reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-5j. Leashed Dogs for Tracking Mortally Wounded Deer, Elk, Turkey, Wild Boar, or Bear

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, a person who is legally hunting and reasonably believes he or she has mortally wounded a deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear may use leashed dogs to track and locate the mortally wounded deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear. The hunter is also permitted to use a dog handler of leashed dogs to track and locate the mortally wounded deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear. The hunter or the dog handler shall always maintain physical control of the leashed dogs.
(b) The act of tracking a mortally wounded deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear with a dog is hunting and the hunter and handler are subject to all applicable laws and rules. It is unlawful for a hunter or dog handler to track deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear with leashed dogs under the provisions of this section unless he or she is in possession of a valid hunting license issued pursuant to this article or is a person excepted from licensing requirements pursuant to this article, and all other lawful authorizations as prescribed in this article. The hunter shall accompany the dog handler and only the hunter may kill a mortally wounded deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear. However, any hunter who is physically unable to accompany the handler in the tracking and locating of the mortally wounded deer, elk, wild turkey, boar, or bear may designate the handler to kill the deer, elk, wild turkey, boar, or bear when located by the handler. The deer, elk, turkey, wild boar, or bear shall count toward the bag limit of the hunter who fired the initial shot.
(c) Any dog handler providing tracking services for profit must be licensed as an outfitter or guide pursuant to 20-2-23 of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-5k. Use of Air Rifles to Hunt

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, any person lawfully entitled to hunt may hunt with an air rifle during small game and big game firearms season:
Provided
, That air rifles may only be used for deer hunting in counties open to firearm deer hunting.
(b) An air rifle may not be substituted for a muzzleloader during any muzzleloader season or during the Mountaineer Heritage season.
(c) No person may be afield with an air rifle and bow, or with an air rifle or any arrow at the same time.
(d) No person may hunt with an air bow at any time.
(e) Any person hunting with an air rifle is subject to all other rifle and firearm hunting regulations according to this chapter and rules promulgated thereunder.
(f) Only air rifles meeting the following specifications may be used for hunting big game:
(1) No person may hunt big game with an air rifle of less than .45 caliber and with a bullet of less than 200 grains, except that wild turkey may be hunted with an air rifle of .22 caliber or larger.
(2) No person may hunt small game with an air rifle of less than .22 caliber.
(g) Air rifles may be shot within 500 feet of a dwelling.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-5l. Use of Certain Rifles to Hunt in Muzzleloader Season

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or any rule promulgated thereunder to the contrary, any person lawfully entitled to hunt may hunt with a singleshot muzzleloading pistol or singleshot muzzleloading rifle, having a bore diameter of not less than thirty-eight one-hundredths of an inch, using an encapsulated propellant charge that loads from the breech, with the projectile loaded from the muzzle, during any established muzzleloader season:
Provided
, That such muzzleloading pistol or muzzleloading rifle may not be used for hunting during the Mountaineer Heritage season.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-6. Carrying Gun on Landowner's Land

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, it shall be lawful for a bona fide resident landowner of this state, any member of said landowner's family and any bona fide tenant of said landowner, to carry an uncased gun at any time, whether accompanied by or without a dog, in their regular pursuits in caring for and looking after such landowner's livestock or poultry on his land and on any lands leased or rented by him for livestock or poultry husbandry purposes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-7. Hunting, Trapping or Fishing on Lands of Another; Damages and Restitution

