Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 382 Canaan Valley & Environs 2015 Southeastern Naturalist 14(Special Issue 7):382–404 Historic Game Harvests in Canaan Valley and Tucker County, West Virginia Edwin D. Michael1,*, Sandra L. Brown2, and Walter S. Brown3 Abstract - In this paper, we present tabulations of annual game-animal harvests in Canaan Valley and Tucker County, WV, from several time periods. We present countywide harvestdata for 1923–2001 for Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer), 1969–2001 for Castor canadensis (Beaver), 1976–2001 for Lynx rufus (Bobcat), 1950-2001 for Ursus americanus (Black Bear), 1975–2001 for Martes pennanti (Fisher), and 1940–2001 for Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey). Annual numbers of animals harvested in Canaan Valley have increased steadily during the past 75 years since the establishment of modern regulations. Interpretations of reported harvest data are difficult because of changes in extrinsic factors that affect hunting and trapping pressure and success. The only game animal for which harvest levels are positively correlated with population density is White-tailed Deer. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine by examining the harvest numbers whether populations of game animals have increased, decreased, or remained stable. Introduction Scientific wildlife management requires demographic monitoring to determine if populations are increasing, declining, or stable. However, long-term surveys typically require significant amounts of time and funding to obtain reliable population data over large areas. One relatively inexpensive survey method that has been widely used to monitor year-to-year changes in population densities involves tabulating the total number of individuals harvested each year (WVDNR 1980–1990). To generate wildlife-harvest data, most states require hunters to purchase a hunting license and ask that they submit a survey form or tag for each animal harvested. In most states, hunters are required to complete tags for only the major game animals they harvest (WVDNR 1975–2002). Although completion of survey tags is required, the system depends on hunters stopping at check stations where the tags are available and following up by sending them to wildlife officials. For various reasons, not all hunters report the animals they harvest, thus the total number of completed tags is smaller than the actual number of animals harvested. However, biologists still use numbers of tags to assess harvest trends, rather than the actual numbers of animals harvested. Only a few states have established roadside-check stations and require that all vehicles stop for interviews. This procedure increases the hunter-compliance rate, but the expense is usually too high to justify such intensive effort throughout an entire state or county. 1Division of Forestry, West Virginia University, PO Box 6125, Morgantown, WV 26506 (retired). 2PO Box 5, Beverly, WV 26253. 3West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Section, PO Box 67, Elkins, WV 26241. Corresponding author - edmichael@comcast.net. Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 383 There is no formula that enables wildlife statisticians to convert the number of harvest tags for a species to a population density for that species, but reported hunter harvest numbers, based on number of tags completed, are assumed to be positively correlated with population densities of the game animals hunted. Many biologists agree that several factors might alter this correlation, especially yearto- year variations in weather (WVDNR 1977, 1975–2002). For example, severe weather affects hunter effort and hunter success. In spite of this shortcoming, annual tabulation of total numbers of animals harvested (based on hunter tags) is the most inexpensive and reliable method available to monitor long-term changes in game-species density. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to tabulate and compile annualharvest data for the major game animals in Tucker County, WV, specifically in Canaan Valley (hereafter, the Valley) and adjacent areas. Methods The state of West Virginia requires that hunters complete a game tag for each harvested Ursus americanus Pallas (Black Bear), Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann (White-tailed Deer), Castor canadensis Kuhl (Beaver), Lynx rufus Schreber (Bobcat), Martes pennanti Erxleben (Fisher), and Meleagris gallopavo L. (Wild Turkey). These tags are completed by hunters at check stations established at various locations throughout each county. The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) collects the tags at the end of each hunting season and tabulates the results. The WVDNR provided us with the hunter tags from Tucker County for the purpose of determining the numbers of game animals harvested in the Valley and adjacent areas (S. Wilson, WVDNR, pers. comm.). We examined each tag and recorded the location of the harvest site provided by the hunter. Although some descriptions were so vague that the locations of harvests were unclear, we were usually able to identify the general locations. In this paper, we identify the locations of harvested White-tailed Deer, Bobcat, and Wild Turkey as (1) the Valley, (2) Route 93, and (3) Dolly Sods; Black Bear as (1) the Valley, (2) Canaan Mountain, (3) Cabin Mountain, (4) Route 93, and (5) Dolly Sods; and Beaver as (1) the Valley, (2) Little Blackwater, (3) North Branch, (4) Glade Run, (5) Blackwater River, (6) Cabin Mountain, (7) Route 93, and (8) Dolly Sods. Because the WVDNR disposes of hunter tags after 20–25 years, we were unable to determine the harvest locations of game animals within Tucker County before 1974. For years before 1974, we obtained countywide data for each of the major game animals from numerous WVDNR bulletins (WVDNR 1975–2002). The countywide data provided total annual harvest numbers for White-tailed Deer (1923–2001), Black Bear (1950–2001), Bobcat (1976–2001), Beaver (1969–2001), Fisher (1975–2001), and Wild Turkey (1940–2001). Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 384 Hunting regulations for most big game animals have changed several times during the 1923–2002 period. The most common changes involved the opening and closing dates of legal hunting seasons (WVDNR 1975–2002). Other changes have involved the types of weapons and the daily and/or season bag limits. A description of all regulation changes of the past 75 years is beyond the scope of this paper, but regulatory information for the 2001–2002 hunting seasons are presented in Table 1. Tabulation and publication of the hunter-checked furbearer harvest by state agencies can be confounded by many variables, such as inclusion of animals taken for wildlife damage control, late reports from check stations, and unknown or unrecognizable location information. These kinds of factors likely affected some of the data compiled for this paper from WVDNR sources. An original version of this paper was presented in a local symposium hosted by Canaan Valley Institute in 2002 and is available on their website. For that paper, we used the best data that were available to us at the time. In the ensuing 13 years, WVDNR has published several additional harvest tabulations that contain figures slightly different from those available to us in 2002. In most cases, the differences in reported harvest among WVDNR publications are relatively minor and do not invalidate the general trends noted in our paper, nor the conclusions that we derived from them. Cognizant of this variability, however, we have revised the Beaver, Bobcat, and Fisher harvest figures from those we provided in our 2002 paper for Canaan Valley Institute. For the current revision, where variability exists in reported harvest for a given year, we used the figure from the most recently published reports. Results Hunters in the Valley have typically harvested more White-tailed Deer than any other game species. During 2001–2002, they harvested 628 White-tailed Deer, 112 Beaver, 18 Black Bear, 13 Bobcats, and 39 Wild Turkey (Tables 2–8). Within all of Tucker County, hunters harvested 3004 White-tailed Deer, 252 Wild Table 1. Hunting and trapping regulations for big game animals, Tucker County, WV, 2001– 2002 (WVDNR 2001). Opening and closing dates are given in month/day. Species Opening date Closing date White-tailed Deer (archery) 10/13 12/31 White-tailed Deer (bucks only) 11/19 12/1 White-tailed Deer (antlerless) 12/3 12/8 White-tailed Deer (muzzleloader) 12/10 12/15 Black Bear (archery) 10/13 12/31 Black Bear (gun) 12/3 12/31 Wild Turkey (either sex) 10/20 11/10 12/17 12/22 Wild Turkey (bearded only) 4/22 5/18 Beaver (trapping) 11/3 3/30 Bobcat (trapping) 11/3 2/28 Fisher (trapping) 11/3 1/31 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 385 Table 2. White-tailed Deer harvest for Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1923– 2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA - data not available. Number of deer harvested Tucker % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Canaan Valley County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1923A NA 1 60 - 1.6 1924 No open season 1925 No open season 1926 No open season 1927 NA 1 164 - 0.6 1928 NA - 129 - - 1929 No record 1930B NA - 254 - - 1931 NA 9 251 - 3.6 1932 NA 8 283 - 2.8 1933 NA 23 379 - 0.6 1934 NA 36 309 - 11.6 1935 No record 1936 NA 32 242 - 13.2 1937 NA 61 456 - 13.4 1938 NA 117 896 - 13.1 1939 NA 120 897 - 13.4 1940 NA 132 1116 - 11.8 1941 NA 139 1064 - 13.1 1942C NA 176 1475 - 11.9 1943 NA 70 1827 - 0.4 1944 NA 231 2051 - 11.3 1945 NA 280 2370 - 11.8 1946D NA 608E 4088 - 14.9 1947D NA 580E 5475 - 10.6 1948 NA 527 4963 - 10.6 1949 NA 774 6472 - 11.9 1950D NA 1116 6559 - 17.0 1951F NA 4255 21,973 - 19.4 1952F NA 1586 17,156 - 9.2 1953F NA 1949 19,857 - 9.8 1954F NA 972 16,732 - 5.8 1955F NA 158 13,196 - 12.0 1956F NA 104 18,245 - 0.6 1957E NA 261 6206 - 4.2 1958 NA 211E 18,553 - 1.1 1959 NA 263E 19,678 - 1.4 1960F NA 785 15,928 - 4.9 1961E NA 285 5043 - 5.6 1962E NA 317 5780 - 5.5 1963 NA 275 7728 - 3.6 1964 NA 255 8654 - 2.9 1965 NA 483 19,911 - 2.4 1966 NA 536 21,454 - 2.5 1967 NA 415 18,483 - 2.2 1968 NA 430 10,547 - 4.1 1969 NA 623 14,090 - 4.4 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 386 Turkey, 178 Beaver, 66 Black Bear, 19 Bobcats, and 5 Fisher, of which those taken in the Valley accounted for 21% of all White-tailed Deer, 15% of all Wild Turkey, 63% of all Beaver, 27% of all Black Bear, and 68% of all Bobcats (Tables 2–8). No data were available regarding how many of the Fisher that were trapped in Tucker County were taken from the Valley. Table 2, continued. Number harvested Tucker % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Canaan Valley County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1970 NA 561 13,988 - 4.0 1971 NA 539 16,615 - 3.2 1972 NA 1010 22,403 - 4.5 1973 NA 1042 25,863 - 4.0 1974 NA 1073 26,072 - 4.1 1975 NA 1350 35,336 - 3.8 1976 NA 1719 41,117 - 4.2 1977 NA 1959 40,518 - 4.8 1978G NA 1681 44,444 - 3.8 1979 540 1977 55,086 27.3 3.6 1980 562 2298 54,165 24.4 4.2 1981 694 2874 74,507 24.1 3.9 1982 873 3501 88,087 24.9 4.0 1983 675 3067 89,840 22.3 3.4 1984 674 3324 106,710 20.6 3.1 1985 541 2818 84,600 19.3 3.3 1986 653 3116 118,611 20.9 2.6 1987 621 3157 129,115 19.7 2.4 1988 566 3132 128,692 18.1 2.4 1989 512 3065 145,567 16.7 2.1 1990 702 4277 169,948 16.4 2.5 1991 1281 5361 176,984 23.9 3.0 1992 958 4997 205,924 19.2 2.4 1993 852 3451 169,014 24.7 2.0 1994 536 3278 147,604 16.3 2.2 1995 567 4110 201,625 13.7 2.0 1996 386 2523 187,136 15.3 1.3 1997 470 2751 235,305 17.1 1.2 1998 479 2450 195,838 19.5 1.2 1999 436 2888 231,221 15.1 1.2 2000 583 2865 192,944 20.3 1.5 2001 628 3004 217,416 20.9 1.4 Mean 643 1452 53,963 20.0 5.5 ABucks only until 1946. BCounty totals unknown. CFirst year of bow season. DAntlerless season in some counties. EBucks only FHunter’s choice with the exception of some counties. GFirst year of muzzleloader season. Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 387 Table 3. Black Bear harvest from Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1950–2001 (Rieffenberger et al. 1981, WVDNR1975–2002). Canaan Valley area = Canaan Valley, Canaan Mt., Cabin Mt., Route 93, and Dolly Sods; checking was voluntary in 1950 (restricted Black Bear hunt initiated in 1944, one bear per hunter); mandatory checking 1951 to present; - = data not available. # of Black Bear harvested % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Canaan Valley Tucker County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1950 - 4 32 - 12.5 1951 - 4 44 - 9.0 1952 - 2 51 - 3.9 1953 - 4 45 - 8.9 1954 - 7 65 - 10.8 1955 - 2 59 - 3.4 1956 - 6 49 - 12.2 1957 - 2 36 - 5.5 1958 - 5 44 - 11.4 1959 - 9 38 - 23.7 1960 - 8 72 - 11.1 1961 - 6 29 - 20.7 1962 - 7 64 - 10.9 1963 - 7 43 - 16.3 1964 - 12 64 - 18.7 1965 - 8 83 - 9.6 1966 - 2 17 - 11.7 1967 - 5 53 - 9.4 1968 - 9 77 - 11.7 1969 - 11 62 - 17.7 1970 - 5 38 - 1.3 1971 - 7 64 - 10.9 1972 - 6 59 - 10.2 1973 - 8 59 - 1.3 1974 0 6 50 0.0 12.0 1975 1 0 66 - 0.0 1976 2 10 87 20.0 11.5 1977 0 3 49 0.0 6.1 1978 5 8 98 62.5 8.2 1979 1 7 68 14.3 10.3 1980 0 1 47 0.0 2.1 1981 1 3 80 33.3 3.7 1982 5 6 36 83.3 16.7 1983 7 19 129 36.8 14.7 1984 9 15 110 60.0 13.6 1985 0 4 113 0.0 3.5 1986 7 14 131 50.0 10.7 1987 7 21 251 33.3 8.4 1988 18 38 308 47.4 12.3 1989 24 86 510 27.9 16.9 1990 22 42 235 52.4 17.9 1991 21 52 426 40.4 12.2 1992 20 72 455 27.8 15.8 1993 21 82 767 25.6 10.7 1994 20 110 732 18.2 15.0 1995 12 45 690 26.7 6.5 1996 22 83 768 26.5 10.8 1997 11 60 687 18.3 8.7 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 388 Table 4. Beaver harvest from Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1968/1969– 2001/2002 (WVDNR 1975–2002). # of Beaver harvested Canaan Tucker % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Valley County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1968/1969 NA 174 847 - 20.5 1969/1970 53 125 637 42.4 19.6 1970/1971 62 154 526 40.2 29.3 1971/1972 66 215 865 30.7 24.8 1972/1973 109 234 1087 46.6 21.5 1973/1974 106 224 1167 47.3 19.2 1974/1975 52 137 866 37.9 15.8 1975/1976 81 194 662 41.7 29.3 1976/1977 100 167 580 59.8 28.8 1977/1978 86 132 862 65.1 15.3 1978/1979 110 156 8439 70.5 18.6 1979/1980 146 223 1720 65.5 13.0 1980/1981 113 191 1551 59.2 12.3 1981/1982 72 174 1060 41.4 16.4 1982/1983 46 87 721 52.9 12.1 1983/1984 26 46 573 56.5 8.0 1984/1985 20 85 921 23.5 9.2 1985/1986 105 156 748 67.3 20.8 1986/1987 101 196 1748 51.5 11.2 1987/1988 92 201 1905 45.8 10.6 1988/1989 81 226 1131 35.8 20.0 1989/1990 109 228 1170 47.8 19.5 1990/1991 16 50 683 32.0 7.3 1991/1992 47 56 999 83.9 5.6 1992/1993 12 25 764 48.0 3.3 1993/1994 5 8 354 62.5 2.3 1994/1995 57 97 1308 58.7 7.4 1995/1996 4 65 658 6.1 9.9 1996/1997 89 154 2061 57.8 7.5 1997/1998 41 168 2327 24.4 7.2 1998/1999 138 297 1616 46.5 18.4 1999/2000 23 106 988 21.7 10.7 2000/2001 30 104 1140 28.8 9.1 2001/2002 112 178 1829 62.9 9.7 Mean 70.0 148.0 1085.7 45.4 14.5 Table 3, continued. # of Black Bear harvested % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Canaan Valley Tucker County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1998 32 135 1082 23.7 12.5 1999 26 83 994 31.3 8.3 2000 28 108 1328 25.9 8.1 2001 18 66 1253 27.3 5.3 Mean 12.1 25.5 246.1 30.1 10.5 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 389 In general, the annual total number of animals harvested has increased steadily since modern regulations were put into effect 75 years ago. At the end of the 1800s, the populations of most game animals in Tucker County had dropped to the lowest levels ever known (Conservation Commision of WV 1951, Rieffenberger et al. 1981, WVDNR 1968). White-tailed Deer were almost eliminated from Tucker County by 1900, when it is was estimated that fewer than 20 deer survived in and around the headwaters of Little Blackwater River in the Valley (DeGarmo and Gill 1958). Regrowth of forests after timbering and fires created potential White-tailed Deer habitat, and the WVDNR restocked 25 deer into Tucker County during 1926– 1940. From a low of 1 White-tailed Deer harvested in Tucker County in 1923, numbers steadily increased until a high of 4255 animals harvested was reached in 1951 (Table 2). However, from 1954 through 1971, the annual harvest was less than 1000 White-tailed Deer. Annual harvests increased from 1010 in 1972 to 5361 in 1991. Most recently, the annual White-tailed Deer harvest declined from 1992 through 2001, when 3004 animals were harvested. Table 5. Bobcat harvest from Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1976/1977– 2001/2002. (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA = data not available from WVDNR. # of Bobcat harvested Canaan Tucker % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Valley County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1976/1977 NA NA 446 - NA 1977/1978 0 17 548 0.0 3.1 1978/1979 1 16 588 6.2 2.7 1979/1980 5 22 603 22.7 3.6 1980/1981 1 12 538 8.3 2.2 1981/1982 2 13 448 15.4 2.9 1982/1983 2 8 689 25.0 1.2 1983/1984 0 16 368 0.0 4.3 1984/1985 1 11 476 9.1 2.3 1985/1986 3 11 372 27.3 2.9 1986/1987 4 16 508 25.0 3.1 1987/1988 3 21 579 14.3 3.6 1988/1989 2 26 378 7.7 6.9 1989/1990 3 9 259 33.3 3.5 1990/1991 0 1 290 0.0 0.3 1991/1992 1 6 269 16.7 2.2 1992/1993 1 6 259 16.7 2.3 1993/1994 1 5 287 20.0 1.7 1994/1995 0 5 402 0.0 1.2 1995/1996 0 7 448 0.0 1.6 1996/1997 2 12 591 16.7 2.0 1997/1998 0 13 577 0.0 2.2 1998/1999 3 14 554 21.4 2.5 1999/1900 0 18 644 0.0 2.8 2000/2001 4 