The ruffed grouse, a game bird common in West Virginia’s woodlands, has suffered severe population decline. State officials are launching a new program to address that.
A relative of wild turkey, the ruffed grouse, is a game bird found in woodland habitats across the northern United States and Canada — including much of Appalachia.
But its population has rapidly declined, partially due to the destruction of young-growth forest areas. Last year, researchers at the Pennsylvania State University found that their state’s ruffed grouse population is roughly 70 percent smaller than it was half a century ago.
Officials in West Virginia say they want to protect wildlife populations without disrupting the timber industry. That is why they are launching a new incentive program for landowners to plant fast-growing tree and shrub species on their timbered lands.
Gov. Jim Justice announced the new Ruffed Grouse and Wildlife Restoration Program during a virtual press briefing Tuesday.
Through the program, land owners will be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of replanting costs on 5 percent “of the land that was disturbed or timbered or clear cut,” Justice said. They will also receive technical and planning assistance during the replanting process.
Justice emphasized that the program will cause “no disturbance to the timber,” and will function as “purely a wildlife program.”
During the press briefing, Brett McMillan, director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, said protecting habitats like West Virginia’s woodlands means protecting the animal species that call them home.
“Timber management is one of our primary tools in forest wildlife management,” he said. “Managing that timber and vegetation will give us some opportunities to hopefully see some return of these species.”
McMillan said the program will not only incentivize landowners to proactively replant on timbered lands, but it will also enhance habitat cover for wildlife statewide.
“The benefits will be multiple,” he said.
The program specifically focuses on planting “soft-mast” shrub and tree species with a faster growth rate and a higher survival rate to expedite the overall restoration of West Virginia woodland habitats, McMillan said.
Similar publicly funded reforestation programs exist in other states, too.
Maryland currently offers a free tree planting program for lands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed with reduced forest cover. With more tree roots along waterways, the program aims to reduce sediment runoff into the bay itself.
In the future, Justice said he hopes the program will receive federal support and grow in scale.
“We don’t want to lose any of our wildlife,” he said.
Bow hunting season is already underway for deer in West Virginia, and rifle season is fast approaching. But state wildlife management officials say hunters venturing into the woods this fall should keep an eye out for visibly ill deer.
Bow hunting season is already underway for deer in West Virginia, and rifle season is fast approaching. But state wildlife management officials say hunters venturing into the woods this fall should keep an eye out for visibly ill deer.
That is because the Mountain State has seen an increase in reports of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. EHD is transmitted to white-tailed deer through insects like gnats and midges, and can be fatal.
Deer tissue samples taken from eighteen West Virginia counties have tested positive for EHD, according to Ethan Barton, state wildlife disease specialist for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR).
This year’s outbreak
Barton said that positive cases of EHD were reported in tissue samples from Barbour, Boone, Hardy, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Putnam, Ritchie, Taylor, Tyler and Upshur counties.
The WVDNR is also awaiting results on tissue samples from deer from several other counties. EHD prevalence varies widely between the counties, from just a single positive sample to positive reports county wide, Barton said.
EHD is a recurring problem for the state. The disease “has been detected with increasing frequency in West Virginia since the 1990s,” according to the WVDNR website.
“This outbreak was relatively widespread in the state, although we’ve certainly had more widespread outbreaks before that affected the majority of the state’s counties,” Barton said. “This isn’t necessarily anything new. This just happened to be a little bit more active an EHD year than a typical year.”
EHD is not transmissible to humans. While the WVDNR advises against the consumption of meat from visibly ill deer, Barton said deer that have survived and recovered from EHD “are going to be absolutely fine” to hunt and eat.
From the WVDNR’s perspective, EHD cases are “not necessarily anything to be alarmed about,” Barton said, adding that the biggest concern for hunters tends to be the disease’s impact on game populations.
Wintertime frost kills off gnats and midges, which removes the means of transmission for the disease. While EHD infections can still take a toll on local deer populations, that means there is an endpoint within sight.
