The positive side of this style of herd management is that antler size of bucks and body weight and overall physical condition of bucks, does and fawns will improve. If the herd needs to be reduced in certain areas, more liberal antlerless harvests will be put into place. If the herd is below management goals, the DNR will implement more conservative antlerless seasons.

DISTRICT I
In District I, which encompasses the Northern Panhandle and the northern reaches of the state, Preston County retains its status as the long- time archery harvest leader with 1,010 whitetails checked in during the 2005 season. I asked the DNR biologist for District I, Gary Foster, to list a county farther down the harvest parade that contains a large number of deer.

"I would recommend Marshall County as the county for District I," Foster said. "Marshall County has quality deer and turkey habitat, and a good diversity of mixed hardwood forests interspersed with agricultural lands. All of the Northern Panhandle counties, including Marshall, continue to support deer populations that are currently higher than the DNR's desired population level objectives. With regard to public lands, the county has a moderate number."

As a testament to how good the hunting in Marshall County can be, several times I have made the 5 1/2-hour drive from my home to go afield in this Northern Panhandle location. As Foster notes, the county only hosts a fair number of public lands, but I have always been able to find a place to hunt. Of course, that has been largely because I have always gone hunting with friends who live in the county. The late-summer period is an excellent time to try to gain access to the county's farms.

The bow harvest in Marshall has been fairly consistent over the last half decade. The tallies are as follows: 2001 (545), 2002 (580), 2003 (451), 2004 (506) and 2005 (458). Don't overlook other Northern Panhandle counties, Foster encourages, as potential destinations. Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties, for instance, feature considerable deer herds, too.

Concerning public lands, the biologist lists the Underwood WMA (2,115 acres, a small portion is actually located in Wetzel County) as the one with the most acreage. Underwood WMA personifies the type of rolling hill terrain that characterizes Marshall County, as this public land offers elevations from 800 to 1,510 feet. The WMA has more clearings than most Mountain State WMAs do and it also contains a tributary of Fish Creek.

DISTRICT II
With 419 whitetails checked in, Berkeley led the bow harvest last year in District II, which consists of the Eastern Panhandle and a number of eastern West Virginia counties. Berkeley's appearance was a little bit of a surprise, as it was the third place finisher in 2004 behind Grant and Hardy. Last year, however, Berkeley was the leader and the other two counties fell to second and third, respectively.

The Eastern Panhandle is one of the hardest places in West Virginia to gain access to private lands, so I would suggest looking outside of the Panhandle. My choice would be Pendleton County, which came in fifth place last year -- with 329 -- out of the eight counties in District II. The harvests from the four previous years were as follows: 2001 (599), 2002 (594), 2003 (440) and 2004 (371).