By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
The change of seasons from Summer to Autumn brings on colorful leaves, pumpkin spice, football, and of course hunting season. It’s no surprise that with the vast woodlands Tucker County and West Virginia has to offer, that hunting season brings several individuals to our area. It is important that we not only hunters implement proper safety procedures, but also be aware of any laws and changes to regulations that may have taken place since last season.
According to the WV Department of Natural Resources website (www.wvdnr.org), there are a few changes that have taken place. You can obtain a hard copy of these dates and regulations in the county clerk office of the annex in Parsons. The 2018-19 summary of changes include the following: Sunday hunting is permitted on public land, changes in dates and open counties for certain species, black bear archery season will be combined and run September 29 – December 31 statewide, wild boar season will be split, muzzleloader dates have changed, no archery hunting on Bright McCausland Homestead Wildlife Management Area, there will be a Mountaineer Heritage Season for deer and bear, raccoon hunting will have a daily bag limit of four, qualifying seniors may purchase a senior lifetime license, qualifying non-residents in a state college are eligible to purchase lifetime license, Berkeley and Mineral Counties have been added to the chronic waste disease (CWD) carcass transport regulations, and traps may now be with a plate or tag.
The first of the most popular seasons to come in is squirrel season on September 8 with a daily bag limit of six and a possession limit of twenty four. The ever so popular archery season for whitetail deer commences on September 29, which also brings in wild bear archery season. The bag limits for these animals can vary based on location, therefore know the laws pertinent to your situation. Buck firearm season runs from November 19 through December 1 and muzzleloader season December 10 through the 16, again with varying bag limit regulations. Fall turkey season has two time frames, October 13-20 and October 29-November 3, bag limit of one.
There are safety rules in place that vary depending on the type of season you are hunting in. Here are a few examples of those rules. If you are hunting during early archery season, it is not required to wear blaze orange, however if you are hunting with your bow during any firearm season, you are required to wear at minimum four hundred square inches of blaze orange. It is also illegal to hunt on any property that is marked by purple paint, fenced, enclosed, or posted without proper permission. Anyone under the age of fifteen is required to be accompanied by a licensed adult. More information can be found on the website or in the handbook.
Licensing seems to be another area of confusion, and it is laid out very detailed in the regulation manual. There are different circumstances that result in different accommodations when determining when and if a license is needed. If at any time you are uncertain what you can and cannot do, it is best to contact the local DNR office for clarification. Residents over the age of sixty five who have reached that age prior to January 1, 2012 do not need a license to hunt or trap, but must carry a valid WV photo ID for verification.
To obtain a license, you must do so prior to season opening. There are approximately one hundred and seventy five locations in our state where you can purchase a license. In Tucker County, you must go to the Tucker County Courthouse Annex to the County Clerk’s office. Most area Wal-Mart stores also provide licenses in the hunting and fishing departments. You can go online to www.wvhunt.com and purchase a license, or you can go directly through Hunting and Fishing Unit via phone at 304-558-2758.
Check-in procedures have changed dramatically as well. There are a few ways you can do this, either by logging in to ww.wvhunt.com with your hunter I.D. number, call in to 1-844-WVCHECK, or stop in to a licensed agent. There are no longer official game checking stations or paper check tags, but some locations are offering assistance in checking game in via computer.
Always use extreme caution during hunting season. Make sure someone always knows where you are hunting in case you do not have the ability to contact someone in case of an emergency. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. Always know what is beyond your aiming point, and use caution when hunting from a tree stand. A successful hunt isn’t measured by the size of the game harvested, it’s every hunter returning home safely.
