The following refuge units have been opened to hunting and/or fishing, and are listed in alphabetical order with applicable refuge-specific regulations.
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge
A. Migratory Game Bird Hunting. We allow hunting of goose, duck, rail, coot, gallinule, mourning dove, snipe, and woodcock on designated areas of the refuge in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. We require each hunter to possess and carry a signed refuge hunting permit (name, address, phone number), State hunting license, and driver's license (or other photo identification card) at all times while hunting on the refuge. The refuge hunting permit is free, and you may obtain it at the refuge headquarters. We require each hunter to submit a Migratory Bird Hunt Report (FWS Form 3-2361) at the end of the hunting season. Hunters must submit this form to the refuge headquarters if they wish to receive a hunting permit the following year.
2. We allow hunting on refuge lands with the following exceptions: the area surrounding the refuge headquarters, safety zones, areas marked as no hunting zones, areas marked as closed to all public entry, and areas within 500 feet (150 m) of any dwelling in accordance with State regulations.
3. We prohibit the building or use of permanent blinds.
4. The refuge opens 1 hour before legal sunrise and closes 1 hour after legal sunset, including parking areas. We prohibit camping. We prohibit overnight parking except by Special Use Permit (FWS Form 3-1383) on Forest Road 80.
5. We allow the use of dogs for hunting migratory game birds. We require all dogs to wear a collar displaying the owner's name, address, and telephone number.
6. We prohibit scouting and dog training except during legal hunting seasons.
7. We require hunters accessing the refuge through private property to possess and carry written permission of the landowner while hunting on the refuge.
8. We prohibit hunters from leaving decoys and other personal property on the refuge (see Sec. 27.93 of this chapter).
9. We close the Research Natural Area except for deer hunting, which we allow for management purposes.
B. Upland Game Hunting. We allow the hunting of ruffed grouse, squirrel, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, red fox, gray fox, bobcat, woodchuck, coyote, opossum, striped skunk, and raccoon on designated areas of the refuge in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. Conditions A1 (Upland/Small Game/Furbearer Report, FWS Form 3-2362), A2, A4, A6, A7, and A9 apply.
2. You may hunt raccoon at night, but you must obtain a Special Use Permit for raccoon hunting.
3. We only allow hunting in the No Rifle Zones with the following equipment: archery, shotgun, or muzzleloader.
4. You may use dogs for hunting upland game species. We prohibit more than six dogs per hunting party for raccoon hunting. You must account for all dogs at the conclusion of the hunt. You must search for lost dogs for at least 3 days, and we prohibit hunting during the search period. All dogs must wear a collar displaying the owner's name, address, and telephone number.
5. We prohibit the hunting of upland game species between March 1 and the youth squirrel season in September.
C. Big Game Hunting. We allow the hunting of white-tailed deer, black bear, and turkey on designated areas of the refuge in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. Conditions A1 (Big Game Harvest Report, FWS Form 3-2359), A2, A4, A6, A7, A9, and B3 apply.
2. You may only enter the refuge on foot. You may use hand-powered, wheeled carts for transporting big game.
3. You may only use handguns for hunting deer and black bear in the rifle zone.
4. When using shotguns for big game hunting, we only allow ammunition containing a single lead projectile. We prohibit the use of buckshot.
5. We prohibit the marking of any tree or other refuge feature with flagging, paint, or other substance.
6. We prohibit the cutting and trimming of coniferous trees (balsam fir, red spruce, and hemlock). We prohibit construction of blinds from these materials.
7. We prohibit permanent tree stands, but we allow use of temporary tree stands. You must clearly print your name and address in an easily read area on the stand while the stand is affixed to the tree. You must remove tree stands (see Sec. 27.93 of this chapter) at the end of the deer season.
8. We require all hunters to wear at least 400 square inches (2,600 cm\2\) of blaze orange on the head, chest, and back at all times during the deer bucks only season, the antlerless deer season, the youth deer season, and the deer muzzleloader season.
9. We prohibit hunting for turkey with a rifle. You must use a shotgun or muzzleloader with a shot size of 4 or smaller.
10. We allow dogs for hunting black bear during the gun season. We prohibit more than six dogs per hunting party. You must account for all dogs at the conclusion of the hunt. You must search for lost dogs for at least 3 days, and we prohibit hunting during the search period. All dogs must wear a collar displaying the owner's name, address, and telephone number.
11. We prohibit black bear hunting during the Tucker County antlerless deer season. The gun bear season begins the Monday following the antlerless deer season.