34 705 11.8 4.8 2001/2002 13 19 943 68.4 2.0 Mean 2.1 13.6 491.1 14.6 2.7 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 390 White-tailed Deer harvests in the Valley increased from 540 in 1979 (the earliest year for which we have complete records) to a high of 1281 in 1991(Table 2). Harvest numbers then declined to a 23-year low of 386 in 1996, but increased to 628 in 2001. The Valley accounted for about 20% of Tucker County’s Whitetailed Deer harvest during 1979–2001. Black Bear harvest data are available for the period 1950–2001, with mandatory checking of harvested Black Bear first required in 1951 (Table 3). Reported Black Bear harvests in Tucker County remained rather constant from 1950 to 1982, ranging from 2 to 12 killed per year. However, in only 3 of the 32 years did the harvest exceed nine. The number harvested increased from four animals in 1985 to 110 in 1994. Numbers during 1995 through 2001 fluctuated erratically from 45 in 1995 to 135 in 1998, then down to 66 in 2001. Tucker County has accounted for about 10.5% of West Virginia’s total harvest since 1950. Black Bear harvests in the Valley have been quite low during the past 28 years, with a total of only seven bears reported at check stations (Table 9). Table 6. Percentage of West Virginia Fisher harvest taken from Tucker County, 1975–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). # of Fisher harvested Year Tucker County West Virginia % from Tucker County 1975/1976 4 5 80.0 1976/1977 1 1 100.0 1977/1978 0 1 0.0 1978/1979 3 8 37.5 1979/1980 4 10 40.0 1980/1981 1 6 16.7 1981/1982 2 9 22.2 1982/1983 5 11 45.4 1983/1984 5 6 83.3 1984/1985 4 6 66.7 1985/1986 10 15 66.7 1986/1987 8 11 72.7 1987/1988 11 18 61.1 1988/1989 10 15 66.7 1989/1990 6 9 66.7 1990/1991 3 6 50.0 1991/1992 2 5 40.0 1992/1993 1 1 100.0 1993/1994 1 2 50.0 1994/1995 9 17 52.9 1995/1996 11 13 84.6 1996/1997 15 39 38.4 1997/1998 24 53 45.3 1998/1999 24 45 53.3 1999/2000 7 27 25.9 2000/2001 7 26 26.9 2001/2002 8 45 17.8 Mean 6.9 15.2 52.2 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 391 When the Valley (7), Canaan Mountain (86), Cabin Mountain (14), Route 93 (26), and Dolly Sods (207) are considered as one entity, the total Black Bear harvest during the past 28 years was 340, or 30% of the 1179 killed in Tucker County (Table 3). By 1900, biologists believed that Beaver were extirpated from the Valley and most of Tucker County (Swank 1948). Following the regrowth of aspen and other trees and shrubs that created potential beaver habitat, the WVDNR released 10 Beaver in Tucker County during 1935 and 1936 (Swank 1948). The Table 7. Spring gobbler harvest from Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1967–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). Number harvested Tucker % of Tucker County harvest % of WV harvest Year Canaan Valley County WV from Canaan Valley from Tucker County 1967 NA 0 42 - 0 1968 NA 2 134 - 1.4 1969 NA 8 243 - 3.2 1970 NA 12 370 - 3.2 1971 NA 10 421 - 2.4 1972 NA 14 589 - 2.4 1973 NA 13 554 - 2.3 1974 4 17 596 23.5 2.8 1975 5 25 585 20.0 4.3 1976 6 22 721 27.3 3.0 1977 8 30 719 26.7 4.2 1978 1 15 566 6.7 2.6 1979 1 19 873 5.3 2.2 1980 9 37 1459 24.3 2.5 1981 7 39 1970 17.9 2.0 1982 5 41 2458 12.2 1.7 1983 4 33 2627 12.1 1.2 1984 9 58 3387 15.5 1.7 1985 5 67 4215 7.5 1.6 1986 11 78 4774 14.1 1.6 1987 8 82 5665 9.8 1.4 1988 8 83 6526 9.6 1.3 1989 15 87 7245 17.2 1.2 1990 21 87 9152 24.1 0.9 1991 11 110 10,097 10.0 1.1 1992 19 116 11,229 16.4 1.0 1993 16 137 13,428 11.7 1.0 1994 9 92 15,501 9.8 0.6 1995 16 145 16,770 11.0 0.8 1996 9 105 16,618 8.6 0.6 1997 13 96 14,021 13.5 0.6 1998 16 102 12,467 15.7 0.8 1999 22 111 11,241 19.8 1.0 2000 11 97 12,794 11.3 0.7 2001 30 167 17,875 18.0 0.9 Mean 10.7 61.6 5941 15.0 1.8 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 392 Table 8. Fall Wild Turkey harvest for Canaan Valley, Tucker County, and West Virginia, 1940–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA = data not available. % of Tucker County % of WV harvest from harvest from Year Canaan Valley Tucker County West Virginia Canaan Valley Tucker County 1940 NA 8 514 - 1.5 1941 NA 6 470 - 1.3 1942 NA 2 391 - 0.5 1943 NA 7 618 - 1.1 1944 NA 4 365 - 1.1 1945 NA 4 350 - 1.1 1946 NA 17 559 - 3.0 1947 NA 6 227 - 2.6 1948 NA 1 448 - 0.2 1949 NA 13 749 - 1.7 1950 NA 9 419 - 2.1 1951 NA 13 887 - 1.5 1952 NA 9 436 - 2.1 1953 NA 32 649 - 4.9 1954 NA 30 750 - 4.0 1955 NA 65 1592 - 4.1 1956 NA 44 1246 - 3.5 1957 NA 63 1173 - 5.4 1958 NA 64 1499 - 4.3 1959 NA 69 1511 - 4.6 1960 NA 29 1259 - 2.3 1961 NA 25 1074 - 2.3 1962 NA 28 664 - 4.2 1963 NA 23 729 - 3.1 1964 NA 6 1209 - 0.5 1965 NA 27 1583 - 1.7 1966 NA 40 1334 - 3.0 1967 NA 49 989 - 4.9 1968 NA 40 1697 - 2.3 1969 NA 95 3430 - 2.8 1970 NA 53 3020 - 1.7 1971 NA 67 2374 - 2.8 1972 NA 67 2353 - 2.8 1973 NA 120 3038 - 3.9 1974 14 96 2158 14.6 4.4 1975 8 79 2827 10.1 2.8 1976 NA 66 1860 - 3.5 1977 17 130 2998 13.1 4.3 1978 8 60 2803 13.3 2.1 1979 9 63 2421 14.3 2.6 1980 8 92 3696 8.7 2.5 1981 18 95 3135 18.9 3.0 1982 20 171 5684 11.7 3.0 1983 16 68 2224 23.5 3.0 1984 11 98 2414 11.2 4.0 1985 9 95 2343 9.5 4.0 1986 7 68 3130 10.3 2.2 1987 33 161 4114 20.5 3.9 1988 11 85 2939 12.9 1.3 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 393 Table 8.continued. % of Tucker County % of WV harvest from harvest from Year Canaan Valley Tucker County West Virginia Canaan Valley Tucker County 1989 7 48 2204 14.6 2.2 1990 23 102 3504 22.5 2.9 1991 34 173 3690 19.7 4.7 1992 12 71 3518 16.9 2.0 1993 21 151 3536 13.9 4.3 1994 15 110 3351 13.6 3.3 1995 10 116 3211 8.6 3.6 1996 NA 38 2870 - 1.3 1997 4 83 3385 4.8 2.4 1998 6 50 1678 12.0 3.0 1999 14 117 2901 12.0 4.0 2000 9 32 1541 28.1 2.1 2001 9 85 3505 10.6 2.4 Mean 13.6 60.3 1987.8 14.2 2.8 Table 9. Black Bear Harvest for specific areas of Tucker County, 1974–2001 (WVDNR 1975– 2002). Dolly Sods includes some