The West Virginia DNR continues to fall short of management and population objectives for whitetail deer in certain parts of the state. In some counties there’s limited land capacity to handle all of the deer now populating those areas. Therefore, hunters in a high number of counties will enjoy the opportunity to kill a buck or a doe during the two-week buck season, provided they have an antlerless hunting tag.
"That’s right, we’re still above harvest projections in some places," said Foster. "Although if you look at our antlerless seasons this year compared to last year they are a little more restrictive."
Some areas saw the deer get a natural thinning of the herd with winter mortality and poor food sources last year. The DNR is careful not to over shoot deer in those counties where the worst struggle occurred.
"We reduce bag limits or we’ve made limited permits or more restrictive antlerless harvest," Foster said. "We still have good deer populations throughout the state and you have to stay on top of that, but if you compare restrictions on the harvest they are more restrictive than they were in ’09."