Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area
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Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is located in
Wetzel County, West Virginia Wetzel County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,442. Its county seat is New Martinsville. The county, founded in 1846, is named for Lewis Wetzel, a famous frontiersman and Indian fighte ...
, USA, about south of Jacksonburg on County Route 82. It is located on of steep terrain with narrow valleys and ridgetops. The WMA second growth mixed
hardwoods Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
and hemlock with a thick
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...
of mountain laurel and rhododendron. The wildlife management area and Wetzel County are named for
Lewis Wetzel Lewis Wetzel (1763 (reference: C. B. Allman 1931) – 1808) was an American scout, frontiersman, and indian fighter in the United States. Raised in what is now the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, his exploits once hailed as similar to those o ...
, an early settler and frontiersman in this area of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
.


Hunting and fishing

Hunting opportunities include
deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
,
grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondria ...
,
raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
, squirrel and
turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. Fishing opportunities on the South Fork of Fishing Creek can include smallmouth bass,
spotted bass The spotted bass (''Micropterus punctulatus''), also called spotty, or spots in various fishing communities, is a species of North American freshwater fish belonging to the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of the order Perciformes. It is noted fo ...
and
trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...
. County Route 20 follows the South Fork of Fishing Creek. Rustic camping is available seasonally in the WMA. A shooting range is also available.


See also

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Animal conservation Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...
*
Camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...
*
Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
*
Hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
*
List of West Virginia wildlife management areas This is a list of wildlife management areas in West Virginia. West Virginia wildlife management areas References See also * List of West Virginia state parks * List of West Virginia state forests {{Protected areas of West Virginia 01 Wi ...


References


External links


West Virginia DNR District 1 Wildlife Management AreasWest Virginia Hunting RegulationsWest Virginia Fishing RegulationsWVDNR map of Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area
{{Protected Areas of West Virginia Campgrounds in West Virginia Protected areas of Wetzel County, West Virginia Wildlife management areas of West Virginia IUCN Category V