Virginia: Expanded Hunting in Draft Plan for James River National Wildlife Refuge

The plan contains three management alternatives.  Alternative A describes how the Refuge is currently managed and serves as a baseline against which to compare Alternatives B and C.  Alternative A would continue to accommodate public archery, muzzleloader, and shotgun deer hunting opportunities in the fall.

Alternative B is the Service’s preferred alternative.  It would pursue Service administrative requirements to expand public deer hunting, open the refuge to spring and fall turkey hunting, open the refuge to limited waterfowl hunting by youth, and promote youth involvement in all hunting opportunities.

Under Alternative C, the Refuge’s visitor services programs and opportunities would expand on those identified under Alternative B, with modest increases in hunting along with providing access and infrastructure to additional areas of the refuge.

The draft plan can be viewed here.  The draft plan is open for public comment for 30 days ending on November 30th.  Comments may be submitted by emailing to EasternVirginiaRiversNWRC@fws.gov.  Please include “James River CCP” in the subject line of the message.

For further information about the Refuge and the draft plan, you may contact Rebekah Martin, Deputy Refuge Manager, 804-333-1470, extension 113 or by email.  Please put “James River NWR” in the subject line of your email.

If you hunt, please take a few minutes to submit comments in support of Alternative C which provides the most for expanded hunting opportunities and access for hunting on the James River NWR.  The Service needs to hear from hunters about the importance of sustaining and expanding hunting opportunities on this Refuge.