This week’s column deals with a government agency’s desire to kill an elk that escaped from a captive deer facility. Politicians won’t let them. Read on:
Archive for the ‘WV DNR’ Category
Escaped elk ignites debate over disease
Sunday, February 12, 2012Deer-kill statistics are sometimes deceiving
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
John McCoy photo
The old expression, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” was probably written to describe deer hunters.
No matter where hunters are from, they always seem to believe they’d have better success if they hunted somewhere else.
Case in point: Ask West Virginians if they’d rather hunt deer in the Mountain State or in Missouri, and they’d probably choose Missouri. But would they really have it any better in the Show-Me State? Let’s take a look at the harvest totals from both states’ recently concluded whitetail seasons.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Show-Me State hunters killed about 239,000 deer. According to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Mountain State hunters killed slightly more than 133,000 deer. Advantage to Missouri, right?
Not necessarily.
Missouri’s land area is 69,704 square miles. Divide 239,000 by 69,704 square miles and you get a productivity average of 3.43 deer killed per square mile.
West Virginia’s land area is 24,229 square miles. Divide 24,229 by 133,000 and you get a productivity average of 5.49 deer per square mile.
Advantage West Virginia.
The devil in all this ciphering, is in the details. If statistics are available, it would be interesting to see which state produces more trophy bucks. Conventional wisdom would say Missouri. But West Virginia’s four bowhunting-only counties account for about 75 Pope and Young Club bucks each year. That’s a slew of trophies.
The arguments could go back and forth forever, but the bottom line is this. Chances are many hunters in Missouri would jump at the chance to hunt in West Virginia, and vice versa. The grass is always greener….
Father’s accidental rifle discharge kills son
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
This is the second such accident this fall. The first happened in Idaho; this one happened here in West Virginia. Another family needs our thoughts and prayers.
From the Associated Press:
GAP MILLS, W.Va. (AP) — A Virginia deer hunter is dead after his father’s rifle discharged while being unloaded.
The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. Saturday near Gap Mills in southeastern West Virginia.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources says 18-year-old Travis B. Smith of Waynesboro was fatally shot when a rifle discharged as his father, 37-year-old Thomas Scott Wright of Fisherville, Va., was unloading it near the pair’s vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation.
Public’s help sought in deer slaughter case
Wednesday, November 23, 2011From the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources:
FAIRMONT, W.Va. – At least 13 deer were shot, killed and left lying on the ground in the Fairmont area during the month prior to the start of the deer firearms seasons this week, and the Law Enforcement Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is requesting help from the public to solve this case. The deer were found in the Apple Valley / Boothsville area, according to Capt. William Persinger of the WVDNR District 1 Office in Farmington.
Six deer were shot and killed within 25 yards of a residence in Apple Valley. Another seven deer were shot and killed on two additional properties near the same area, near several residences that were within 100 yards of each other.
“It has all the indications of being a copycat thrill killing case similar to others we’ve seen around the country,” Capt. Persinger said. “Some of the deer had small parts removed as if the shooters wanted to keep them as trophies, just like the traits we have seen with some serial killers.”
WVDNR Law Enforcement has been investigating and is asking for assistance from the public. Anyone who has information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of those involved in this crime is asked to contact Natural Resources Police Officers James Crawley, Randall Kocsis or Capt. William Persinger at the WVDNR District 1 Office headquarters in Farmington at 304-825-6787.
“Poaching is not just a violation of the law, it also deprives honest sportsmen of the opportunity to legally harvest game,” Capt. Persinger said.
Disgusting. Simply disgusting. Here’s hoping Capt. Persinger and his officers catch the perpetrators, and that the courts throw the entire library at them instead of just the book.
Hunters simply can’t catch a break
Tuesday, November 22, 2011Spared by the rain
West Virginia deer hunters must feel like Joe Btsflpk.
Joe, for those of you too young to have read the Lil’ Abner comic strip, was an unhappy fellow who walked around with a rain cloud perpetually hanging over his head.
I’m beginning to wonder if our state’s hunters and ol’ Joe aren’t related. For what seems like the umpteenth year in a row, the opening day of the state’s firearm season for buck deer opened under rainy skies. Rain and fog blanketed the entire state during Monday’s opener.
When it rains anytime during the first three days of the 12-day season, hunters kill substantially fewer deer than expected. As one wildlife official told me, “When hunters get wet, they go home or go back to their camps. When they’re not in the woods, they’re not killing deer.”
That’s important, because the state’s buck season is literally the engine that drives the Division of Natural Resources’ deer-management program. The annual buck kill is the index by which all other deer-hunting seasons are set. When hunters kill lots of bucks, DNR officials assume the deer population is high, and allow hunters to kill more female deer in an attempt to reduce the population. When hunters kill fewer bucks, DNR officials clamp down on doe hunting in an attempt to boost the population.
Bad weather during the first three days of the buck season throws a monkey wrench into the works. History shows that roughly three-fifths of the buck harvest takes place during those three days. Bad weather limits the kill and keeps antlerless-deer hunting regulations artificially conservative.