D. Sport Fishing. [Reserved]
Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
A. Migratory Game Bird Hunting. We allow hunting of migratory game birds (waterfowl, coots, rails, gallinules, snipe, woodcock, and dove) on designated areas of the refuge (Pennsylvania: Phillis Island, Georgetown Island; West Virginia: Captina Island, Captina Mainland, Fish Creek Island, Williamson Island, Witten Towhead, Wells Island, Grandview Island, Grape/Bat Island, Broadback Island, Buckley Island, Muskingum Island, Buffington Island, Letart Island; and Kentucky: Manchester 1 Island, Manchester 2 Island) in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. We require each hunter to possess and carry a refuge hunting permit, State hunting license, and valid driver's license (or other photo identification card) at all times when hunting on the refuge. The refuge hunting permit is free, and you may obtain it at the refuge headquarters.
2. We prohibit the building or use of permanent blinds.
3. The refuge opens 1 hour before legal sunrise and closes 1 hour after legal sunset, including parking areas. We prohibit hunters leaving decoys and personal property, as well as camping and overnight parking.
4. We only allow dogs to locate, point, and retrieve when hunting for migratory game birds. We require all dogs to wear a collar displaying the owner's name, address, and telephone number.
5. You may only possess approved nontoxic shot while in the field (see Sec. 32.2(k)).
B. Upland Game Hunting. We allow hunting of rabbit and squirrel on designated areas of the refuge (Pennsylvania: Phillis Island, Georgetown Island; West Virginia: Captina Island, Captina Mainland, Fish Creek Island, Williamson Island, Witten Towhead, Wells Island, Grandview Island, Grape/Bat Island, Broadback Island, Buckley Island, Muskingum Island, Buffington Island, Letart Island; and Kentucky: Manchester 1 Island, Manchester 2 Island) in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. Conditions A1 and A3 apply.
2. We prohibit the use of pursuit dogs for hunting rabbit or squirrel.
3. We prohibit the use of bows, rifles, or pistols for hunting rabbit or squirrel.
4. We only allow the use of shotguns with approved nontoxic shot (see Sec. 32.2(k)) for the hunting of rabbit or squirrel.
C. Big Game Hunting. We allow archery hunting of white-tailed deer on designated areas of the refuge (Pennsylvania: Phillis Island, Georgetown Island; West Virginia: Paden Island, Captina Island, Captina Mainland, Fish Creek Island, Williamson Island, Witten Towhead, Wells Island, Mill Creek Island, Grandview Island, Grape/Bat Island, zoned area of Middle Island, Broadback Island, Buckley Island, Buckley Mainland, Muskingum Island, Neal Island, Buffington Island, Letart Island; and Kentucky: Manchester 1 Island, Manchester 2 Island) in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. Conditions A1 and A3 apply.
2. We prohibit the use or possession of rifles, pistols, or shotguns for the hunting of white-tailed deer.
3. We prohibit organized deer drives by two or more individuals. We define a deer drive as the act of chasing, pursuing, disturbing, or otherwise directing deer so as to make the animals more susceptible to harvest.
4. We allow trail marking with nonpermanent methods such as flagging and reflectors. We prohibit the use of paint, and hunters must remove all trail-marking materials (see Sec. 27.93 of this chapter) at the end of the deer season.
5. We prohibit the use of permanent tree stands or blinds. We allow the use of temporary tree stands. All tree stands must have the name and address of the owner clearly printed in an easily read area on the stand while the stand is affixed to the tree. Hunters must remove tree stands and blinds (see Sec. 27.93 of this chapter) from the refuge at the end of each day.
6. We prohibit baiting for deer on refuge lands (see Sec. 32.2(h)).
7. We require all hunters to wear at least 400 square inches (2,600 cm\2\) of blaze orange visible on the head, chest, and back while walking to and from tree stands or blinds.
D. Sport Fishing. We allow sport fishing throughout the refuge in accordance with State regulations subject to the following conditions:
1. Condition A3 applies.
2. We require each angler to possess and carry a State fishing license and a valid driver's license (or other photo identification card) at all times while fishing on the refuge.
3. We restrict bank fishing to refuge open hours, from 1 hour before legal sunrise through 1 hour after legal sunset.
4. We prohibit trotlines (setlines) and turtle lines. [59 FR 55197, Nov. 3, 1994, as amended at 60 FR 62048, Dec. 4, 1995; 61 FR 31461, June 20, 1996; 63 FR 46922, Sept. 3, 1998; 65 FR 30794, May 12, 2000; 65 FR 56411, Sept. 18, 2000; 69 FR 54362, 54472, Sept. 8, 2004; 73 FR 33200, June 11, 2008; 74 FR 45700, Sept. 3, 2009; 76 FR 4000, Jan. 21, 2011; 76 FR 56090, Sept. 9, 2011; 77 FR 56066, Sept. 11, 2012]