Wildlife Commission to Conduct Nine Public Hearings Starting Jan. 7

  • 20 December 2013
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Wildlife Commission to Conduct Nine Public Hearings Starting Jan. 7
Be sure to attend one of nine public hearings in January to provide your comments on 42 proposed changes to fishing, hunting and game lands regulations for the 2014-15 seasons.

RALEIGH, N.C. (Dec. 20, 2013) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will conduct nine public hearings in January on proposed changes to the state’s wildlife management, game lands and fishing regulations for the 2014-15 seasons.

Each of the public hearings begins at 7 p.m. The Wildlife Resources Commission also has scheduled a staff presentation 30 minutes before each hearing to discuss statewide black bear management objectives. The 6:30 p.m. presentation and discussion will give background information about rule proposals that further objectives in the North Carolina Black Bear Management Plan, 2012-2022. The plan assists the Wildlife Commission in managing bear hunting to maintain healthy bear populations consistent with habitat where bears occur, and balancing the consideration of stakeholders.

Other hunting proposals make changes to the Western Archery Deer Season, and adjust regulations for black powder firearms and crossbows.

Of interest to anglers is a statewide proposed regulation that encourages private landowners to allow public angler access to inland fishing waters through their property under an agreement with the Commission.  The proposal provides landowners the ability to prescribe allowable activities on their property.  Each area will be clearly marked with signs identifying activities allowed.

Another statewide proposed fishing regulation will provide anglers the option to label trotlines, set hooks and jug hooks with their names and addresses or with their WRC customer numbers.  Allowing anglers to use their WRC customer numbers will help protect privacy by limiting the personal information required on the labels.

The “Public Hearings Applying to 2014-2015 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Seasons” booklet, which provides a detailed list of all 42 proposed regulations, along with a comment form, is available online.

The schedule for the 2014-2015 public hearings is below. Meetings to discuss the six bear proposals begin at 6:30 p.m. Public hearings begin at 7 p.m.

DATE

DISTRICT

CITY

LOCATION

Jan. 7

4

Dublin

Bladen Community College
Auditorium
7418 N.C. Hwy. 41W
Dublin, N.C. 28332

Jan. 8

5

Graham

Courthouse
1 Court Square
Graham, N.C. 27253

Jan. 9

6

Norwood

South Stanly High School
40488 South Stanly School Rd.
Norwood, N.C. 28128

Jan. 14

9

Murphy

Tri-County Community College
Enloe Multi-purpose Room
21 Campus Circle,
Murphy, N.C. 28906

Jan. 15

8

Newton

1924 Courthouse
Catawba County Museum of History
30 N College Ave.
Newton, N.C. 28658

Jan. 16

7

Wilkesboro

The Walker Center
Wilkes Community College
1328 S. Collegiate Dr.
Wilkesboro, N.C. 28697

Jan. 21

1

Edenton

Swain Auditorium
200 E. Church St.
Edenton, N.C. 27932

Jan. 22

2

New Bern

Craven County Courthouse
302 Broad St.
 New Bern, N.C.  28560

Jan. 23

3

Rocky Mount

Nash Community College
Brown Auditorium
522 North Old Carriage Rd.
Rocky Mount, N.C. 27804


Download a high-resolution of the photo above. Please credit Melissa McGaw/NCWRC.;
Media Contact:
Jodie B. Owen
919-707-0187
jodie.owen@ncwildlife.org
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