In addition, two major waterways, the Elk and Gauley rivers, provide excellent opportunities for float and bank fishing. Bass, trout, walleye and catfish are popular catches in West Virginia, and this region has yielded state records for muskie. At the West Virginia State Wildlife Center in French Creek, the wildlife is for watching, not catching. Visitors stroll a 1.25 mile, paved boardwalk to watch animals in their natural habitat, roaming freely through 300 acres of woods, open meadows and rocks. Among the animals who enjoy this safe haven are elk and bison, a mountain lion, a timber wolf, a coyote, a wild boar and a colony of playful river otters, along with owls, eagles, waterfowl and other birds.
Interpretive signs help visitors to learn about each animal's history and biology.
Across West Virginia, the Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section manages more than 1.5 million acres for wildlife recreation. Genealogy Gems Stonewall Jackson's grandfather planned the community of Weston in 1818. Weston's ornate late-Victorian architecture still reflects that prosperity. Genealogists come from far and wide to Weston's Central West Virginia Genealogical and Historical Library in the historic Horner School east of town. A preservation project of the national membership of Hacker's Creek Pioneer Descendants, the library holds records of the region's 18th-century settlers, who later dispersed across the nation.