(a) It is unlawful for any person to shoot, hunt, fish or trap upon the fenced, enclosed or posted lands of another person; or to peel trees or timber, build fires or do any other act in connection with shooting, hunting, fishing or trapping on the lands without written permission in his or her possession from the owner, tenant or agent of the owner.
(b) Any person who hunts, traps or fishes on land without the permission of the owner, tenant or agent of the owner is guilty of a misdemeanor and, liable to the owner or person suffering damage for all costs and damages for: (1) Killing or injuring any domestic animal, fowl, or private game farm animal; (2) cutting, destroying or damaging any bars, gates or fence or any part of the property; or (3) leaving open any bars or gates resulting in damage to the property.
(c) Restitution of the value of the property or animals injured, damaged or destroyed shall be required upon conviction pursuant to sections four and five, article eleven-a, chapter sixty-one of this code. The restitution ordered for private game farm animals shall be equivalent to or greater than the replacement values for deer listed in section five-a in this article.
(d) The owner, tenant or agent of the owner may arrest a person violating this section and immediately take him or her before a magistrate. The owner, tenant or agent of the owner is vested with the powers and rights of a natural resources police officer for these purposes. The officers charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall enforce the provisions of this section if requested to do so by the owner, tenant or agent of the owner, but not otherwise.
(e) The provisions of subsections (b) and (d) of this section related to criminal penalties and being subject to arrest are inapplicable to a person whose dog, without the person's direction or encouragement, travels onto the fenced, enclosed or posted land of another in pursuit of an animal or wild bird: Provided, That the pursuit does not result in the taking of game from the fenced, enclosed or posted land and does not result in the killing of domestic animals or fowl or other damage to or on the fenced, enclosed or posted land.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-8. Posting Unenclosed Lands; Hunting, etc., on Posted Land

The owner, lessee or other person entitled to possession of unenclosed lands may have erected and maintained signs or placards legibly printed, easily discernible, conspicuously posted and reasonably spaced or, alternatively, may mark the posted land as set forth in section one, article three-b, chapter sixty-one of this code, so as to indicate the territory in which hunting, trapping or fishing is prohibited.
Any person who enters upon the unenclosed lands of another which have been lawfully posted, for the purpose of hunting, trapping or fishing, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The officers charged with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall have the duty to enforce the provisions of this section if requested to do so by such owner, lessee, person or agent, but not otherwise.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-9. Unlawful Posting of Lands

It shall be unlawful and shall constitute a misdemeanor offense for any person or his agent or employee wilfully to post any notice or warning or wilfully to ward, drive or attempt to drive any person off, or prevent his hunting or fishing on, any land not owned or lawfully occupied by such person, his agent, or employee, unless such land is a lawfully established game or fish preserve.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-10. Destruction, etc., of Signs Posted Under Chapter

It shall be unlawful and shall constitute a misdemeanor offense for any person to destroy, tear down, shoot at, deface or erase any printed matter or signs placed or posted by or under the authority of this chapter: Provided, however, That this section shall not apply to the owner, his agents, tenants or lessees, of the lands on which such signs or printed matter are posted. Each such sign so destroyed, torn down, shot at, defaced or erased shall be considered a separate offense under this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-11. Sale of Wildlife; Transportation of Same

(a) A person, except those legally licensed to operate private game preserves for the purpose of propagating game for commercial purposes and those legally licensed to propagate or sell fish, amphibians and other forms of aquatic life, may not purchase or offer to purchase, sell or offer to sell, trade or offer to trade, barter or offer to barter, expose for sale, trade or barter or have in his or her possession for the purpose of sale, trade or barter any wildlife, or part thereof, which has been designated as game animals, fur-bearing animals, game birds, game fish or amphibians, or any of the song or insectivorous birds of the state, or any other species of wildlife which the director may designate, except for captive cervids regulated pursuant to the provisions of §19-2H-1 et seq. of this code. However, pelts of game or fur-bearing animals, fur-bearer parts, including carcasses for the making of lures and baits, carcass parts, including glands, skulls, claws, and bones, and fur-bearer urine taken during the legal season may be sold, traded or bartered and live red and gray foxes and raccoon taken by legal methods during legal and established trapping seasons may be sold, traded or bartered within the state. In addition, the hide, head, antlers and feet of a legally killed deer, lawfully collected and possessed naturally shed deer antlers, the hide, head and skull of a legally killed black bear, and the hide and tails of legally killed squirrels may be sold, traded or bartered.
(b) A person, including a common carrier, may not transport, carry or convey, or receive for such purposes, any wildlife, the sale, trade or bartering of which is prohibited, if such person knows or has reason to believe that such wildlife has been or is to be sold, traded or bartered in violation of this section.
(c) Each separate act of selling or exposing for sale, trading or exposing for trade or bartering or exposing for barter or having in possession for sale, trade, barter, transporting or carrying in violation of this section constitutes a separate misdemeanor offense. Notwithstanding this or any other section of this chapter, any game birds or game bird meats sold by licensed retailers may be served at any hotel, restaurant or other licensed eating place in this state.
(d) The director may propose rules for promulgation in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code dealing with the sale of wildlife and the skins thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-12. Transportation of Wildlife Out of State; Penalties

