Bear Hunting

 

Bear hunting in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, is deeply intertwined with the region's geography, agricultural survival, hound culture, and the evolution of modern wildlife conservation.

Frontier Sustenance and County Origins When early pioneers and long hunters entered the Greenbrier Valley in the 18th century, black bears were an essential resource for meat, durable hide, and rendered fat (bear grease), which served as cooking oil, waterproofing, and machinery lubricant. The county’s earliest identity was shaped by hunting culture: when Pocahontas County was formed in 1821, its first designated county seat was named Huntersville—established at an intersection of historic game and trading trails near Knapps Creek where trappers gathered to trade pelts and meat.

The Agricultural Conflict and the Bounty Era During the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries, large-scale sheep farming expanded across the highland pastures of the county. Black bears were viewed primarily as devastating livestock predators rather than prized game.

• The Sheep Killers: A single marauding bear could wipe out dozens of sheep in a few nights, threatening a family farm's solvency.
• Community "Troubleshooters": Local legends like twin brothers Austin and Oscar Sharp gained renown across the Allegheny highlands in the 1930s and 1940s. Farmers from Elk Mountain to the Cranberry backcountry would call on skilled woodsmen like the Sharps to track down specific livestock-killing bears.
• The County Bounty: Like several neighboring highland counties, Pocahontas County funded a formal bounty system, paying hunters cash per bear kill to protect livestock herds.

Conservation and Legal Redefinition (1969) Unregulated hunting, combined with early 20th-century clear-cut logging and the bounty system, dramatically reduced black bear numbers across West Virginia.

The turning point arrived in 1969, when the West Virginia Legislature officially classified the black bear as a protected state game animal rather than vermin. That same year:

• Pocahontas County officially abolished its local bounty system.
• Regulated seasons, bag limits, and biological monitoring were introduced under state wildlife agencies.
• Black bear restoration gained traction with the expansion of protected public acreage across the Monongahela National Forest, Cranberry Wilderness, and Seneca State Forest.

Hound Heritage and the Modern Chase Modern bear hunting in Pocahontas County is centered around hound culture. Traditional packs—primarily Plott Hounds, Bluetick Coonhounds, Treeing Walkers, and Black and Tans—are bred specifically to trail and tree bears in steep, laurel-choked terrain.

• The Tradition of the Chase: In modern hound hunting, the kill is secondary to the pursuit. Many organized parties tree a bear, leash their dogs, and walk away without harvesting the animal.
• Technological Shift: While older generations relied strictly on woodsmanship, horn calls, and "standers" placed along ridges, contemporary hunters combine deep local terrain knowledge with radio telemetry, VHF tracking, and GPS collars.

Today, with robust bear populations across the Allegheny Mountains, bear hunting remains an active seasonal heritage managed through strict harvest reporting and regulated hunting seasons.