Virginia Bear Foundation - VBF

08/10/2026

Here's a fantastic recipe for bear burger.
In a loaf pan, layer cottage cheese on bottom with one tablespoon of Italian seasoning mixed in, burger next, then chopped onions, peppers and tomatoes. Then layer cheese , olives and pepperoni on top then bake at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese melts. It's called a pizza bowl and it's incredible.


American Bear Foundation

07/19/2026

07/19/2026

Yesterday the the chapter president Eric T Lehmann , Vice president Wayne Dixon and board member Tristan Dean went to Star City Whitetails event Antlerstock. Folks showed up early and waited in line to have their bear skulls scored. Unbelievably the first bear to show up was a Kodiak Brown bear. What an honor it was to meet everyone and handle some incredible bears . Please come out and see us at the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show in two weeks if you want your bear scored and couldn't get a ticket for Antlerstock.

07/08/2026

Now this would definitely be a once in a lifetime trip for the average guy. Check it out but act fast because there is only so many tickets left.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1LajgcvL8y/

Win this hunt! Over $40,000 package. ABF members get 2 free entries, life members get 6 free entries!

Link in profile!

06/16/2026

Due to poor planning on our part, the picnic has been cancelled. We'll reschedule at a later date. We did not realize that we had planned it on Father's day weekend. Have a great weekend everyone 😁.

Come on out and meet the board of directors for the Virginia Bear Foundation this Saturday June 20th at 1:00 pm . Free food, bring the family and enjoy some fellowship with other like minded folks. We're sorry for the short notice and please RSVP via our messenger.

717 Lee Jackson Hwy
Staunton VA 24401

03/08/2026

Virginia Bear Foundation on the 2026 Legislative Session

All problematic hunting-specific bills have been defeated or tabled until 2027. This is not a cause for celebration, but an opportunity for honest conversation.

All three bills were attempts to address a perceived problem. Whether you agree with that perception or not is irrelevant—the issue is not going away.

This conversation is nothing new, but it has certainly gained momentum over the last five years.

Landowner stakeholder groups felt compelled to pursue legislative solutions and impose them statewide due to hunters’ collective refusal to consider solutions or regulatory compromise.

As a national conservation organization, we see no benefit in a punitive system that allocates $0 toward conservation funding.

Specifically, any revenue generated by these bills would have been earmarked solely for administrative costs and enforcement, rather than supporting the primary mission of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources: to conserve and manage wildlife populations and habitat for the benefit of present and future generations.

Can we all agree—landowners and hunters alike, regardless of affiliation—that taking money out of hunters’ pockets while allocating none of it to conservation is wrong?

Do you want punishment, or do you want solutions? Is it your way or the highway, or is mutual compromise a serious consideration?

The Virginia Bear Foundation remains steadfast in our mission of bear conservation. We support all bear hunters, and because we support anyone who buys a bear tag, we find ourselves squarely in the middle of this honest—but difficult—conversation.

Our members are diverse. They are landowners. They are still/stand hunters. And they own hunting dogs.

We are uniquely positioned to have this conversation honestly, and we ask you to do the same.

As we continue working toward a solution that all stakeholders can bear—pun intended—we ask everyone to remember the common goal: conserving and managing wildlife populations and habitat for the benefit of present and future generations.

02/25/2026

HB1396 UPDATE AND NEW CONTACT LIST!

Thank you to everyone who has continued to call and email. Our Board Representative from the Highland-Bath district spent the entire day at the legislature yesterday, attending the subcommittee and subsequent committee votes, and meeting with Senators individually throughout the day. We achieved partial results in part thanks to your response to our call to action. Thank you for everyone for continuing to call and email!

HB1396 was amended yesterday to clarify some language and add a landowner exemption. This is the 3rd positive amendment achieved, but the bill ultimetately passed through the Senate Agriculture Conservation and Natural Resources committee with a vote of 8 to 6.

Our fight has shifted to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. Contact information below. Keep up the pressure!

02/24/2026

02/24/2026

STAND HUNTERS, STILL HUNTERS, AND LANDOWNERS! CALL TO ACTION!

Do you realize the implications of HB1396 on YOU? Have you scrolled past or ignored the noise thinking It doesn’t affect you. Think again!

When you check a deer or bear in with the GoOutdoorVA app, it asks a specific question. “With the aid of dogs?” Yes or no. Have you EVER answered yes?

HB1396 similarly requires a $19 permit for “persons that hunt game animals, fur bearing animals, or nuisance species WITH THE AID OF DOGS.”

Thats right, you don’t have to own em’ or run em’ you simply have to benefit from them to violate this proposed statute. Could that EVER happen to you? Then this bill matters to you too.

This is not a bill to regulate hounds and houndsmen, this is a bill that affects ALL HUNTERS even if you do not buy a license as an EXEMPT LANDOWNER. This is a proposed PERMIT SYSTEM, the exempt landowner statute applies to “hunting, trapping, or fishing LICENSES.”

You may pride yourself in always doing the right thing while afield, you may not even own a dog, much less a hunting dog, but if you don’t apply for and purchase this permit and that lone straggler that has broken off from the pack runs you your dream of a lifetime, you better place that safety back on.

Call and email today. VOTE NO on HB1396 for all hunters and landowners in Virginia, this bill ain’t about “just dogs.”

*Additional Senator added in the comments*

02/24/2026

We received 1 day’s notice HB1396 would be heard this morning at 9:30am in the Senate ACNR Subcommittee of Companion Animals. We sent our Chapter Board representative from the Highland-Bath district. He took the day off work last second, dropped everything, and made the drive for all of our members and supporters here in Virginia and across the U.S.

Unfortunately, not the result we wanted, passing the subcommittee 2 votes to 1. It doesn’t get much closer than that!

HB1396 is on to the full committee, we’ll keep sending representatives, but we need YOU to keep calling and emailing, our work is not done yet and we cannot do it without your support!