North Carolina Wildlife Commission Approves Wildlife Management, Game Land, Fishing Rules
OutdoorHub 02.28.14
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has approved changes to the state’s wildlife management, game land and fishing regulations for the 2014-15 season. These new regulations will take effect Aug. 1, 2014.
Following a process of reviewing public comments on the proposed changes, the Commission voted to adopt the regulation changes at its Feb. 27 business meeting in Raleigh.
The proposals were approved as presented at the public hearings with several exceptions. Text to five proposals was amended, one proposal was disapproved, and three proposals were removed from consideration.
The amended proposals were:
- A hunting proposal (H-8) that removes Alexander, Catawba, Iredell, Stokes and Yadkin counties from the list of counties where hunting bear with dogs is prohibited;
- A hunting proposal (H13) that will allow deer and bears to be taken with any type of handgun and ammunition, replacing the words “except body armor-piercing projectiles will be prohibited” with “unless otherwise prohibited by law.”
- A game land proposal (G2) that will add bear to the approved regulation that makes the Lick Creek tract of Alcoa Game Land in Davidson County an archery-only area for deer hunting.
- A game land proposal (G6) that will allow hunting deer with dogs on Stones Creek Game Land in Onslow County on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, not Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
- An inland fishing proposal (F2) that will designate .5 mile of the West Fork Pigeon River in Haywood County below Lake Logan as a Public Mountain Trout Waters, classified as Wild Trout Waters, and not Catch and Release/Artificial Lures Only Trout Waters.
A proposed game land regulation (G4) to designate Holly Shelter Game Land as a six-day-per-week game land and allow dog hunting for deer and bear on certain days of the week was disapproved.
Proposed rules removed from consideration were:
- A raccoon hunting proposal (H11) that would remove the restriction on hunting raccoons during daylight hours west of U.S. 1;
- Two inland fishing proposals that would prohibit the taking of American and hickory shad with dip and bow nets (F9) and prohibit the use of bow nets in inland fishing waters (F16).
The Commission also approved bear hunting regulations that establish a bear hunting season in the Piedmont and allow the aid or use of unprocessed foods for bear hunting on private lands as long as the bear is not actually consuming the unprocessed foods.
To view full text of the original 42 proposed regulations, visit the Commission’s website, www.ncwildlife.org and download the public hearings booklet.
