Beagles are a favorite breed among rabbit hunters, and are especially effective when sportsmen don't have tracking snow on the ground. Here Preston Triplett of Forest Hill holds up a Summers County cottontail. Photo by Bruce Ingram

By Bruce Ingram

Last December when I met Chris Ellis at his Fayetteville home in preparation for a late-season deer-hunting trip to Jackson County, I was surprised when, as we were leaving, he called for his dog to come along. Ellis, who is the wildlife marketing representative for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR), had a ready explanation for his pooch's presence.

"I love late-season deer hunting, especially with a bow, don't get me wrong," Ellis said. "But late December is also a great time to go squirrel hunting, and I just can't pass up the opportunity to take my dog out into the woods. I love heading out for a day of squirrel hunting with a dog by my side. And when I see a barking dog tree a squirrel and then know that I only have a few seconds to get into position for a shot before the squirrel holes up, well, in my opinion, that's just as exciting as hunting for deer or turkeys."

Pursuing squirrels and rabbits is a traditional West Virginia pastime. Veteran sportsmen will no doubt remember that not too many decades ago, bushytails and rabbits were the focus of many, if not most, Mountain State hunters. The decades of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were times of low deer and turkey populations, and squirrel and rabbit dishes were important staples in the diets of many state residents.

As a boy in the 1950s, I can well remember visiting my grandma and having fried squirrel, gravy and biscuits for breakfast and then dining on fried squirrel again for dinner. The entire family held my late Uncle Vernon in high esteem, as he was someone who could be counted on to bag a limit of bushytails, and thus supply enough meat for several meals.

For example, in 2002, the state as a whole endured a poor mast crop. This resulted in squirrels experiencing a rough winter with the animals either dying or entering the breeding season in poor shape. Thus, squirrel numbers in most areas of West Virginia were well below normal in the fall of 2003 and success rates were down for many hunters.

A second major factor, although not as important as the first, is the harshness of the winter. The winter of 2002-03 was considered severe in most areas of the state and that fact, too, contributed to squirrel mortality. The survivors entered the breeding season in less than peak condition. In short, the poor mast production and harsh winter combined to knock back the state's squirrel population.

Fortunately, squirrels have the ability to recover quickly from adverse weather and food conditions. Both the fox and gray species typically produce two litters a year and litters of five are not uncommon. Unfortunately, however, in 2003 (the mast-producing year that will have the most effect on squirrel populations for this year), mast production was far from satisfactory.

The survey takes place at nearly 300 sites in all regions of the Mountain State. As noted earlier, the 2002 mast situation was described as spotty and 2003 was described as being "not a boom year, either." This means that the squirrels likely entered the 2004 brooding season in poor condition. And that fact translates into fewer animals being available this fall and tough hunting likely in many areas.

A closer examination of the 2003 mast production bears this out. It was the third year in a row that mast production was below normal. That year also saw the second lowest production of acorns since 1970. The cold rains that occurred during the spring of 2003 had a very negative impact on the flowering of many of the oak species, such as the white and chestnut varieties. Overall, nine of the 18 mast producers on the survey had lower production than the 34-year average.

For squirrels, the only good news, report Pack and Taylor, is that the "most important food for squirrels (hickory) doubled the figure from 2002." West Virginia's squirrel contingent relishes the nuts of such hickory species as shagbark, mockernut, pignut, and those trees produced fruit in great quantities. However, the hickory production was not able to offset the poor production of many other hard and soft mast trees and shrubs. And a look around the state shows this to be true.

In the eastern part of West Virginia, squirrel numbers were down because of the poor mast situation. Counties with fair bushytail populations, relatively speaking, include Berkley and Hampshire. The mountain counties of the central and southern regions also were described as having a lack of mast, and squirrel numbers were listed as being low or poor. Squirrels were most abundant, again relatively speaking, in Greenbrier, Pocahontas and Webster counties.

Southern West Virginia hunters had to deal with decreasing squirrel populations and poor mast, with the highest squirrel populations, comparatively, in McDowell, Mercer and Clay counties. Northern West Virginia saw squirrel numbers in 2003 similar to those in 2002 - that is, poor. Lewis and Upshur counties offered the best hunting, relatively speaking. The same statement was valid for northern West Virginia with Doddridge and Gilmer counties offering the best hope for success.

If this news was not gloomy enough, then squirrel enthusiasts should consider another downer of a fact - the weather in April and May of 2004 was cooler, damper and wetter than normal. No doubt, mast production of such trees as white oaks was negatively impacted by the inclement weather. Squirrel hunting could be very difficult and the bushytails are hard to find this fall and winter as well (the season continues through Jan. 31).

To confirm - or disprove - that last statement, biologist Chris Ryan urges squirrel hunters to visit the agency's Web site at www.wvdnr. gov. In the search engine, type in "mast survey." Doing so will take you to the "2004 West Virginia Hunting Outlook."

There you can preview the overall forecast for squirrels, plus rabbits and other big-game and small-game species, on a region-by-region basis. Plus, there is information about specific counties and comments from mast survey participants. The hunting outlook and mast survey will obviously not tell hunters what precise conditions exist in, say, southern Mingo County; but the report will give solid, general information about overall hunting prospects. Based on the poor mast situation and the downward trend in squirrel numbers, at press time Ryan was not optimistic about the coming season.