Hearing set on opening Sunday hunting
Published 2:23 pm Wednesday, July 18, 2018
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking participation in an online survey across the state for Sunday hunting. The survey will be available through Friday, Aug. 31, and data collected will be used to evaluate options for Sunday hunting on game lands.
The game lands below are currently under consideration because they are either owned by the commission or owned by a cooperator who enrolled their land into the game lands program and is interested in obtaining public input about allowing Sunday hunting.
Coastal areas include Alligator River, Angola Bay, Bertie Co., Bullard and Branch Hunting Preserve, Cape Fear Wetlands, Carteret Co., Chowan, Columbus Co., Croatan, Dare, Gull Rock, Holly Shelter, J. Morgan Futch, Juniper Creek, Lantern Acres, Light Ground Pocosin, Lower Roanoke River Wetlands, Neuse River, New Lake, North River, N.W. River Marsh, Rhodes Pond, Roanoke Island Marsh, Robeson, Rocky Run, Stones Creek, Suggs Mill Pond, Texas Plantation, Van Swamp, White Oak River and Whitehall Plantation.
Piedmont: Brinkleyville, Embro, Linwood, Lower Fishing Creek, Nicholson Creek, Pee Dee River, R. Wayne Bailey-Caswell, Sandhills, Sandy Creek, Second Creek, Shocco Cree, Tar River, Tillery, Upper Roanoke River, Uwharrie and Vance.
Mountains: Buffalo Cove, Cold Mountain, Green River, Johns River, Nantahala, Needmore, Pisgah, Pond Mountain, Sandy Mush, South Mountains, Three Top Mountain, Thurmond Chatham, Toxaway and William H. Silver.
Since 1868, hunting on Sundays has been prohibited by state law. However, in 2015, legislation was passed removing the absolute prohibition on hunting with firearms on Sunday. In July 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly granted public land managers, including the Wildlife Resources Commission, authority to implement new options for Sunday hunting on public lands.
For more information, including an interactive map of the game lands under consideration, answers to frequently asked questions and access to the survey, visit ncwildlife.org/Public-Opinion-Survey