Tag: DNR

DNR Discovers 2 Deer Living Inside Home

Officials say a West Virginia man had been keeping two deer in captivity at his home for at least a year.

Officer Joshua Addesa with the state Division of Natural Resources says authorities discovered the two white-tailed bucks when they visited the Cabell County man’s home on July 4 after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen.

Addesa declined to identify the man because of an ongoing investigation.

Addesa says the two deer had a healthy supply of hay available to them inside the home. Addesa says officers set the deer free but because the animals were domesticated, they may be considered for relocation.

In West Virginia, illegal possession of wildlife is a misdemeanor offense.

Trout Stocking to Commence in West Virginia for 2015

Starting this month, hatchery workers will begin stocking trout to 55 West Virginia waters.

The state Division of Natural Resources says trout hatcheries are located in the state’s highest mountains, where weather conditions often are much more severe than they are at lower elevations.

Winter weather conditions could slow the distribution of trout, which weigh in at 40,000 pounds.

Tom Oldham is a biologist with DNR’s cold-water fisheries arm.

He says any stockings that get missed because of weather will be made up before the end of the stocking season.

Most of the stockings will begin Monday.

Gov. Tomblin Names New W.Va. Natural Resources Director

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has named Robert A. Fala as director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

Fala is replacing Frank Jezioro who retired Wednesday after service as the DNR’s director since 2005.

Over the past three years, Fala served as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was appointed to serve on the DNR’s Natural Resource Commission in August.

The Pennsylvania State University graduate also worked as a coal land reclamation and wildlife biologist for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

During Jezioro’s tenure, the DNR has created new wildlife management areas and the senior lifetime hunting and fishing license. He also oversaw major renovations to Canaan Valley Resort State Park.

Bob Fala lives near Chapmanville in Logan County. He is 63.

He said he wants to help direct the agency’s reintroduction of elk into southwestern West Virginia.

State Spring Turkey Hunting Season Has Zero Incidents

Division of Natural Resources officials say no fatalities or injuries were reported during the spring turkey hunting season in West Virginia for the first time since it was established in the late 1960s.

The four-week spring gobbler season began April 28 and concluded Saturday. 

The DNR says mandatory hunter education classes have reduced the number of hunting incidents over the years. The classes are scheduled throughout the year across the state.
 
The last spring turkey season hunting-related fatality in West Virginia occurred in 2009. There were two hunting-related incidents reported in last year’s spring gobbler season, one in 2012 and three each in 2011 and 2010.
 

Harrison Co. Residents Busted for Possession of Too Many Trout

Two Harrison County residents have been fined for exceeding the state’s trout possession limit following the discovery of more than 300 trout in their home.

The individual limit for possessing trout is 12.

The Division of Natural Resources says 70-year-old Michael Earl Fetty and 46-year-old Tammy K. Fetty of Wallace caught trout in Curtisville Lake and Huey Run Lake nearly daily. The trout were kept in a freezer in their home.

DNR officers discovered 321 trout in the home last month during an investigation.

The Fettys pleaded guilty earlier this month in Harrison County Magistrate Court to exceeding the trout possession limit and conspiracy to violate state wildlife law. They were ordered to pay a total $660.50 in fines, replacement fees and court costs.

The Fettys’ relationship wasn’t immediately clear.
 

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