The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is a set of principles and policies that conserve wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations.
It is based on the idea that wildlife belongs to all Americans and is managed by the government through sound science and active management to ensure wildlife populations will be sustained forever.
According to Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation online, with the passage of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act) in 1937, sportsmen and women directed excise taxes on firearms and ammunition to a dedicated fund to be used specifically for conservation purposes.
With the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, revenues from sportsmen’s licenses were permanently linked to conservation, laying the foundation for what is now the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF).
Over time, this unique “user pays, public benefits” system has expanded and now includes the fishing and boating communities, as well as the archery community. The funds collected through this program are the lifeblood of today’s state fish and wildlife agencies — the primary managers of our nation’s fish and wildlife resources.
For those of us who are hands-on wildlife conservationists and choose to spend our time and monies supporting our passion for all things wild, watching the data on our efforts in the field is part of completing the role we as hunters are asked to perform. We are fortunate that our West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has a very comprehensive reporting system.
Peeking into the report on whitetail deer, considered by many the most popular big-game animal in West Virginia, gives us an overall look at our results for the previous season’s harvest.
According to preliminary numbers recently released by the DNR, hunters harvested 118,606 deer during the 2022–23 seasons, a 12.7% increase over the 2021 harvest and 12.2% above the five-year average of 105,718.
“From the start of the archery and crossbow seasons in September to our Mountaineer Heritage season in January and everything in between, West Virginia has some of the most incredible deer hunting opportunities in the Eastern United States,” DNR Director Brett McMillion said.
“We’re excited to announce a good harvest this year, and we’re so encouraged to see hunters and their families getting out more and more each year and enjoying so much success in the field.”
The increased deer harvest can be attributed to favorable weather and poorer mast conditions in 2022 and a slightly lower overall deer harvest during the 2021 seasons, which resulted in more deer being available last year.
A breakdown of the combined 2022 deer seasons reveals that hunters harvested 48,938 bucks during the traditional buck firearms season, 31,669 antlerless deer during all antlerless firearm hunting opportunities, 32,850 deer during urban and regular archery and crossbow seasons, 4,566 deer during the muzzleloader season and 583 deer during the Mountaineer Heritage season.
Buck firearms
During West Virginia’s two-week buck firearms season, Nov. 21–Dec. 4, 2022, hunters harvested 48,938 bucks, an increase of 18% over the 2021 harvest. The largest increases were reported in West Virginia’s central and western areas, where buck harvests increased 39 and 36%, respectively. The top 10 buck harvest counties in 2022 were Greenbrier, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Jackson, Hampshire, Mason, Kanawha, Lewis and Pocahontas.
Antlerless
During the 2022 antlerless deer season, which includes the youth, class Q and class XS deer season, hunters harvested 31,669 deer, an increase of 14.7% compared to the 2021 harvest of 27,614 and 3.1% above the five-year average of 30,708.
Muzzleloader
Hunters harvested 4,566 deer during the 2022 muzzleloader season, a 9.8% increase over the 2021 harvest of 4,159, but 3.2% below the five-year average of 4,718.
Archery/crossbow
Hunters harvested 32,850 deer with bows and crossbows in 2022, a 4.7% increase over the 2021 harvest of 31,362 and 13% above the five-year average of 29,067.
Receiving high marks on our report card is indeed good news, and for scientists, it provides data for game management and wildlife conservation for the future.
For complete information about the deer harvest last season, please visit the WVDNR’s online resources at wvdnr.gov.