(a) A person may not transport or have in his or her possession with the intention of transporting beyond the limits of the state any species of wildlife or any part thereof killed, taken, captured or caught within this state, except as provided in this section.
(1) A person legally entitled to hunt and fish in this state may take with him or her personally, when leaving the state, any wildlife that he or she has lawfully taken or killed, not exceeding, during the open season, the number that any person may lawfully possess.
(2) Licensed resident hunters and trappers and resident and nonresident fur dealers may transport beyond the limits of the state pelts of game and fur-bearing animals, fur-bearer parts, including carcasses for the making of lures and baits, carcass parts, including glands, skulls, claws, and bones, and fur-bearer urine taken during the legal season.
(3) A person may transport the hide, head, antlers and feet of a legally killed deer and the hide, head, skull, organs and feet of a legally killed black bear beyond the limits of the state.
(4) A person legally entitled to possess an animal according to §20-2-4 of this code may transport that animal, including the parts or urine of that animal, beyond the limits of the state.
(b) The director may promulgate rules in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code dealing with the transportation and tagging of wildlife, parts, urine and skins.
(c) A person who violates this section by transporting or possessing with the intention of transporting beyond the limits of this state deer or wild boar shall be considered to have committed a separate offense for each animal so transported or possessed. This section does not apply to captive cervids regulated pursuant to §19-2H-1 et seq. of this code.
(d) A person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $20 nor more than $300 or be confined in jail not less than 10 nor more than 60 days, or both.
(e) This section does not apply to persons legally entitled to propagate and sell wild animals, wild birds, fish, amphibians and other forms of aquatic life beyond the limits of the state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-13. Importation of Wildlife; Certification and Inspection of Imported Wildlife

No person shall transport into or have in his possession within this state any live wildlife or viable eggs thereof from without the state, except as authorized by an importation permit issued by the director: Provided, That the director shall not be authorized to issue a permit to any person to transport into this state any coyotes (Canis latrans). The director may issue at his discretion such permit as he is authorized to issue, fix the terms thereof and revoke it at his pleasure. Importers of fish or viable eggs of the family salmondiae (trout, char, salmon) shall furnish a statement from a recognized fish pathologist certifying the source to be free of whirling disease, infectious pancreatic necrosis, viral hemorrhagic septicemia or other diseases which may threaten fish stocks within the state.
Importers of wildlife species shall furnish disease free certification from pathologists, or veterinarians, as the director deems necessary to protect native populations.
All imported wildlife shall be subject to inspection by authorized agents of the department and such inspections may include biological examinations and the removal of a reasonable sample of fish or eggs for such purposes.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this section concerning coyotes shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall for each offense be fined not less than one hundred nor more than $300, or confined in jail not less than ten nor more than one hundred days, or be both fined and imprisoned within the limitations aforesaid.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-15. Permit to Kill Deer or Other Wildlife Causing Damage to Cultivated Crops, Trees, Commercial Nurseries, Homeowners' Shrubbery and Vegetable Gardens; Weapon Restrictions

(a) Whenever it is found that deer or other wildlife are causing damage to cultivated crops, fruit trees, commercial nurseries, homeowners' trees, shrubbery or vegetable gardens, the owner or lessee of the lands on which damage is done may report the finding to the natural resources police officer or biologist of the county in which the lands are located or to the director. The director shall then investigate the reported damage and if found substantial, shall issue a permit to the owner or lessee to kill one or more deer or other wildlife in the manner prescribed by the director.
(b) In addition to the foregoing, the director shall establish procedures for the issuance of permits or other authorization necessary to control deer or other wildlife causing property damage.
(c) All persons attempting to kill deer or other wildlife pursuant to this section are subject to the same minimum caliber restrictions and other firearm restrictions and the same minimum bow poundage and other bow and arrow restrictions that apply when hunting the same animal species during the regular hunting seasons.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-16. Dogs Chasing Deer

