5000 hours is roughly the equivalent of 2-½ years of full-time work. Three active Virginia Hunter Education instructors have each contributed over 5000 hours to the VDGIF, together training over 27,000 students to be safe, responsible, and knowledgeable hunters. VDGIF Executive Director Bob Duncan acknowledged their contributions at the August 19, 2008 Board Meeting, with the Director's Volunteer Service Award.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is proud to announce that Conservation Police Officer Sergeant Charlie Mullins has been named North American Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year by the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (NAWEOA).

It's that time of year again when white-tailed deer fawns are showing up in yards and hayfields and concerned citizens want to know how to help. In almost all cases, the best way to help is to simply give the fawn space and leave it alone. Fawns, born from April through July, are purposely left alone by their mothers. Female deer, called does, stay away from the fawns to avoid leading predators such as dogs or coyotes to their location. The white-spotted coat camouflages a fawn as it lies motionless in vegetation. By giving it a wide berth, you also reduce the risk of inadvertently leading predators to the hidden fawn. Does will return several times each day to move and/or feed their young. You probably will not see the doe at all since she only stays to feed the fawn for just a very few minutes before leaving it alone again.

Richmond, VA — After extensive testing of deer from every county in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) reports that there is no evidence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Virginia's white-tailed deer population. During the 2007-2008 hunting season, 1,140 samples were collected from free-ranging white-tailed deer throughout the Commonwealth. In addition to the samples collected from every county in Virginia, 106 samples were collected from an active surveillance focus area, which included the portion of Frederick County closest to the current cases of CWD in West Virginia.

Richmond, VA — Wildlife biologists with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) have compiled preliminary figures for bear, deer, and turkey harvests for the 2007- 2008 fall seasons. Several notable results of the 2007-2008 hunting season stand out. Deer harvests reached a record high this past season but even more importantly the doe harvest was greater than the buck kill for the first time since the check station system was initiated in 1947. The bear harvest was the second highest kill documented in Virginia and continues to show an increasing trend over the past decade. The fall turkey kill also increased over last year, an encouraging change considering turkey production has been poor in recent years. A summary of the preliminary harvest numbers for all three seasons follows.

Virginia establishes a new apprentice hunting license that will let people "test drive" hunting

Richmond, VA — Virginians interested in learning how to hunt, and Virginia hunters eager to share their sport with friends and family, now have a program that will make it easier for people new to hunting to give the sport a "test drive." The General Assembly has passed and Governor Tim Kaine has signed into law the companion bills that establish an apprentice hunting license. This new license will benefit people, regardless of age, who have not hunted before, but are interested in learning about hunting.

Interested in hunting? Start with a Hunter Education Course

Richmond, VA — Since the introduction of mandatory Hunter Education in 1988, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) has certified more than a half million men, women and children through the Hunter Education program. This is an impressive milestone for the program and for the Department.