“Even in areas where local scale deer mortality may be substantial, populations bounce back within relatively short order,” Barton said. “Within two or three years, densities come right back up to where they were before an outbreak. In a typical year with a typical outbreak, most hunters aren’t going to notice an actual difference in the number of deer they see.”
Detecting and reporting disease
EHD typically causes fever, so deer with the disease often seek to cool off in bodies of water, Barton said. Deer tissue samples are primarily collected near local watersheds, because infectious insects and diseased deer alike spend more time in these areas.
Beyond fever, other EHD symptoms include difficulty breathing and swelling of the head, neck and tongue, according to the National Park Service.
Deer that are recovering from EHD or have survived the disease may also exhibit signs of a “depleted immune system,” Barton said. Deer affected by the disease may have hoof lesions, and can struggle to combat later infections of other diseases.
According to Barton, EHD spreads from late July to mid October, but typically reaches its peak in September.
Barton said there is no significant “intervention method” the WVDNR takes once EHD is reported, beyond tracking where the disease occurs and to what scale. There is currently no vaccine or treatment available for the disease.
Meanwhile, fall is deer hunting season in West Virginia. Bow hunting began Sept. 28 and runs until Dec. 31. Buck firearm season runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 8, and muzzleloader season runs from Dec. 16 to Dec. 22.
Barton said reports of EHD can concern hunters, especially when sick or deceased deer are highly visible in a certain area.
But he said the WVDNR encourages hunters to operate within their typical hunting area. Barton added that local deer population declines are typically not severe enough to warrant hunters traveling to other areas instead.
EHD is not the only disease to spread through West Virginia’s deer population this year.
In April, cases of chronic wasting disease among deer were reported in Jefferson County and nearby areas of Maryland for the first time. The disease is different from EHD, but also transmissible and fatal among deer.
Hunters who see deer exhibiting symptoms of EHD or other diseases can also report the sightings to their local WVDNR office. Barton said this helps the organization track the spread of the disease.
“We can kind of walk through it with them, triage out what might be going on, and investigate if need be, to determine if there's a pathogen system or communicable disease involved,” he said.
Barton said that WVDNR might not respond to every sighting because the organization is “limited in numbers.” But he said calling the WVDNR is “generally a good idea” when disease is suspected.
The WVDNR headquarters in South Charleston can be contacted over the phone at (304) 558-6200. For information on how to contact your local WVDNR office, visit the organization’s website.
On this West Virginia Morning, a conversation with artist Rosalie Haizlett about her new book of Appalachian wildlife illustrations, and our Song of the Week from Mountain Stage.
On this West Virginia Morning, nature artist Rosalie Haizlett set out to illustrate some of the birds, reptiles and animals hiding away in the Appalachian Mountains.
Those illustrations became the new book, “Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains, an Artist’s Journey.” Inside Appalachia’s Bill Lynch recently spoke with Haizlett about the experience.
Also in this episode, we have our Song of the Week from singer, songwriter, poet, and Grammy winner Carrie Newcomer.
She performs “Take More Time, Cover Less Ground” from her 2023 album, A Great Wild Mercy. In the liner note for the song, Carrie states she was inspired by a quote from the contemplative Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, who lived in Kentucky.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, Maria Young and Randy Yohe.
Eric Douglas is our news director, and he produced this episode. Teresa Wills is our host.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
On this West Virginia Morning, the 2024 Paris Olympics concluded last night. But for the athletes that participated in the games, the memories will last a lifetime.
On this West Virginia Morning, the 2024 Paris Olympics concluded last night. But for the athletes that participated in the games, the memories will last a lifetime.
Ed Etzel was a West Virginia University rifle coach when he registered a near-perfect shooting score to win a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He recently spoke with reporter Chris Schulz about his experience and perspective 40 years on.