of Grant County. Canaan Tucker West Year Valley Canaan Mt. Cabin Mt. Route 93 Dolly Sods County Virginia 1974 0 0 0 0 0 6 50 1975 0 0 0 1 0 0 66 1976 0 0 0 0 2 10 87 1977 0 0 0 0 0 3 49 1978 0 0 0 1 4 8 98 1979 0 0 0 0 1 7 68 1980 0 0 0 0 0 1 47 1981 0 0 0 0 1 3 80 1982 0 4 0 0 1 6 36 1983 0 2 0 0 5 19 129 1984 0 1 0 0 8 15 110 1985 0 0 0 0 0 4 113 1986 0 0 1 1 5 14 131 1987 0 0 0 1 6 21 251 1988 0 3 1 0 14 38 308 1989 0 6 1 1 16 86 510 1990 0 6 1 0 15 42 235 1991 0 9 1 2 9 52 426 1992 0 2 5 1 12 72 455 1993 0 9 0 2 10 82 767 1994 0 9 0 1 10 110 732 1995 0 1 0 0 11 45 690 1996 1 0 2 3 16 83 768 1997 0 7 0 1 3 60 687 1998 2 7 0 3 20 135 1082 1999 1 8 2 1 14 83 994 2000 0 7 0 6 15 108 1328 2001 3 5 0 1 9 66 1253 Mean 0.2 3.1 0.5 0.9 7.4 42.1 412.5 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 394 total number of Beaver trapped annually in Tucker County ranged from 8 in 1993–1994 to 295 in 1998–1999, with a mean of 148 per year (Table 4). During the 1968–2002 trapping seasons, the Tucker County harvest accounted for 17% of West Virginia’s harvest. An annual mean of 70 Beaver were trapped in the Valley during 1969–2002, accounting for 45% of the Beaver trapped in Tucker County. Annual harvests in the Valley fluctuated widely, with lows of four in 1995–1996 and five in 1993– 1994 to highs of 138 in 1998–1999 and 146 in 1979–1980. During the same time period, a mean of 25.2 Beaver were trapped along Route 93 and 5.4 on Dolly Sods (Table 10). The specific sites where Beaver were trapped within the Valley cannot be determined because 70% of the trappers reported the locations simply Table 10. West Virginia Beaver harvest for specific areas of Tucker County, 1969/1970–2001/2002 (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA = data not available from WVDNR. Year Canaan Valley Route 93 Dolly Sods Tucker County West Virginia 1969/1970 53 NA NA 125 637 1970/1971 62 NA NA 154 526 1971/1972 66 NA NA 215 865 1972/1973 109 NA NA 234 1087 1973/1974 106 67 5 224 1167 1974/1975 52 22 11 137 866 1975/1976 81 37 42 194 662 1976/1977 100 NA NA 167 580 1977/1978 86 11 5 132 862 1978/1979 110 20 4 156 839 1979/1980 146 31 1 223 1720 1980/1981 113 27 3 191 1551 1981/1982 72 40 0 174 1060 1982/1983 46 6 2 87 721 1983/1984 26 7 0 46 573 1984/1985 20 15 2 85 921 1985/1986 105 24 0 156 748 1986/1987 101 20 2 196 1748 1987/1988 92 43 4 201 1905 1988/1989 81 70 1 226 1131 1989/1990 109 51 6 228 1170 1990/1991 16 27 1 50 683 1991/1992 47 3 5 56 999 1992/1993 12 0 0 25 764 1993/1994 5 0 3 8 354 1994/1995 57 24 0 97 1308 1995/1996 4 23 0 65 658 1996/1997 89 17 1 154 2061 1997/1998 41 39 4 168 2327 1998/1999 138 70 36 287 1616 1999/2000 23 9 12 106 988 2000/2001 30 3 0 104 1140 2001/2002 112 0 0 178 1829 Mean 70.0 25.2 5.4 147.2 1092.9 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 395 as “Canaan Valley”. The rest of the trappers (30%), categorized the locations of their harvest as Little Blackwater, North Branch, Glade Run, Blackwater River, or Cabin Mountain (Table 11). Bobcat harvests in Tucker County have been relatively low, with a mean of 13.6 animals trapped annually from 1976 through 2001 (Table 5). Annual harvests ranged from one in 1990–1991 to 34 in 2000–2001. Tucker County accounted for ~3% of the total West Virginia harvest, and the Valley accounted for ~15% of Tucker County’s harvest (Table 5). Annual harvests in Dolly Sods and adjacent areas remained relatively low during 1977–2001, with a mean of 2.1 in the Valley, 2.4 along Route 93, and 0.9 on Dolly Sods (Table 12). Table 11. Beaver harvest in Canaan Valley, 1969/70–2001/2002 (WVDNR 1970–2002). Canaan Valley data includes areas not specifically identified by trappers . Canaan Little North Glade Blackwater Cabin Year Valley Blackwater Branch Run River Mountain Total 1969/1970 0 25 0 0 28 0 53 1970/1971 0 8 0 5 49 0 62 1971/1972 16 5 5 11 29 0 66 1972/1973 11 4 0 11 83 0 109 1973/1974 29 13 9 5 50 0 106 1974/1975 4 1 8 26 9 4 52 1975/1976 36 0 0 1 44 0 81 1976/1977 10 5 0 2 83 0 100 1977/1978 33 0 0 6 38 9 86 1978/1979 60 0 4 14 23 9 110 1979/1980 132 0 0 0 14 0 146 1980/1981 69 11 0 6 18 9 113 1981/1982 29 7 0 0 36 0 72 1982/1983 33 11 0 0 2 0 46 1983/1984 4 15 0 0 7 0 26 1984/1985 20 0 0 0 0 0 20 1985/1986 95 5 0 2 3 0 105 1986/1987 64 0 4 0 33 0 101 1987/1988 62 10 0 0 20 0 92 1988/1989 42 0 0 0 39 0 81 1989/1990 70 0 0 0 39 0 109 1990/1991 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 1991/1992 47 0 0 0 0 0 47 1992/1993 8 0 0 0 0 4 12 1993/1994 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 1994/1995 57 0 0 0 0 0 57 1995/1996 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 1996/1997 70 14 0 0 5 0 89 1997/1998 41 0 0 0 0 0 41 1998/1999 125 0 3 10 0 0 138 1999/2000 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 2000/2001 26 4 0 0 0 0 30 2001/2002 103 2 2 0 5 0 112 Mean 40.7 4.2 1.1 3.0 19.9 1.1 70 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 396 Fisher are thought to have been extirpated from Tucker County and all of West Virginia by 1900 (Pack and Cromer 1980). However, the WVDNR reintroduced this furbearer into West Virginia during 1969, when 15 were released on Cabin Mountain in Tucker County (Pack and Cromer 1980). Tucker County’s harvest increased from just 1 in 1975–1976 to 25 in 1997–1998 and 1998–1999, but decreased to seven in the 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 seasons and five in the 2001–2002 season (Table 6). During that time, numbers trapped each year fluctuated widely, with 10 or fewer trapped during 23 of the 27 years. Two separate hunting seasons for Wild Turkey have been available since 1967—a fall season when any age and any sex can be harvested, and a spring season when only bearded birds (gobblers) are legal. An average of 93 Wild Turkey were harvested in Tucker County each fall during 1974–2001 (Table 13), compared to an average of 75 during the