A statewide archery season for bears has been proposed. Proposed for Upper Cove Run Lake in Hardy County is the prohibition of live minnows as bait and the requirement that only electric motors may be used on boats. Mount Storm Lake in Grant County would have the daily creel and possession limits for channel catfish removed and would allow for the use of trotlines. This 1,200-acre impoundment has an abundance of channel cats that are underutilized by anglers, according to Lewis. An interesting statistic pointed out by Strawn is that more deer are killed in Jefferson County by automobiles than by hunters.
Mineral County is one of the counties that are giving up more than four bucks per square mile.
In 1970, there were 12,000 bucks killed in West Virginia. During the 1990s, there were years when more than 100,000 were bagged. The meeting in Moorefield was one of 17 conducted across the Mountain State. Mike Sawyers is outdoor editor of the Cumberland Times-News.