Except as provided in 20-2-5j of this code, no person may permit or use his or her dog to hunt or chase deer. A natural resources police officer shall take into possession any dog known to have unlawfully hunted or chased deer. If the owner of the dog can be determined, the dog shall be returned to the owner. If the owner of the dog cannot be determined, the natural resources police officer shall deliver the dog to the appropriate county humane officer or facility consistent with the provisions of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-17. Hunting Fur-Bearing Animals; Possession of Fur; Disturbing Traps of Another

No person shall hunt, capture, trap, take or kill fur-bearing animals except as authorized by regulation of the director. Except as authorized by the director, no person shall have in his possession the fresh skin, or part thereof, of any fur-bearing animal, except beaver, within the period beginning ten days after the end of the open season on such fur-bearing animal and ending with the first day of the next succeeding open season. No person shall disturb properly marked traps of another person, kill, remove or take a fur-bearing animal from the trap of another person without specific authorization of the owner of the trap, except upon land where the owner of such trap may have placed it without right or permission.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-21. Reporting Beaver and Otter Pelts Taken and Tagged

Each trapper shall electronically register each beaver and otter, or each pelt, to a game checking station or representative of the division within thirty days after the close of a legal season. A game tag number shall be issued to the person and recorded in writing with the person’s name and address, or on a field tag, and shall be affixed to each otter and remain attached to the animal or pelt until it is processed into commercial fur. A game tag number for each beaver shall be issued to the person and recorded in writing with the person’s name and address and either attached to each beaver or pelt, or the tag number shall be retained by the person in possession of the beavers. The game tag numbers shall remain attached to the animal or pelt or retained by the owner until it is processed into commercial fur.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-22. Tagging, Removing, Transporting and Reporting Bear, Deer, Wild Boar and Wild Turkey

(a) Each person killing a bear, deer, wild boar or wild turkey found in a wild state shall either attach a completed field tag to the animal or remain with the animal and have upon his or her person a completed field tag before removing the carcass in any manner from where it was killed.
(b) While transporting the carcass of a bear, deer, wild boar or wild turkey from where it was killed, each person shall either attach a completed field tag to the animal or have upon his or her person a completed field tag.
(c) Upon arriving at a residence, camp, hunting lodge, vehicle or vessel each person shall attach a field tag to the killed bear, deer, wild boar or wild turkey. The field tag shall remain on the carcass until the animal is electronically registered. A game tag number shall be issued to the person and recorded in writing with the person’s name and address, or on a field tag, and shall remain on the carcass until it is dressed for consumption. The game tag number shall remain on the skin or hide until it is tanned or mounted.
(d) If a person who does not possess a field tag kills a bear, deer, wild boar or wild turkey, he or she shall make a tag. The field tag shall bear the name, address and, if applicable, the license number of the hunter and the time, date and county of killing.
(e) A person who kills a bear shall treat the carcass and remains in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-two-a of this article.
(f) For each violation of this section a person is subject to the penalties provided in this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-23. Outfitters and Guides -- Generally; Definitions

(a) Services of outfitters and guides for the benefit and convenience of hunters, fishermen and others in this state are recognized as essential, and such outfitters and guides may be licensed and authorized to serve as provided in this article. The director is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations on services of outfitters and guides as herein authorized and defined.
(b) The term "outfitter," as used herein, means and includes any person who, operating from any temporary or permanent camp, private or public lodge, or private or incorporated home situate within this state, provides for monetary profit or gain, saddle or pack animals or other animals, vehicles, boats, conveyances or equipment, or guide services for any person or persons hunting game animals, game birds, fishing or taking expeditions, both land and water, in this state. The term "outfitter" shall not include, however, any person who occasionally for accommodation or favor rather than profit or gain, rents equipment to hunters, fishermen or others as a service incidental to his principal occupation or business without advertising outfitter or guide services or holding out to the public the offering of such services. The term "guide," as used herein, includes and embraces outfitter services and the term "outfitter" includes and embraces guide services, but the applicant for any license hereunder may in his or her application elect to be designated as an outfitter or guide.
(c) The term "commercial whitewater outfitter," as used herein, means any person, partnership, corporation or other organization, or any combination thereof, duly authorized and operating from within or from without the state, which for monetary profit or gain, provides whitewater expeditions or rents whitewater craft or equipment for use in whitewater expeditions on any river, portions of rivers or waters of the state in accordance with this article.
The term "commercial whitewater guide," as used herein, means any person who is an owner, agent or employee of a commercial whitewater outfitter, and who is qualified and authorized to provide services for whitewater expeditions in the state in accordance with this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-23b. Whitewater Study and Improvement Fund