spring gobbler season (Table 14). From 1940–2001, Tucker County has accounted for 3% of the total West Virginia fall harvest (Table 8), but only 2% of the West Virginia spring gobbler harvest during 1967–2001 (Table 7). Table 12. West Virginia Bobcat harvest for specific areas of Tucker County, 1977/1978–2001/2002 (WVDNR 1978–2002). Canaan Average Year Valley Route 93 Dolly Sods Tucker County WV pelt price ($) 1977/1978 0 0 2 17 548 37.06 1978/1979 1 0 0 16 588 76.13 1979/1980 5 0 1 22 603 73.97 1980/1981 1 0 0 12 538 72.75 1981/1982 2 1 1 13 448 50.25 1982/1983 2 0 2 8 689 36.20 1983/1984 0 0 0 16 368 59.50 1984/1985 1 4 0 11 476 52.65 1985/1986 3 4 1 11 372 49.92 1986/1987 4 8 1 16 508 66.98 1987/1988 3 1 1 21 579 54.76 1988/1989 2 1 1 26 378 30.82 1989/1990 3 2 0 9 259 22.31 1990/1991 0 0 0 1 290 14.28 1991/1992 1 1 0 6 269 17.72 1992/1993 1 0 1 6 259 10.40 1993/1994 1 2 0 5 287 19.28 1994/1995 0 11 2 5 402 16.64 1995/1996 0 0 1 7 448 17.76 1996/1997 2 7 0 12 591 20.24 1997/1998 0 8 1 13 577 18.39 1998/1999 3 7 0 14 554 13.38 1999/2000 0 0 0 18 644 11.12 2000/2001 4 3 7 34 705 15.60 2001/2002 13 1 0 19 943 16.76 Mean 2.1 2.4 0.9 13.5 492.9 34.97 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 397 Table 13. Fall Wild Turkey harvest in specific areas of Tucker County, 1974–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA = data unavailable from WVDNR. Year Canaan Valley Route 93 Dolly Sods Tucker County West Virginia 1974 14 0 4 96 2158 1975 8 5 5 79 2827 1976 NA NA NA 66 1860 1977 17 3 7 130 2998 1978 8 2 2 60 2803 1979 9 1 0 63 2421 1980 8 4 3 92 3696 1981 18 0 3 95 3135 1982 20 5 3 171 5684 1983 16 3 1 68 2224 1984 11 1 5 98 2414 1985 9 1 3 95 2343 1986 7 1 1 68 3130 1987 33 2 2 161 4114 1988 11 9 4 85 2939 1989 7 1 0 48 2204 1990 23 12 3 102 3504 1991 34 10 1 173 3690 1992 12 3 1 71 3518 1993 21 16 2 151 3536 1994 15 5 8 110 3351 1995 10 2 1 116 3211 1996 NA NA NA 38 2870 1997 4 2 1 83 3385 1998 6 2 2 50 1678 1999 14 5 4 117 2901 2000 9 5 1 32 1541 2001 9 14 5 85 3505 Mean 13.6 4.4 2.8 92.9 2987 Fall harvest in Tucker County has fluctuated widely, with no obvious trends or patterns from 1974 through 2001 (Table 13). Lows of 32 and 38 occurred in 2000 and 1996, respectively. Highs of 173, 171, and 161, occurred in 1991, 1982, and 1987, respectively. Spring gobbler harvests in Tucker County showed a somewhat steady increase from 1974 through 2001(Table 14). Thirty or fewer gobblers were shot each spring during 1974–1979, compared to 92 or more each spring during 1991–2001. An average of 14 gobblers were shot in the Valley each fall during 1974– 2001 (Table 13), and 11 were shot each spring (Table 14). No trend was obvious in the fall harvest totals in the Valley for the period 1974–2001. Numbers ranged from lows of 4 in 1997, 6 in 1998, and 7 in 1986 and 1989, to highs of 34 and 33 in 1991 and 1987, respectively. In contrast, spring gobbler harvests have increased from 1974 to 2001, although not steadily. Fewer than 10 gobblers were shot each spring from 1974 through 1985, and the highest number reported was 30 in 2001. Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 398 Compared to an annual fall harvest of 13.6 in the Valley, an average of 4.4 Wild Turkeys were shot along Route 93 and Road 2.8 on Dolly Sods (Table 13). Spring gobbler harvests were similar, with a mean of 10.7 in the Valley, 3.2 along Route 93, and 2.9 on Dolly Sods (Table 14). The Valley accounted for 14% of the total fall Wild Turkey harvest in Tucker County (Table 8) and 15% of the total spring harvest (Table 7). Discussion Interpretations of the reported harvest data are difficult because of changes in extrinsic factors that affect hunting and trapping pressure and success. The most prominent of these were (1) changes in hunting regulations, (2) changes in acreages of posted lands, (3) changes in fur prices, (4) advances in hunting equipment, (5) changes in popularity of a particular hunting technique, (6) changes in wildlife populations in other areas of West Virginia, (7) changes in hunter populations, and (8) year-to-year changes in weather. Unfortunately, annual data for Table 14. Spring gobbler harvest in specific areas of Tucker County, 1974–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). Year Canaan Valley Route 93 Dolly Sods Tucker County West Virginia 1974 4 0 4 17 596 1975 5 1 1 25 585 1976 6 0 0 22 721 1977 8 0 0 30 719 1978 1 0 0 15 566 1979 1 1 2 19 873 1980 9 0 1 37 1459 1981 7 0 0 39 1970 1982 5 0 0 41 2462 1983 4 1 0 33 2627 1984 9 1 3 58 3387 1985 5 0 3 67 4215 1986 11 0 2 78 4774 1987 8 1 0 82 5665 1988 8 0 4 83 6526 1989 15 2 5 87 7245 1990 21 6 5 87 9152 1991 11 3 7 110 10,097 1992 19 4 4 116 11,229 1993 16 12 6 137 13,428 1994 9 8 3 92 15,501 1995 16 9 5 145 16,770 1996 9 8 2 105 16,618 1997 13 6 1 96 14,021 1998 16 5 4 102 12,467 1999 22 5 8 111 11,241 2000 11 8 3 97 12,794 2001 30 9 9 167 17,875 Mean 10.7 3.2 2.9 74.9 7342 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 399 numbers of hunters and numbers of hunter-days in the Valley and Tucker County do not exist. The only game species for which harvest levels apparently are correlated with population densities is the White-tailed Deer (Allen and Cromer 1977). The annual increase in harvest numbers during the past 77 years most likely reflects an increase in number of White-tailed Deer throughout the Valley. However, even White-tailed Deer harvest numbers have been altered by extrinsic factors, the most obvious of which is the change in hunting regulations (Allen and Cromer 1977). Hunting regulations for White-tailed Deer in recent years involved particular dates for hunting with certain weapons, namely the bow, high-caliber rifle, and muzzleloader (Table 1). In addition, specific dates were set to hunt Whitetailed Deer of specific ages or sexes. In 2001, regulations provided hunters the opportunity