The past three buck seasons have been hammered by misfortune. An August 2009 outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease depressed the whitetail population before the season. On opening day, snow, wind and rain kept hunters out of the woods. The harvest suffered.
Last year, a bumper mast crop kept deer scattered widely throughout the woods and less vulnerable to hunters, and rain early in the season served what amounted to a death knell to hunters’ hopes. The buck harvest plunged 32 percent from already depressed 2009 levels.
And now this — rain statewide on opening day, with more predicted for today and tomorrow.
So much for hunters’ hopes. For yet another year, they’ll have to endure that rain cloud hanging over their heads.
Steep fines for father-son bear poaching team
Saturday, November 19, 2011What is it about the water in Terra Alta, W.Va.? A couple of weeks ago, two men from that small town were fined more than $2,400 for poaching a trophy-class deer. Now two other Terra Altans have been ordered to pay more than $5,500 for poaching a black bear.
From the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources:
TERRA ALTA, W.Va. – A father and son from Terra Alta, W.Va., have been convicted of several violations of West Virginia’s wildlife laws following a two-week black bear poaching/killing investigation in Preston County.
The investigation was conducted by Natural Resources Police Officer Paul Ferguson after he received information from a confidential informant about a bear poaching. That investigation resulted in the arrest of Arnold Dalton, age 77, and his son Eric Dalton, age 47.
Arnold Dalton was charged with and convicted of illegal possession of a black bear and conspiracy to violate Chapter 20 of the West Virginia Code (wildlife law). He pled guilty on Nov. 14, 2011. His fines and court cost totaled $ 1,341.60.
Eric Dalton was charged with hunting without a bear stamp, illegally killing a black bear, illegal possession of a black bear, conspiring in a violation of Chapter 20. He pled guilty on Nov. 14, 2011, and his total fines, including court costs and replacement fees, were $4,163.20.
The total fines, court costs and replacement costs assessed in this case were $5,504.80. The subjects may also have their hunting privileges suspended for two years.
Big-buck fines for poaching big bucks
Sunday, November 13, 2011This one would cost you about $2,000
One of my stories for this week’s Gazette-Mail outdoors page points out the sea change that has taken place in the fines charged for poaching trophy deer in West Virginia:
Deer poachers are learning that West Virginia’s game laws are no longer cheap to violate.
Since a 2010 law increased the fines for killing deer with trophy antlers, state Natural Resources Police haven’t been shy about imposing what they call “enhanced penalties” on violators.
Several times already this season, officers have cited individuals for killing bucks with antler spreads greater than 14 inches. Courts haven’t yet levied fines in cases still pending, but they have handed down steep fines in others.
In Preston County, for example, 39-year-old Ernest Nice of Terra Alta was charged with illegally killing and possessing a buck with a 15 1/2-inch antler spread. Nice was assessed $1,782.40 in fines and court costs.
Nice’s alleged accomplice, 37-year-old Bryan Sypolt of Terra Alta, was fined $682.40 for hunting without a license, illegal possession of wildlife, and providing false information to an officer.
One thousand dollars of Nice’s fine related to the buck’s antler size. The new law established the “replacement fee” for killing a buck with a 14- to 16-inch spread at $1,000, a buck with a 16- to 18-inch spread at $1,500, a buck with an 18- to 20-inch spread at $2,000, and a buck with a spread of 20 inches or greater at $2,500.
Division of Natural Resources officials pushed for the law during the 2010 legislative session, hoping it would help curb the toll poachers had been taking on the state’s trophy-rich southern deer herd. In four counties – Logan, McDowell, Mingo and Wyoming – deer hunting with firearms has been illegal since 1979, and since then the area has attained a reputation for producing big-antlered bucks.
Only a handful of cases were prosecuted last year, mainly because trophy bucks were less abundant than in previous years. This year, by all accounts, the number of big-antlered whitetails has increased dramatically. So, apparently, has interest in poaching.
“We have a couple of cases pending down in Logan County already,” said Capt. Kaven Ransom, the head Natural Resources police officer for the state’s southwestern counties. “Both of them were eight-point bucks. One barely qualified for the enhanced fines; the other was pretty-good sized.”
Fines haven’t yet been levied, but Ransom expects the courts to stick to the letter of the law. “They’re pretty protective of their deer down there,” he said.
Capt. Larry Case of the Beckley office said poaching arrests are up in his neck of the woods, too, although so far only one of the arrests involved a trophy-sized buck.
“This fall, for whatever reason, we’re busier than usual,” he said. “We’re definitely getting more illegal deer kills, mainly in Greenbrier, Monroe and Summers counties.”
The trophy arrest occurred earlier this week, when Natural Resources Police officer Gabe Wood arrested 38-year-old Tommy Witt II of Princeton for the out-of-season shooting of a nine-point buck with an 18-inch antler spread. Witt faces a $2,000 trophy replacement fee and additional fines that could total as much as $1,000 more.
Perhaps the most surprising statistic is that several trophy-related arrests have been made in the state’s northern counties, which usually don’t produce many big-antlered bucks.
“In our neck of the woods, some serious arresting is going on in relation to the enhanced penalties,” said Capt. Bill Persinger. “In addition to the [Preston and Wetzel county cases] we’ve issued news releases about, we have a case pending in Harrison County, another in Preston and another in Wetzel.”