There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which shall be an appropriated, interest-bearing account, designated as the whitewater study and improvement fund. All proceeds from this fund shall be used exclusively for the purposes of the administration, regulation, promotion and study of the whitewater industry.
The special study and assessment fee collected by the commission pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-three-a of this article shall be deposited, within fifteen days after receipt, to the whitewater study and improvement fund and dedicated to the purposes of this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-23c. Voluntary Contributions to Whitewater Advertising and Promotion Fund

There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which shall be an appropriated, interest-bearing account designated as the "whitewater advertising and promotion fund". Each whitewater license holder may contribute any sum desired to this fund, which fund shall be used for the purpose of advertising and promoting whitewater in West Virginia.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-23d. Bond; Revocation of License; Licensing Carrying Requirement; Criminal Penalties

(a) Immediately upon the issuance of a whitewater outfitter's license and before any whitewater outfitter's services are offered or rendered thereunder, the licensee shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of $1,000 payable to the State of West Virginia and conditioned upon the faithful and reliable discharge of his or her services under and pursuant to the license. The bond shall be approved as to form by the Attorney General and as to surety by the director, and when so executed and approved, shall be filed in the office of the director of the Division of Natural Resources. The bond shall be for the life of the license.
(b) The whitewater commission is hereby authorized to revoke and cancel any whitewater outfitter's license for failure of the licensee to give the bond required by this section, for a licensee's violation or disregard of any of the provisions of this chapter, upon a licensee's conviction of a crime, or for any other reason or cause justifying refusal of the whitewater outfitter's license to the licensee upon a new application therefor. The commission shall afford a licensee an opportunity to be heard upon the revocation and cancellation of the license.
(c) No person shall act or serve as a whitewater outfitter, as defined in this article, without procuring and having on his or her person at the time a valid whitewater outfitter's license from the commission authorizing them to do so.
(d) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section or of section twenty-three-a of this article, or any rule promulgated by the director of the Division of Natural Resources or who misrepresents any material fact in an application, record, report or other document filed or required to be maintained under the provisions of this article, or any rules promulgated hereunder by the director of the Division of Natural Resources, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 per violation not to exceed a total penalty of $7,500 or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both fined and imprisoned.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-23e. Implementation of Allocation Methodology

Other provisions of this article notwithstanding, the implementation of an allocation methodology for the nonmoratorium whitewater zones of the New, Gauley, Cheat, Shenandoah and Tygart rivers, shall be made based upon criteria identified in existing or future studies of carrying capacity, the overall economic impact on the state and the safety of the general public as identified in section twenty-three-a of this article, and shall be implemented at such time as the commission deems appropriate, by rules promulgated pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. In determining whether to increase or decrease existing use allocations on the portions of the New and Gauley rivers subjected to a moratorium on new licenses by this article, the commission may continue existing studies and undertake new studies of the carrying capacity of whitewater zones, the quality of the rafting experience, the economic impact of rafting and the safety of the general public.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-24. Outfitters and Guides -- Qualifications

Each outfitter and guide licensed under the provisions hereof shall be a financially responsible citizen of the United States of America. He shall possess and inventory proper and adequate materials and equipment to provide for hunters, fishermen and others the services and conveniences he advertises. All such materials and equipment shall be safe and free of infection and conditions inimical to the health and well-being of hunters, fishermen, their traveling, camping and lodging companions.
The director shall cause all outfitter and guide applicants to be investigated and shall make a determination of their qualifications prior to the issuance or refusal of licenses thereto.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-25. Same -- License Applications; National Forest Requirements