to hunt White-tailed Deer from 13 October through 31 December. The legal bag-limit was only one White-tailed Deer per year during the 50 years prior to 1969 when it became legal to harvest two animals per year—one with a gun and one with a bow. However, by 2001, a hunter with the proper license tags could legally harvest 6 White-tailed Deer. The amount of posted land in the Valley has increased since 1970 and has reduced hunter access and likely hunter success (USFWS 1979). Prior to 1970, almost all undeveloped lands in the Valley were open to hunting and trapping. However, as development spread throughout the Valley, especially in the southern end, large parcels were posted against hunting. All of Canaan Valley State Park was posted against hunting by 1977 and all of Timberline Resort by 1978. Smaller vacation-home developments were posted against hunting at later dates (USFWS 1979). Hunter access was limited still further when hunting clubs obtained leases on some land parcels. Two large, land-holding companies (Allegheny Power System and Western Pocahontas Properties) owned most of the northern end of the Valley throughout much of the 20th century (USFWS 1979). These properties have largely remained open to hunters and trappers, but in 1989 the Western Pocahontas Properties lands were leased to a private hunting club that prohibited access by nonmembers Although the incentive to hunt has changed little from year to year, the incentive to trap furbearers has fluctuated significantly. Changes in fur prices appeared to impact the numbers of furbearers trapped, regardless of population densities. Trapping pressure increased as fur prices increased and decreased when fur prices decreased (Table 15). This trend was most noticeable for Beaver harvests. Changes in hunting equipment have resulted in an increased number of deer hunters using a bow; muzzleloader use has also increased (Table 16). To increase the White-tailed Deer harvest, the WVDNR opened special hunting seasons that provided the opportunity for hunters to use bows and muzzle-loading rifles during times when it was not legal to hunt with typical high-powered rifles (Table 1). A portion of the increased White-tailed Deer harvest during the 1980s and 1990s was due the increased number of days to hunt and increased interest in bow hunting. Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 400 Table 15. Pelt price and reported Canaan Valley harvest for Beaver and Bobcat, 1973/1974– 2001/2002 Beaver Bobcat Season Pelt price ($) # harvested Pelt price ($) # harvested 1973/1974 11.05 106 NA - 1974/1975 8.80 52 NA - 1975/1976 9.11 81 NA - 1976/1977 11.08 100 NA - 1977/1978 10.70 86 37.06 0 1978/1979 10.44 110 76.13 1 1979/1980 19.83 146 73.97 5 1980/1981 13.65 113 72.75 1 1981/1982 11.82 72 50.25 2 1982/1983 8.77 46 36.20 2 1983/1984 13.10 26 59.50 0 1984/1985 12.38 20 52.65 1 1985/1986 19.13 105 49.92 3 1986/1987 18.65 101 66.98 4 1987/1988 7.66 92 54.76 3 1988/1989 12.69 81 30.82 2 1989/1990 14.80 109 22.31 3 1990/1991 4.51 16 14.28 0 1991/1992 7.35 47 17.72 1 1992/1993 6.81 12 10.40 1 1993/1994 18.58 5 19.28 1 1994/1995 15.98 57 16.64 0 1995/1996 19.04 4 17.76 0 1996/1997 20.32 89 20.24 2 1997/1998 16.78 41 18.39 0 1998/1999 11.54 138 13.38 3 1999/2000 9.95 23 11.12 0 2000/2001 14.93 30 15.60 4 2001/2002 13.66 112 16.76 13 Mean 12.80 69.6 34.99 2.1 Changes in the length of hunting season also affected the harvests of Wild Turkey and Black Bear. Beginning in 1967, Wild Turkey hunters were provided an opportunity to hunt during a spring season, when only gobblers were legal. Black Bear season was changed in 1965 when managers established an early season—typically the first part of November—and a late season—typically the last part of December. Beginning in 1961, a season of approximately 30 days was implemented, during which time it was legal to hunt Black Bears with a bow. For most game animals, changes in harvest numbers have likely been affected by a combination of factors, rather than a single one. The best example involves White-tailed Deer harvests in the Valley. At the same time that some factors contributed to increased hunter opportunities, other factors caused decreased opportunities. Although no data exist to document the number of Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 401 Table 16. White-tailed Deer harvest data for specific areas of Tucker County, 1978–2001 (WVDNR 1975–2002). NA = data not available from WVDNR; * = antlerless permits replaced by a special antlerless license, unlimited in number. 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Canaan Valley Muzzleload 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 46 49 52 12 Bow NA 100 172 193 190 178 156 139 126 134 133 139 Antlerless 44 129 120 131 396 199 177 130 159 101 68 101 Buck 221 311 270 370 287 298 341 233 322 337 313 260 Total NA 540 562 694 873 675 674 541 653 621 566 512 Route 93 Muzzleload 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 12 11 Bow NA 24 34 41 58 32 45 46 59 56 50 27 Antlerless 4 30 32 38 119 40 47 17 30 22 14 45 Buck 96 126 98 150 146 130 95 83 88 127 85 65 Total NA 180 164 229 323 202 187 151 181 217 155 148 Dolly Sods Muzzleload 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 11 12 15 9 Bow NA 26 63 71 58 52 59 44 61 53 42 47 Antlerless 7 19 23 8 86 40 38 18 42 26 19 40 Buck 86 79 87 88 100 115 113 78 146 125 125 154 Total NA 124 173 167 244 207 210 145 260 216 201 250 Tucker County Muzzleload 0 0 0 0 0 37 59 138 127 198 161 135 Bow 275 290 516 593 691 704 622 695 757 828 902 615 Antlerless 184 448 539 599 1359 846 934 726 779 612 528 660 Buck 1222 1239 1243 1682 1451 1480 1709 1259 1453 1519 1541 1655 Total 1681 1977 2298 2874 3501 3067 3324 2818 3116 3157 3132 3065 West Virginia 44,444 55,806 54,165 74,507 88,087 89,840 106,710 84,600 118,611 129,115 128,692 145,567 Antlerless permits issued in Tucker County 808 1568 1404 1788 4080 1772 1940 1744 1752 1039 920 1546 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 402 Table 16, continued. 