Also in this episode, Pittsburgh-based public radio program the Allegheny Front reports on an effort in Pennsylvania to establish wildlife corridors for the safety of animals — and drivers.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Curtis Tate produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Local conservationists are building fences around trees in wetlands across West Virginia and beyond to protect them from beavers and promote coexistence between species.
Donning rain boots and gloves, volunteers trudged across a Charles Town wetland Tuesday to prepare the habitat for a pair of unexpected residents.
Jefferson County’s Cool Spring Preserve is currently home to at least two beavers, possibly mates, according to local conservationists. If trail camera photos did not offer proof enough, their presence is made clear through bite marks on trees and a growing number of dams in Bullskin Run, the local stream.
Beavers are native to wetlands across North America, including those in West Virginia. But they were hunted to near-extinction during the 18th century fur trade. With fewer people hunting them for their pelts, beavers are growing in population across the continent. According to many conservationists, that’s a good thing.
Alison Zak serves as founder and executive director of the Human-Beaver Coexistence Fund. The group develops nonlethal strategies to manage beaver populations across the mid-Atlantic.
Zak said that beavers play a key role in bolstering biodiversity, storing groundwater and filtering pollutants in wetland ecosystems. But they also bring what she describes as “beaver problems,” which fall into two main categories: flooding and tree damage.
When beavers build dams, they can redirect the flow of water and prompt flooding. This can disturb roadways and personal property, so conservationists often fence off culverts so beavers cannot disrupt the flow of water with their dams.
Dams have appeared along Bullskin Run, a stream that cuts through Cool Spring Preserve in Charles Town. Local conservationists say it is the work of a pair of beavers. Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Beavers can also chew trees that protect rivers from erosion, as well as saplings planted as part of reforestation efforts. In response, conservationists build wire fences around the bases of trees that need to be protected from local beavers.
That is what brought a team of volunteers onto the preserve Tuesday: to help build fences that ensure trees and beavers can coexist in West Virginia and to strengthen wetland ecosystems.
“A lot of people aren’t aware beavers are around unless, all of a sudden, they come across very obvious signs of beavers, maybe even causing problems on their property,” Zak said. “But also, we’re seeing an increase in tolerance toward beavers, and people wanting to use nonlethal management and wanting to coexist.”
Tuesday’s volunteers placed new wire frames around the bases of trees with overly tight fences or no fences at all. They took particular care to cover saplings, and to give trees enough space to grow freely.
KC Walters, associate director of conservation at Potomac Valley Audubon Society, organized Tuesday’s event. She said that coexistence strategies like these help people come together to solve environmental problems.
“It’s not just conservation, and not just about the relationship with wildlife,” she said. “It’s also about the relationships of the human organizations that exist in keeping us all working together for a common goal.”
Zak said she hopes volunteers left Tuesday’s event with a better understanding of how conservation works.
“I hope they got a little taste of how complex it can be, but how also doable it is,” she said.
Lily Davis unlinks segments of an old wire fence around the base of a tree at Cool Spring Preserve in Charles Town. Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A new elk viewing platform and visitor center will be constructed in Logan County beginning this year. The project is expected for completion in 2025.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has awarded the Morgantown-based March-Westin Company a $6.7 million contract to construct a visitor center and elk viewing platform in Logan County.
The project follows the introduction of150 elk to West Virginia, where they were once native.
The facility’s construction is slated for a 2025 opening, with construction beginning this spring.
It will feature an elevated platform on an elk viewing tower that is accessible to individuals with mobility issues, as well as an exhibition on the elk reintroduction program, displays and conference centers.
The project was funded in part through $2.5 million in federal Abandoned Mine Land grants, $2.1 million from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development and $2.1 million from hunting and fishing license funds.
During a press briefing Friday, Gov. Jim Justice said he was excited for the project, and the ability for residents to witness the elk reintroduction program firsthand.
“These magnificent animals, we reintroduced them back into West Virginia,” he said. “Good gracious, it’s majestic beyond belief.”