Each applicant for an outfitter or guide license shall file with the director a verified application setting forth the applicant's name, his address, the property possessed and to be used in the proposed outfitter and guide services, the area within which he proposes to serve, his citizenship, his age and such other data and information as may be prescribed and required by the director on the application forms to be furnished by the department. Each such application, when filed by the applicant, shall be approved and signed by three resident real property owners of the county in which such applicant resides.
Before any outfitter or guide license shall be issued for serving hunters, fishermen or others in any national forest areas within this state, the applicant shall obtain from the supervisor of such national forest area a designation of the camp site or other site from which the outfitter or guide proposes to operate therein and shall likewise obtain from such supervisor any other authority or permit to so operate in such national forest area, together with copies of any rules and regulations of the forest incident to maintenance of camps, sanitary conditions, and prevention of forest fires and water pollution. The applicant shall satisfy the director that he has obtained such designation, permit, authority and rules and regulations, as may be required, as a prerequisite to the director's consideration of the applicant's license application.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-26. Same -- License Fee; Bond; Revocation of License; Penalties

When satisfied as to the applicant's qualifications for an outfitter's or guide's license and upon receipt of a fee of $10 therefor, the director shall issue such license which shall be for the calendar year therein designated.
Immediately upon the issuance of an outfitter's or guide's license and before any outfitter's or guide's services are offered or rendered thereunder, the licensee shall execute a surety bond in the penal sum of $1,000 payable to the State of West Virginia and conditioned upon the faithful and reliable discharge of his services under and pursuant to such license. Such bond shall be approved as to form by the Attorney General and as to surety by the director, and when so executed and approved, shall be filed in the office of the director. Such bond shall be for the life of the license.
The director is hereby authorized to revoke and cancel any such license for failure of the licensee to give the bond herein required, for licensee's violation or disregard of any of the provisions of this chapter, upon licensee's conviction of crime, or for any other reason or cause justifying refusal of the license to the licensee upon a new application therefor. The director shall afford a licensee an opportunity to be heard upon the revocation and cancellation of the license.
No person shall act or serve as a guide or outfitter, as defined in this article, without procuring and having on his person at the time a valid license from the director authorizing him so to do. Any person violating this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, may be fined not exceeding $100 or confined in the county jail not exceeding ninety days, or, in the discretion of the court, be both fined and imprisoned within the limits herein prescribed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-27. Necessity for License

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, no resident who has reached his or her 15th birthday and who has not reached his or her 65th birthday before January 1, 2012, and no nonresident shall at any time take, hunt, pursue, trap for, kill or chase any wild animals, wild birds, or fish for, take, kill or catch any fish, amphibians or aquatic life of any kind whatsoever in this state without first having secured a license or permit and then only during the respective open seasons, except that a nonresident who has not reached his or her 15th birthday may fish for, take, kill or catch any fish, amphibians or aquatic life of any kind whatsoever in this state without first having secured a license or permit. A person under the age of 15 years shall not hunt or chase any wild animals or wild birds upon lands of another unless accompanied by a licensed adult.
(b) A resident or nonresident member of any club, organization, or association or persons owning or leasing a game preserve or fish preserve, plant, or pond in this state shall not hunt or fish therein without first securing a license or permit as required by law: Provided, That resident landowners or their resident children, or bona fide resident tenants of land, may, without a permit or license, hunt and fish on their own land during open seasons in accordance with laws and rules applying to such hunting and fishing unless the lands have been designated as a wildlife refuge or preserve.
(c) Licenses and permits shall be of the kinds and classes set forth in this article and shall be conditioned upon the payment of the fees established for the licenses and permits.
(d) The list of names, addresses and other contact information of all licensees compiled and maintained by the division as a result of the sale and issuance of any resident or nonresident licenses or stamps under this chapter is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, §29B-1-1, et seq., of this code: Provided, That the records specified in this section shall be available to all law-enforcement agencies and other governmental entities authorized to request or receive such records.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-29. Conservation of Species and Request for Public Records

