Laurel Lake Wildlife Management Area is located in Mingo County

Mingo County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,253 people, 11,303 households, and 8,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 67 people per square mile . There were 12,898 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...

, West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 about 17 miles (27.4 km) east of Kermit

Kermit, West Virginia

Kermit is a town in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. Kermit is located along the Tug Fork, opposite Warfield, Kentucky...

. Located on 12856 acres (5,202.6 ha) of steep terrain with narrow valleys and ridgetops, the WMA contains second growth mixed hardwoods and hemlock

Tsuga

Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....

 with thick understory

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...

 of mountain laurel and rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...

.



To reach Laurel Lake WMA from Kermit follow U.S. Route 52

U.S. Route 52 in West Virginia

U.S. Route 52 skirts the western fringes of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It runs from the Virginia state line near Bluefield, where it is concurrent with Interstate 77, in a general northwest and north direction to Interstate 64 at Kenova...

 south about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to Naugatuck at the intersection of West Virginia Route 65. Then follow WV 65 about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to Lenore. From Lenore, follow Old Norfolk & Western Railroad Bed Road (County Route 3/5) east about 6 miles (9.7 km) to Laurel Lake.

Hunting and Fishing

Hunting opportunities include bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, deer, grouse

Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...

, raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

, squirrel

Squirrel

Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

, and turkey

Wild Turkey

The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...

.

Fishing opportunities in the 29 acres (11.7 ha) Laurel Lake can include smallmouth bass

Smallmouth bass

The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

, channel catfish

Channel catfish

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...

, and bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

.

Camping is not permitted in the WMA. Camping and lodging are available at nearby Chief Logan State Park

Chief Logan State Park

Chief Logan State Park is located on about north of Logan in Logan County, West Virginia, United States. The park, the town and the county were all named after Chief Logan, a Mingo Native American leader who lived in the region before the American Revolutionary War...

 and Cabwaylingo State Forest

Cabwaylingo State Forest

Cabwaylingo State Forest is a state forest in Wayne County, West Virginia, USA. Cabwaylingo's dense forest was restored and its facilities constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps throughout the 1930s and 1940s...

.

See also

• Animal conservation
• Fishing
  Fishing
  Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
  
  
• Hunting
  Hunting
  Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
  
  
• List of West Virginia wildlife management areas

External links

• Laurel Lake WMA web site
• West Virginia DNR District 5 Wildlife Management Areas
• West Virginia Hunting Regulations
• West Virginia Fishing Regulations