CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The adage about teaching an old dog new tricks can often apply to old hunters too. Sometimes we become so set in our ways, the thought of change disrupts our entire approach. But one organization has dedicated itself to using gentle persuasion to get hunters and sportsmen to at least consider rotating away from traditional lead ammunition for hunting season.

The North American Non-Lead Partnership is a non-profit group which travels the country helping explain the conservation motive behind their suggestion.

“We know that lead hunting ammunition has been around for a long time and one thing we’ve realized is whenever that lead bullet hits an animal while hunting, it fragments. Those fragments, a lot of times, get fed upon by scavenger birds or other wildlife that are feeding on gut piles,” said Adam Miller with the organization during a recent appearance on West Virginia Outdoors.

A ballistics comparison of a 30-06, 180 grain Federal Trophy Copper on the left vs 30-06 180 grain Nosler partition (lead) on the right

When those lead fragments wind up in the food change of vultures, eagles, or other scavengers they can cause lead positioning and a host of detrimental effects on the birds and much of the ecosystem. Some have previously advocated for forcing the change through legislation or ballot initiatives. Miller and his organization believe the carrot is a much better way to persuade sportsmen than the stick.

“Hunting is part of people’s heritage and the way we work with people is getting them to make a choice to preserve that heritage, rather than lead ammunition bans or ballot box initiatives,” he explained.

Testing has proven the lead fragmentation to be fact and not theory. Miller uses seminars across the country to lay out his presentation for influential members of the hunting public to help them understand the facts and to suggest alternatives to lead. The most widely accepted choice is copper. The effort to shift away from high powered lead rifle ammo is comparable to the transition made from lead to steel or other non-toxic shot for waterfowl hunting.

“Just like when that change happened for waterfowl hunting, people had to learn to use different ammo because it performs differently,” he explained. “Copper ammo is less dense than lead. So if you have a 30-caliber bullet that’s lead and a 30-caliber bullet that’s copper and they’re the same grain, it’s going to be a longer bullet for your copper load.”

Miller travels the nation demonstrating the performance of copper vs lead. He’ll conduct such a seminar for a select group of DNR and Sportsmen’s leaders this weekend in West Virginia.

“Sometimes you have to change the ammunition you’re using to make sure it performs just as well, if not better, than what you traditionally use,” he explained.

Miller said typically they recommend sizing down from lead ammo by 15 to 20 percent in grain weight when transitioning to copper.

“That makes for similar aerodynamics so it has similar performance. So, there is a learning curve to it,” said Miller.

The other big consideration hunters will raise about a change is the cost of copper ammo vs. lead. Miller had researched those possibilities as well. He acknowledged in some parts of the country copper ammo might be harder to find. He also advised sportsmen would need to read labels and packaging carefully to make sure they selected the correct material. However, it’s becoming more common to find lead as the push to make the transition grows.

As for the price, Miller said it is comparable depending on what brand and quality of ammo you select. You’ll be hard pressed to find copper ammo at the same price as the base lead ammunition. However, he suggested if you go up in quality the price tended to level out.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to find a copper bullet that would compare to your Remington “Core-Lokt” which has been around for years. But when it comes to premium hunting ammunition like a Nosler Partitioned lead bullet, they’re actually comparable in price,” he said.

West Virginia’s roster is loaded with star talent (by WVU’s standards) on both sides of the ball, and even special teams. But there are more than a handful of players that don’t quite get the recognition they deserve.

Who are they?

In this week’s fan poll, I asked who the most underrated player was on the roster giving the following options: WR Preston Fox, DL Edward Vesterinen, C Brandon Yates, and TE Treylan Davis. It just so happens that they finished in that exact order of receiving votes. Fox won the poll pretty comfortably with 41.3%, Vesterinen checks in at second with 30.7%, Yates in third with 19%, and Davis finished fourth with 9%.

Fox is without question the most underrated player on the roster, in my opinion, so I’ll agree with the fans. He catches pretty much everything thrown his way and makes the difficult ones look easy. I’m sure Jaden Bray and Traylon Ray will get more targets, but when the Mountaineers need to move the sticks, look for Fox to be who Garrett Greene looks to.