Paul Johansen, the DNR’s assistant wildlife chief, called the timing of the arrests “perfect.”
“A lot of guys are out in the woods now, and they’re seeing some nice bucks. If they know they might have to pay $1,000 to $2,000 in additional fines, they might think twice about taking those bucks illegally,” he said.
Lt. Col. Jerry Jenkins, second in command at the DNR’s Law Enforcement Section, also believes the enhanced fines will help deter would-be poachers.
“As news of these arrests gets out, it will have a deterrent effect,” he said. “I know one thing: It sure is a far cry from the ‘old days,’ when poaching a buck of any size only brought you a fine of $20 plus court costs.”
Youth charged with illegal trophy buck kill; UPDATED
Wednesday, November 9, 2011From the Associated Press:
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (AP) — A 16-year-old Bridgeport boy has been charged with illegally killing a trophy buck deer and could be fined $1,000 if convicted.
The Division of Natural Resources says a taxidermist reported the boy after he brought in a 10-point buck and claimed it had been shot with a bow and arrow.
Officers recovered a bullet and determined the deer was shot before rifle season.
When confronted with the bullet, the DNR says the teenager admitted he shot the deer with a rifle from a tree stand on Youth Hunting Day Oct. 29.
Only antlerless deer can be killed on Youth Hunting Days.
The teen was cited for killing deer during closed season, illegal possession of wildlife and improper checking of game. The case is in Harrison County Magistrate Court.
Here’s my question: What responsibility does the young person’s adult companion have in this matter? The law requires that all youth hunters be accompanied by a properly licensed adult who remains close enough to render immediate advice and assistance.
And the AP story significantly underestimates the fines. The $1,000 fine is only the “enhanced replacement fee” for a buck with a 14-inch minimum antler spread. There will likely be other fines — a minimum $200 standard whitetail replacement fee plus magistrate-determined fines for killing deer during a closed season, illegal possession of wildlife and improper checking of game. And on top of all those, court costs will be added.
If, indeed, a responsible adult was present during the hunt, he or she should be held at least partially responsible.
UPDATE: When I wrote the preceding paragraphs, I completely forgot that 16-year-olds are allowed to hunt during the youth season without adult supervision. Youths age 15 and under are required to have adults along; youths age 15 to 18 may hunt independently. For some reason, I completely brain-cramped on that point. Sorry.
Report: Elk sighted in northern W.Va.
Saturday, November 5, 2011A bull elk, possibly from a Greene County, Pa., captive cervid facility, has been sighted in Wetzel County, W.Va. From the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources:
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) has confirmed with officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) that at least two elk, including one adult bull and one cow, have escaped from a captive cervid facility (deer and elk farms) in Greene County, Pa. Greene County shares a common border with Marshall, Wetzel and Monongalia counties in West Virginia. The elk escaped from a captive cervid facility located approximately three miles from the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border.
The PDA regulates captive cervid facilities in Pennsylvania. A representative of the agency was unaware if the recent escaped elk
were tagged. The WVDNR regulates captive cervid facilities in West Virginia. In West Virginia, all captive cervids in breeding facilities
must be ear-tagged, and there are currently no reported elk escapes from any facility in West Virginia.
A bull elk has been seen recently in Wetzel County, W.Va., according to WVDNR officials. There have been no reports of cow elk
sightings in either Wetzel County, W.Va., or Greene County, Pa. No free-ranging wild elk live within 150 miles of Wetzel County. The elk
sighted in Wetzel County is likely the escaped animal from the captive facility in Pennsylvania.
Contact between escaped captive deer or elk and free-ranging white-tailed deer increases the risk of disease transmission from the
captive animals to the native herd, according WVDNR biologists. The movement and/or escape of captive deer and elk increases this risk of contact and are one of the many possible modes of transmission for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from captive cervids to free-ranging white-tailed deer.
The State of Missouri recently documented CWD in a captive cervid facility. Texas Parks and Wildlife had to euthanize a large
captive deer herd after illegal importation of white-tailed deer from a captive facility in Arkansas.
“Monitoring and protecting West Virginia’s deer herd from CWD and other diseases is crucial to West Virginia’s economy and its
natural resources,” said WVDNR Director Frank Jezioro. ”Deer hunting provides tremendous recreational opportunities for hunters and wildlife viewers, has a large economic impact on its rural communities, and brings in many out-of-state hunters each season to West Virginia.”
WVDNR advises residents in Marshall, Wetzel and Monongalia counties to contact the Farmington District Office at 304-825-6787 if
they see an elk in these counties. Hunters are reminded that it is illegal to harvest any free-ranging elk in West Virginia.
A hunting season’s sad decline
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Having trouble fitting in
It’s been disappointing for me to watch the decline of wild boar hunting in southern West Virginia. I grew up at the mouth of the hollow where the boars were first stocked, and have followed the boar story closely since the first stocking.
My column in this week’s Sunday Gazette-Mail explains what has happened to the hogs, and why hunters seem to have lost their enthusiasm for hunting them:
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