiful state that we have,” Gov. Justice said. “Go, West Virginia, and enjoy the parks that are near to your hearts. Or, if there’s an area where you want to visit but you haven’t been able to get to yet, go and experience a new adventure.”
Those with existing reservations will be proactively issued the discount as a credit on their reservation. Credits will be automatically applied, so guests with existing reservations don’t need to call.
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