I threw Vesterinen in there as a bit of a wrinkle because although he probably doesn’t get the attention during game broadcasts, most WVU fans realize the value he brings on the defense. I would argue the same could be said with Yates, who has played a ton of football and started at several positions. If it were a redshirt freshman or sophomore that had no starting experience, I think there would be greater concern with the center position heading into the season.

Davis would have been my second choice because he truly flies under the radar, living in the rather large shadow of Kole Taylor. Sure, Davis doesn’t pose the same threat in the passing game, but he’s capable of making some plays. He’s improved that aspect of his game each year while also remaining the top blocking tight end on the roster. Davis is just as important to the Mountaineers’ success on the ground as anyone lining up across the offensive line.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On Thursday, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and GAI Consultants held a media briefing at the Kanawha County Library to unveil a first look at a draft concept of the Capital Connector Project.

The Capital Connector is a project that aims to connect Charleston’s East End and West Side by enhancing the area by the Kanawha River, specifically the Kanawha Boulevard Walk and Bikeway.

The project will begin at Magic Island on Charleston’s West Side and will go for over three miles to the base of the 35th Street Bridge. Upgrades will also come to parts of Greenbrier Street connecting the East End and the West Virginia State Capitol Complex.

Mayor Goodwin says plans are coming to fruition and just now becoming available for the public, but the work to get this project started goes back to the beginning of her time in office.

“Five and a half years ago when I first became mayor, we started on this,” Goodwin said Thursday. “We started going after the funding to do this type of planning. This is something that, for five and a half years, we’ve been working on, but honestly, the city has been asking for this for decades.”

Charleston received a $25 million RAISE grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation in late June after receiving over $1 million in 2023 to do an initial study.

Kanawha County resident Heidi Talmage says she was surprised at how much funding is going towards the project.

“I was stunned at how much funding is going to be available for this project,” Talmage said. “It sounds like they are really expecting to be able to do something very meaningful and not just a little band-aid on a long-term problem.”

Talmage also says she thinks this project bringing in more people to the city.

“I think this is going to be a big benefit to the town and to make it more attractive to a bigger variety of people,” Talmage said.

One of the ways the Capital Connector Project may attract more people to the city is the vision to enhance commuter trails along the Kanawha Boulevard. To make the Kanawha Boulevard Walk and Bikeway better, the City of Charleston and GAI Consultants want to reduce four to five 12-foot traffic lanes, allowing for expansion of the pedestrian pathway. In addition, the concept has intersection signal modifications, lighting upgrades, and better stormwater management.

James Yost, Landscape Architect manager for GAI Consultants, says this project means a lot to him and is worth the long days and late nights.

“I’ve lived in Charleston my entire life,” Yost said. “At 36 years old, I’m able to do my most important project that I’ve ever had to do to date. I’m very excited every day I get to work on this. We’ve had many late nights, and it doesn’t matter because I’m enjoying every minute of this.”

Yost was the main presenter at the hearing Thursday night, and he answered questions from community members about the plans.

Community members were able to write in public comments Thursday evening to help expand the vision and can do so until September 14.

Goodwin says it’s the citizens that need to make their voices heard so the project can be catered to them.

“We can come up with what we think would be really great for the city, but it’s you,” Goodwin said. “It’s the public telling us, ‘Hey, I saw this when I was traveling to this city,’ so obviously there’s great inspiration you’re going to see from different cities, but it’s coming from our public.”

Goodwin says there are so many ideas for the project, that some may be put on the backburner to fit the budget.

“The construction grant is $25 million, that’s the funding that we have,” Goodwin said. “We also have to look at what we actually can do within those budget restraints.”

Yost says GAI and the city are keeping their eye on future projects that might not be within the budget.

“We are also looking at even future projects as well,” Yost said. “We’ve highlighted a few areas along the trail that might not be within this first round of money that we get, but it’s something else that we can add on to because the $25 million is going to go so far and then there’s always the future as they continue to add on to the space and then expand into the communities as well.”

There will be another meeting regarding the Capital Connector Project in the coming months that will focus on design development.

A summer 2025 groundbreaking is the goal for the Capital Connector.