West Virginia hunters harvest record 3,541 black bears in 2020
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.VA. West Virginia hunters harvested a record 3,541 black bears during the 2020 archery and firearms seasons, according to preliminary numbers gathered by the state Division of Natural Resources. The 2020 harvest is more than the previous record of 3,201 black bears taken during the 2015 seasons and a 14 percent increase over the 3,099 bears taken in 2019. West Virginia hunters have taken more than 3,000 black bears in five out of the last six years. Hunters killed 1,095 bears during the first segment of the 2020 archery/crossbow season (Sept. 26 to Nov. 22). Hunters harvested 569 bears with vertical bows and 526 bears with crossbows. The top five counties were Fayette (76), Nicholas (59), Raleigh (55), Preston (55) and Boone (53).
CHARLESTON The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is requesting original color wildlife paintings for the 2022 edition of the award-winning West Vi
Fox News previously reported that the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game announced on its website that 1,183 bears were harvested in the 2020 season. This number marks a 33% increase from the previous year’s harvest and it is also 42% higher than the five-year average.
Vermont has also reported a record bear season in 2020, with hunters taking 914 bears as the sport’s popularity surges amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hunters in the Green Mountain State harvested the record number last year, surpassing the previous record of 750 bears in 2019. Forrest Hammond, a bear biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, cited cabin fever as a contributing factor.
January 25, 2021 GMT
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is already working on next year’s wildlife calendar and is asking for submissions.
Artists may submit original color wildlife paintings for the 2022 West Virginia Wildlife Calendar through Feb. 19. The agency says the paintings may be of popular game and fish species or other West Virginia wildlife, including snakes, frogs, songbirds and other animals.
A $200 prize is awarded for each painting chosen, and the artist whose work is chosen for the cover will receive an additional $500.
Entries should include an electronic image that can be sized at 14.5 inches wide by 11.5 inches high at 300 dpi. A high quality print is also acceptable, the agency said. Multiple entries are OK, and paintings not picked in previous years may be resubmitted. Email electronic images to Jessica.N.Swecker@wv.gov.
Wyoming County whitetail becomes the new state record By
January 13, 2021 - 4:08 pm
Biologists Eric Richmond (L) and Todd Dowdy (R) carefully measure the new state record buck’s rack from Wyoming County
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. A dozen or so people spread out across a conference room at the headquarters of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources office Wednesday. Those assembled were socially distanced, masked up, and the tension in the air was thick, but fear of a pandemic wasn’t on the mind of this group. The assembly stared at the front of the room where three Division of Natural Resources biologists, certified scorers for Pope and Young, carefully examined the largest set of antlers most in the room had ever seen.