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Mean Canaan Valley Muzzleload 49 143 89 70 56 72 35 90 78 87 72 69 44.7 Bow 187 260 202 195 115 142 102 139 147 142 193 199 160.2 Antlerless 159 374 341 342 135 171 90 37 34 25 33 56 148.0 Buck 307 504 326 245 230 182 159 204 220 182 285 304 279.7 Total 702 1281 958 852 536 567 386 470 479 436 583 628 643.0 Route 93 Muzzleload 24 39 31 24 25 32 10 10 10 18 14 10 11.6 Bow 71 116 77 94 75 57 34 39 32 31 53 52 52.3 Antlerless 85 147 75 64 69 76 34 10 11 9 14 36 44.5 Buck 105 160 86 116 94 81 45 57 46 59 64 81 95.1 Total 285 462 269 298 263 246 123 116 99 117 145 179 206.1 Dolly Sods Muzzleload 24 52 16 15 10 23 12 16 15 16 14 19 11.8 Bow 72 132 67 63 43 47 49 86 48 68 54 50 58.9 Antlerless 61 101 110 74 49 51 23 5 5 5 14 7 36.3 Buck 54 188 97 93 90 105 50 69 62 70 85 105 98.5 Total 211 473 290 245 192 226 134 176 130 159 167 181 207.9 Tucker County Muzzleload 222 514 459 279 264 368 229 385 294 351 248 254 195.4 Bow 848 1198 1059 806 764 884 621 728 674 865 781 803 729.9 Antlerless 1155 1551 1891 1058 833 1218 680 431 303 353 361 439 770.3 Buck 2052 2098 1588 1308 1417 1671 993 1207 1179 1319 1475 1508 1469.5 Total 4277 5361 4997 3451 3278 4141 2523 2751 2450 2888 2865 3004 3165.2 West Virginia 169,948 176,984 205,924 169,014 147,604 201,625 187,136 235,305 195,838 231,221 192,944 217,416 134,737.0 Antlerless permits issued in Tucker County 1134 * * * * * * 589 663 461 500 1241 Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 403 hunters in a specific West Virginia county, it appeared that White-tailed Deer hunting pressure in the Valley declined during the 1980s and 1990s, likely due to (1) a decline in White-tailed Deer density, (2) more posted property from which hunters were excluded, and (3) increased hunting opportunities in other regions of West Virginia. During the 1950s, White-tailed Deer density in the Valley was one of the highest in West Virginia (Allen and Cromer 1977), and as a result many hunters were attracted to the large expanses of unposted lands that supported large numbers of these animals. Deer numbers declined in the Valley following a “hunter’s choice” season in 1951, when it was legal to shoot White-tailed Deer of any age or sex. At about the same time, numbers of Whitetailed Deer began to increase throughout other West Virginia counties, and hunters had less reason to travel to the Valley (Allen and Cromer 1977). Thus, although hunters in the Valley during the 1990s had more days to hunt and higher bag limits, access was more limited and other regions of West Virginia had as many if not more deer and more available land than the Valley. In conclusion, analysis of harvest numbers cannot be used to determine specific population changes of game animals in the Valley over time. However, they can document large trends in populations. There is little doubt that White-tailed Deer and Black Bear have increased during the past 100 years, although not necessarily at a steady rate. Wild Turkey and Beaver increased during the 1900–1970 period, but harvest data give no indication of population densities during the past 30 years. Fisher have probably increased steadily since their reintroduction in 1969; we detected no apparent trends for Bobcat numbers. Many factors interact to determine wildlife-population densities and confound correlation analysis of harvest data with population density, but managers should continue to collect and tabulate game-harvest data for the Valley. Literature Cited Allen, T.J., and J.I. Cromer. 1977. White-tailed Deer in West Virginia. Bulletin No. 7. Wildlife Resources Division. Elkins, WV. 66 pp. Conservation Commission of West Virginia. 1951. Wild Turkey management in West Virginia. Bulletin No. 2. Charleston, WV. 50 pp. Degarmo, W.R., and J. Gill. 1958. West Virginia White-tails. Bulletin No. 4, Conservation Commission of West Virginia, Charleston, WV. 87 pp. Pack, J.C., and J.I. Cromer. 1980. Reintroduction of Fisher in West Virginia. Pp 1431– 1442, In J.A. Chapman and D. Pursley (Eds.). Proceedings of the Worldwide Furbearer Conference, Frostburg State College, Frostburg, MD. 2056 pp. Rieffenberger, J.C., R.J. Anderson, W.S. Brown, K.B. Knight, and J.I. Cromer. 1981. West Virginia Black Bear. Bulletin No. 9. Wildlife Resources Division. Elkins, WV. 55 pp. Swank, W.G. 1948. Beaver ecology and management in West Virginia. Final report on Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project 16-R, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins, WV. 10 pp. Tucker, R.L. 2015. Personal communication. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins, WV. Southeastern Naturalist E.D. Michael, S.L. Brown, and W.S. Brown 2015 Vol. 14, Special Issue 7 404 US Fish and Wildlife Service. 1979. Final environmental impact statement, Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia. United States Department of Interior, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. 157 pp. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1968. History and management of the Wild Turkey in West Virginia. Charleston, WV. 60 pp. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1975-2002. West Virginia big game bulletins. Elkins, WV. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 1980-1990. West Virginia small game bulletins. Elkins, WV. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 2001. West Virginia hunting and trapping regulations summary, July 2001–June 2002. Elkins, WV. 30 pp. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 2008 Furbearer management newsletter, Spring/Summer 2008. Romney, WV. 8 pp. Wilson, S.A. 2002. Personal communication. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins, WV.