6:00: Morning News

Green Bank hunt set for this weekend

GREEN BANK, W.Va. — Just a day after the federal government shutdown concluded, hunters will be on the property of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank. The controlled hunt on the federal property in Pocahontas County is now into it’s 21st year.

“We’ve been tip toeing around this,” said Business Manager Mike Holstine. “That was a hard thing to worry about cancelling, so we kept it on the back burner and planned all along we would do that even if it was with our skeleton crew.”

The hunt is eagerly anticipated by both the hunting public and the NRAO staff.

“That’s been one of the most pleasant experiences for us,” Holstine said. “We’ve been doing this for 21 years now and the hunters are fantastic. They don’t interfere with us.  They are aware of the operations and really work within the guidelines we have.  It’s a great experience.”

The controlled hunt covers 1,600 acres and the property is separated into four different segments. Accommodations are made for hunters drawn to participate who hunt either with a bow, muzzleloader, or shotgun. High powered rifles are not allowed in the hunt because of the sensitivity of the telescope equipment.

The hunt was the first controlled hunt in West Virginia and was largely the proving ground for a lot of the parameters laid out in other controlled and urban hunts around West Virginia.

Hunters can only participate if they were drawn from a lottery system. Holstine said they average 84 to 86 hunters each of the two days of the hunt. Its also been a very effective tool in bringing the number of deer on the property under control.

“Not only has it reduced the population, but it has also increased the health of the herd,” Holstine said. “When we started this hunt the deer were not only too numerous for the site, but physically they were smaller deer.  There just wasn’t enough nutrition for the deer that were here.”





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