(a) The director may exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, any record concerning the site-specific location of an animal species protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 7 U.S.C. §136, a plant protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act, 7 U.S.C. §2321:2583 and any plant or animal species native to West Virginia determined by the director to be sensitive and in need of conservation to maintain viability or existence.
(b) The director may not deny the release of records under subsection (a) of this section if requested:
(1) By the owner of the land upon which the resource is located;
(2) By an entity which can take the land through the right of eminent domain; or
(3) For scientific purposes which include, but are not limited to, conservation and education, by a person or entity that demonstrates to the director's satisfaction that the request for information is necessary, will not cause harm to the plant or animal species, and that the person or entity will use the information only for the limited purpose which is the basis for the request of information. The director retains the right to provide any such data in a form which in his or her opinion, is of sufficient resolution to satisfy that request and is not obligated to provide exact coordinate data.
(c) Persons or entities receiving records under this subsection may not release the information to the public or release the information to another entity for commercial purposes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-30. Application and Statement of Eligibility for Licenses or Permits; Procuring License or Permit in Violation of Chapter

(a) Each person who applies for any class of license or permit must state to the issuing agent that he or she is eligible for and has satisfied all prerequisites required by this chapter for that class of license or permit.
(b) It is unlawful for a person to make a false statement when applying for any license or permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-31. Size and Form of License and Tag; Contents; Unlawful to Alter Licenses or Permits; Penalty

(a) The size, content, and form of all licenses, tags, and permits shall be prescribed by the director. The information which a licensee is required to furnish shall be placed upon the license by the license issuing authority before delivery of such license to the licensee: Provided, That all hunting or fishing licenses as defined in §16-19-3 of this code include document of gift indicating the applicant has made an anatomical gift, as defined in §16-19-3 of this code.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to alter, mutilate, or deface any license, tag, or permit, or the entries thereon, for the purpose of evading the provisions of this chapter.
Any person violating the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $20 nor more than $300; and upon a second and subsequent conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $20 nor more than $300, or confined in jail not less than 10 nor more than 100 days, or both fined and confined.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-32. Issuance of Licenses; Duplicate Licenses

(a) The clerk of the county commission in each county requesting designation and other persons, designated by the director pursuant to section thirty-three of this article, are license-issuing authorities authorized to issue a license to an applicant if the applicant is legally entitled to obtain the license and pays the proper fee.
(b) Materials and supplies for the issuance of licenses shall be furnished by the director to each license-issuing authority as needed.
(c) Each license shall bear a serial number and shall be signed by the licensee. The license-issuing authority shall keep an accurate record of licenses issued and fees collected as prescribed by the director.
(d) Any license-issuing authority may issue a duplicate license to replace a lost, destroyed or damaged license upon receipt of a verified application executed by the original licensee and payment of a duplicate license fee of $1.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-33a. Electronic Application to Apprise Applicant of Hunters Helping the Hungry Program; Check-Off Donations; Special Fund Continued; Authorized Expenditures

(a) (1) Every application for electronic license shall include a solicitation for a voluntary donation to the division's previously established hunters helping the hungry program.
(2) The license applicant will be offered an opportunity to designate a donation in any amount to the hunters helping the hungry program.
(b) There is hereby created a subaccount, designated the "hunters helping the hungry fund", within the special revenue account established in section thirty-four of this article, into which all donations derived under this section shall be deposited. Moneys in the subaccount shall be expended solely for the purposes set forth in subsection (c) of this section. Funds paid into the subaccount may also be derived from the following sources: (1) All interest or return on investment accruing to the subaccount; (2) Any gifts, grants, bequests, transfers, appropriations or other donations which may be received from any governmental entity or unit or any person, firm, foundation, or corporation; and (3) any appropriations by the Legislature which may be made for the purposes of this section. Any balance including accrued interest and other earnings at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain in the fund for the purposes set forth in this section.
(c) The moneys in the fund will be paid out, at the direction of the director, to eligible participants for the butchering of game carcasses and for the expenses related to the acquisition and distribution of food to the needy residents of West Virginia.
(d) For purposes of this section, "eligible participant" means a nonprofit organization that coordinates, with the Division of Natural Resources and other entities, a statewide system for the distribution of meat products derived from the butchering of donated game carcasses by a person licensed under the provisions of article two-b, chapter nineteen of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-33b. Electronic Application Donation to Fund the Coyote Management Program

