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Deer harvest down in Wood County

Staff Report

PARKERSBURG — Less than 1,000 bucks were killed in Wood County during the regular firearms buck season that ended on Saturday, according to a preliminary count released on Tuesday by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

The data collected from the electronic checking system found 987 bucks were harvested in Wood County, the division said. The total was the smallest harvest since 2013.

Statewide, according to the preliminary count, hunters killed 44,455 bucks during the two-week season, which started Nov. 20. The 2016 harvest was 46,071 bucks.

The most bucks statewide were killed in 2015 — 60,814.

The buck harvest increased in the Eastern Panhandle in District 2 and in southeastern West Virginia in District 4 but decreased in the other four districts. The top 10 counties for buck harvest were Preston with 1,959, Randolph with 1,647, Greenbrier with 1,631, Hampshire with 1,394, Ritchie with 1,347, Monroe with 1,302, Braxton with 1,243, Lewis with 1,216, Hardy with 1,201 and Grant with 1,198.

“Good weather across much of the state for the entire season allowed hunters to enjoy a productive season,” Paul Johansen, Wildlife Resources Section chief, said. “I am pleased that a lot of hunters were able to get out and enjoy West Virginia’s incredible natural resources.”

Muzzleloader season ends on Saturday. The traditional antlerless deer season in selected counties on both public and private land opens Dec. 14 and runs through Dec. 16.

The Youth, Class Q/QQ and Class XS deer season for antlerless deer will be open Dec. 26 and 27 in any county with a firearms deer season, which will be followed by the reopening of Class N/NN antlerless deer season Dec. 28-31 in specified counties or portions of counties. For county and area listings, see the 2017-2018 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary or visit the DNR website at wvdnr.gov.

Wood and surrounding counties are in Region 6. County harvests for the region for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 were:

Calhoun: 1,164, 504, 1,063, 705, 743

Doddridge: 1,243, 615, 1,376, 946, 948

Gilmer: 1,427, 669, 1,435, 791, 880

Jackson: 1,917, 1,107, 1,870, 1,487, 1,099

Pleasants: 438, 273, 492, 334, 321

Ritchie: 2,091, 1,123, 2,024, 1,422, 1,347

Roane: 1,893, 927, 1,846, 1,178, 1,191

Tyler: 1,000, 566, 1,064, 855, 818

Wirt: 1,091, 681, 1,152, 777, 745

Wood: 1,580, 1,011, 1,556, 1,193, 987

The harvest in the six regions for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 were:

Region 1: 11,199, 7,961, 11,219, 9,286, 8,833

Region 2: 8,995, 5,812, 9,677, 6,833, 7,533

Region 3: 9,020, 7,050, 10,878, 8,660, 8,441

Region 4: 5,898, 4,666, 7,229, 5,376, 5,886

Region 5: 7,567, 4,485, 7,933, 6,228, 4,683

Region 6: 13,844, 7,476, 13,878, 9,688, 9,079

Statewide: 56,523, 37,450, 60,814, 46,071, 44,455

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