MORGANTOWN — The state Natural Resources Commission recently voted down a proposal to ban bear hunting with dogs in a section of southwest Preston County and people on both sides of the issue offered their views on the decision this week.
Preston farmer George Street has been the leading voice is seeking the ban. “I’m not real happy with the results,” he said. “It’s very disappointing. But, you know, what can you do? You just take it as it goes. I’m going to continue, I’m not giving up.”
Eric Beck, president of the West Virginia Bear Hunters Association said he was pleased with the vote. Ending hunting in that area would have had consequences beyond the inconvenience of a few landowners, he said. “Just because a small group doesn’t like something doesn’t mean we should take it away.”
The proposal before the commission was to ban bear hunting, with or without dogs, in a 58-square-mile area west of W.Va. 92, which run south from Reedsville through Arthurdale and Newburg and meets U.S. 50 west of Fellowsville.
Street had complained to legislators, the commission and other Division of Natural Resources officials that the unleashed dogs trespassed on property and disturbed livestock.
Colin Carpenter, DNR black bear project leader, was tasked with coming up with a solution based on the complaints, he told The Dominion Post some days after the meeting. In trying to exclude the smallest possible section, he and his team considered the state bear management plan and its property tract size criteria.
This section has only one tract meeting the minimum size requirement of 1,000 acres – set because dog sports cover large amounts of land, he said. They decided that the the split that would work the best was W.Va. 92, which is also used in Barbour County.
They also looked at bear damage complaints, he said. Bears damage crops and property and the bulk in Preston is damaged corn. He told the commission at the meeting that the county averaged 21 per year during the last five years, but only three per year in the proposed area.
During the discussion preceding the vote, one commissioner commented that he was aware of only two people complaining, and of only one complaint in the last two years.
Commissioner Dave Milne, who lives in Preston and supported the proposal, said he’s heard several complaints.
The proposal failed in a voice vote, with Milne and one other voting yes, the rest no. One of those who voted no then proposed to amend out the Preston exclusion from the statewide 2020 black bear season calendar. That succeeded and the season remains the same as last year everywhere, including Preston.
Street said he was surprised by the decision because had been led to believe it would pass. He’s heard seocnd-hand, however, that the Legislature may revisit a bill to limit year-round dog training by allowing the DNR to regulate the training season, which is currently forbidden in code.
Sen. Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, introduced a bill to that effect last session that went nowhere and Sypolt previously told The Dominion Post he has no plans to reintroduce it.
Street said he agrees that year-round training is a problem for landowners. “I’ve heard this complaint form hundreds of people in various counties, not just in Preston.”
But the main issue for him is hunting in that section of Preston where the population density is higher than in other areas where hunting is allowed and the land tracts are smaller. “Almost all the bear hunting they’re doing here, they’re trespassing on other people’s land,” he said.
Street said he has no reason to believe a similar bill could go anywhere in 2021, but he’ll keep pushing that issue if it appears it can gain some traction, and maybe revisit a hunting ban at a later date.
Bear hunters who spoke to The Dominion Post in May disagree with Street’s assertion about trespass, saying they have agreements with landowners to hunt and Street is a rare exception.
Beck said that before the vote, the association tried to talk with the DNR director and the commissioners to tell their side of the story and emphasize the contribution hunters make to the bear damage fund. Among the fees bear hunters pay to the DNR is a $10 bear damage stamp; half goes to the DNR bear damage fund to cover property damage and half goes to black bear research programs.
Beck said the ban would mean about 60 bears a year not removed from that part of the county, with that much more damage ensuing.
Beck also aid the association may seek to revamp the 1,000 acre limit in the bear management plan because properties are getting smaller and 1,000 acres is a big chunk of land.
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