(a) (1) Effective January 1, 2006, every application for a hunting or fishing electronic license shall include a solicitation for a voluntary donation to the division's established Coyote Management Program.
(2) The license applicant will be offered an opportunity to designate a donation in the amount of $2 for the Coyote Management Program.
(b) There is hereby created a special revenue account, designated the "Coyote Management Fund" into which all donations derived under this section shall be deposited. Moneys in this account shall be expended solely for the purposes set forth in subsection (c) of this section. Funds paid into this account may also be derived from the following sources: (1) All interest or return on investment accruing to this account; (2) Any gifts, grants, bequests, transfers, appropriations or other donations which may be received from any governmental entity or unit or any person, firm, foundation, or corporation; and (3) any appropriations by the Legislature which may be made for the purposes of this section. Any balance including accrued interest and other earnings at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund but shall remain in the fund for the purposes set forth in this section.
(c) The moneys in the fund shall be paid out, at the sole discretion and direction of the director, to address coyote management issues.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-33c. Electronic Application Donation to West Virginia University Rifle Team; Special Fund Created; Authorized Disbursements

(a) Every electronic application for a hunting or fishing license shall include a solicitation for a voluntary donation to the West Virginia University Rifle Team.
(b) The license applicant will be offered an opportunity to designate a donation in any amount to the West Virginia University Rifle Team. The Director of the Division of Natural Resources shall deposit any donations made by an applicant to the special revenue account created in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) There is created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund known as the West Virginia University Rifle Team Program Fund. The fund shall be comprised of all moneys donated through an electronic application for a hunting or fishing license as authorized by this section, any moneys appropriated by the Legislature, and any income from the investment of money held in the fund. The fund shall operate as a special revenue fund and all deposits and payments into the fund do not expire to the General Revenue Fund but shall remain in the account and be available for expenditure in succeeding fiscal years.
(d) Expenditures from the West Virginia University Rifle Team Program Fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this section. The moneys in the West Virginia University Rifle Team Program Fund will be paid out at least annually by the Director of the Division of Natural Resources to the West Virginia University Rifle Team Account:
Provided
, That the Division of Natural Resources shall deduct no more than five percent of donations derived under this section as an administrative fee to recover processing costs prior to transferring any money to the West Virginia University Rifle Team Account:
Provided, however
, That the Division of Natural Resources is absolved of all responsibilities established pursuant to this section if the West Virginia University Rifle Team ceases to exist.
(e) The Division of Natural Resources shall, following the close of each fiscal year for the two years following the creation of the fund, prepare an annual report detailing the categories of expenditures from the West Virginia University Rifle Team Program Fund and listing all sources of revenue as well as a closing balance for the year. The report shall be submitted in an electronic format to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance no later than eight weeks after the close of the fiscal year.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 20. Natural Resources › Article 2. Wildlife Resources › §20-2-34. Disposition of License Fees and Donations; Reports of Agents; Special Funds and Uses

(a) All persons in this state who receive money for licenses and permits required by this chapter, or as donations for the hunters helping the hungry program, shall deposit the moneys into an account at a financial institution at intervals designated by the director with the approval of the State Treasurer. The payment shall be accompanied by a sales report. The form and content of the sales report shall be prescribed by the director.
(b) Except where other provisions of this chapter specifically require direct payment of moneys into designated funds for specific uses and purposes, all license fees received by the director shall be promptly paid into the State Treasury and credited to the Division of Natural Resources "license fund--wildlife resources" which shall be used and paid out, upon order of the director, solely for law enforcement and for other purposes directly relating to the conservation, protection, propagation and distribution of wildlife in this state pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
No funds from the "license fund--wildlife resources" may be expended for recreational facilities or activities that are used by or for the benefit of the general public, rather than purchasers of hunting and fishing licenses.
The director shall retain ten percent of the "license fund–wildlife resources" for capital improvements and land purchases benefitting state wildlife, forty percent shall be budgeted to the wildlife resources division, forty percent to law enforcement and ten percent apportioned by the director within provisions of this section. Any unexpended moneys for capital improvements and land purchases shall be carried forward.
All interest generated from game and fish license fees shall be used by the director for the Division of Natural Resources in the same manner as is provided for the use of license fees.
(c) Moneys received as donations to the hunters helping the hungry program shall be deposited in the subaccount designated "hunters helping the hungry fund".