Politics has a negative connotation that makes most folks recoil at the thought of spending their free time engaged in it.  Yet as hunters and anglers who care about conservation it is our duty to improve our effectiveness at standing up for public lands and wildlife. Our chapter was formed in the middle of a fight to protect public hunting lands in WV and at that time our only tactic on a state level was to yell about the issue.  While we took a couple small wins from that battle, we ...

  Like-minded people working toward a goal is an amazing thing to witness!  To see individuals take ownership of their public lands and genuinely care about solid conservation work is awesome!  Led by members of the West Virginia Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, on August 12th WVBHA was joined by Justin Phillips of the West Virginia DNR and members of the West Virginia Chapter of Turkeys for Tomorrow to improve turkey brood and deer habitat on ~12 acres of Stonewall Jackson ...

    2022 was a good year for the West Virginia BHA Chapter. Policy and legislative issues were the primary focus rolling into the year and the chapter did an excellent job keeping members privy to possible bills that could impact hunting, fishing, and public lands. Many of these legislative proposals aim to turn our public hunting lands into recreational OHV areas.  While we are not opposed to the state and private motorized recreation groups procuring new public lands or access agreements ...

The New River Gorge is unique among our nation’s wild places in that it has seen every facet of man. Native Americans travelled through its corridors and, legend has it, nicknamed it the “river of death.” For a time it was the rugged frontier as Scots-Irish settlers filtered west before Civil War battles rang throughout the region. Coal and timber brought the railroads which transformed the local industry from subsistence farming to resource extraction. Over 60 coal towns popped up along the ...