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ELKINS – Randolph County's National Forest and state land and Pocahontas County's National Forest land have been named as permit areas for this year's antlerless deer lottery.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources announced this week that applications are open for both the 2026 antlerless deer and state park controlled lottery hunts.
This year's lottery includes 13 limited permit areas for antlerless deer, also including Boone County, Camp Creek State Forest, Daniels Ridge WMA, the west portion of Fayette County, the north portion of Greenbrier County, Greenbriar State Forest, the north and south portions of Kanawha County, National Forest land in Nicholas County, the west portion of Raleigh County, and Webster County.
The deadline to apply for the antlerless deer lottery is Sept. 4 by 11:59 p.m. Applicants can check the status of their application beginning on Sept. 15 at WVhunt.com.
Lottery winners will be notified via email by the first week of October, according to WVDNR. Hunters can apply online in the WVhunt portal, either individually or as a group. All applicants must have a valid hunting license.
The antlerless deer lottery hunts have been hosted by the DNR for several years and act as a way to control populations, manage hunts, and protect habitats.
"These lottery hunts are critical for managing West Virginia's deer population and protecting natural habitats across the state," DNR Director Brett McMillion said in a release.
Each year the lottery is the DNR's means of issuing a limited number of Class N stamps, for residents, and the equivalent Class NN stamps, for nonresidents. The Class N stamp entitles the licensee to hunt and take antlerless deer during the specified Class N season, in a designated county or public land where additional harvest is needed.
The 2026 Class N season dates for limited permit areas are Oct. 22-25, Nov. 23 to Dec. 7, Dec. 10-13 and Dec. 28-31.
"By participating in these managed hunts, our hunters can play a role in conservation while gaining exclusive access to some of the most scenic public lands and state parks the Mountain State has to offer," said McMillion.
In addition to the antlerless deer lottery, the DNR is also accepting applications for controlled hunts in multiple state parks.
The state park lottery hunt applications are open for Beech Fork, Pipestem Resort, Stonewall Resort and Twin Falls Resort.
The state park controlled hunts are subject to West Virginia's hunting regulations, but deer harvested during these hunts do not count toward a hunter's annual bag limit, as stated by WVDNR.
The deadline to apply is Aug. 31 by midnight, and hunters can apply online at WVhunt.com. There is a $15 application fee and each application can include up to two hunters, according to WVDNR. The drawings will take place on Sept. 3 and winners will be notified between Sept. 8-25.
The state park hunts are scheduled to take place in November with varying dates between locations. Beech Fork, Nov. 9-11 and Nov. 16-18, Pipestream, Nov. 11-13, Stonewall, Nov. 2-4, Nov. 9-11 and Twin Falls, Nov. 9-11. Information regarding state park-specific permit details can be found on the WVDNR website under West Virginia Lottery Hunts.