A number of rules adopted at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s March Commission meeting will not be in effect when hunting seasons open this fall.

The North Carolina Rules Review Commission referred a number of the proposed rules changes to the General Assembly as a consequence of written opposition, an action required under state law. As a result, these rules changes cannot take effect until reviewed by the Legislature next year. Legislators have 30 days from the start of the next session to propose a bill disapproving
any of these rules. If no bill is proposed, the rules automatically go into effect for the 2010-11 season.
Rules NOT in effect for the 2009-2010 season:

H1) Require persons harvesting deer through the Deer Management Assistance Program to use tags provided by the Commission and report their harvests, whether those deer are antlerless or antlered. Allow harvest of deer on DMAP areas under the big game harvest report card and the bonus antlerless deer harvest report card, where applicable.

H2) Change the description of where bonus antlerless deer harvest report cards may be used from “private lands” to “lands other than those enrolled in the Commission’s Game Land Program” in order to permit the use of these cards on military installations, national wildlife refuges, and other public lands that are NOT game lands.

H3) Remove the daily bag limit for deer.

H4) Allow hunters to use archery equipment to harvest deer during the muzzleloading firearms season on game lands.

H5) Shorten the bow season by one week and open the muzzleloader season one week earlier to create a two week muzzleloader season.

H6) Deer seasons in the Northwestern deer season will be changed so that the regular gun season is extended through January 1. Deer seasons in the Eastern, Central, and Western deer season structures will remain unchanged.

H7) Deer seasons on game lands in the Northwestern deer season will be changed so that the regular gun season is extended through January 1. Deer seasons on game lands in the Eastern, Central, and Western deer season structures will remain unchanged.

H8) Open all private lands in the Eastern, Central, and Northwestern deer seasons to the maximum either-sex deer season.

H9) Assign all of Moore County to the Eastern deer season.

H25) Allow falconry on Sundays, except for migratory game birds.

H26) Allow bow hunting on Sundays on private lands only, except for migratory game birds.

H28) Allow the use of crossbows, without permit, anytime bow and arrows are legal weapons.

H48) Disallow the selling of live foxes and coyotes taken under a depredation permit to controlled hunting preserves.

H50) Allow a landowner with a valid depredation permit to give away the edible portions of deer to anyone. Require the recipient to retain a copy of the depredation permit.

H51) Eliminate the requirement that a landholder must get a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit for the taking of migratory birds before getting a Commission permit to do so. For a complete list, visit North Carolina’s 2009-2010 Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping regulations. For more information about this year’s delayed rules, see our previous news release and N.C. Wildlife Update.

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
1701 Mail Service Center  • Raleigh NC 27699-1701
(919) 707-0010
www.ncwildlife.org

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by Erick Prather, Missoula

After the great response to my last letter (Nov. 18) I’ve decided to write another.

Although some have labeled me as a “radical righty,” I was determined to fin

d my true political affiliation. So, I took three political party tests online and concluded that I wasn’t a lefty nor a righty; all three tests confirmed I was a centrist.

Therefore, as a centrist, I want to bring to attention H.R. 6257, the Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008. This has got to be the worst bill yet. Thankfully, it has never made it out of committee to be voted on. However, this is far from over and the battle will continue for at least four more years – more likely, forever.

President-elect Barack Obama stated at a VPC fundraiser in 2007 that his “first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban as soon as I take office,” “work with Congress on a National No Carry law,” “ban all semiautomatic weapons,” ” allow one gun purchase per month” and “within 90 days of taking office will go after all table dealers, Internet sales and gun show loop holes.”

As a gun enthusiast, I believe not all American’s should enjoy our Second Amendment. Those individuals who have elected not to be law-abiding citizens should not be permitted to carry or possess a firearm, and most are forbidden by law. Often, those who commit crimes involving guns are not obtained legally. I believe individuals who commit crimes with firearms should be prosecuted and penalized in a manner which they will reconsider committing another crime. I ask Congress to enforce the laws we have, revisit the penalties for criminals and protect our Constitution.

Good luck, may your god bless you, and stay informed!

Erick Prather, Missoula

http://www.missoulian.com/

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Changes in hunting and fishing regulations proposed by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for 2009-2010 include requiring hunters to attach a physical tag to deer and other big game at the harvest site starting in the fall of 2010.

Hunters would still be required to check in a harvest and obtain an authorization number for Big Game Harvest Report Cards. A return to hard tags was requested by many hunters in North Carolina and would improve the commission’s ability to monitor harvest, stated a commission press release. Continue Reading

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By John Snow
The promises he made on this subject are not ambiguous. He says he’ll recognize and support the Second Amendment as an individual right. He says we have no reason to be fearful that an Obama administration will seek to take away our guns or curb our freedoms. He spent a lot of time preaching this message to the “bitter clingers,” trying to earn trust, or at least allay suspicion.

To say that those who care deeply about the Second Amendment are skeptical about Obama’s promises puts it mildly—mostly because Obama’s record on gun-rights issues is equally unambiguous.

Throughout his career he has supported bans on “assault weapons” and the right to concealed carry. He has supported lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry and has put forth proposals to increase taxes on ammunition by as much as 500 percent. He’s been in favor of limiting the number of guns a person can purchase over the course of a month and restricting sales of handgun ammunition and ammunition. In fact, during his political career there has not been a piece of anti-gun legislation he hasn’t thrown his weight behind.

Yet he’s promised to keep his hands off our guns and off the Second Amendment.

Here’s to the hope that Obama will keep his word. Here’s to the hope that Obama will change.

Click here for the complete article in Outdoorlife

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The Associated Press
Town officials looking to do maintenance work on a dam and gate at Hope Mills Lake allowed the lake to be drained of water just two weeks after state biologists stocked it with 20,000 fish.

Town Manager Randy Beeman told the Fayetteville Observer he did not know about the fish when he approved the draining Monday. It’s not clear if any of the fish were lost, and Beeman wasn’t sure if the lake would be drained completely or left with a trickle of water.

“I don’t know who would make that decision to reintroduce (fish) knowing we were not in completion mode yet,” Beeman said. Crews were working to replace seals on a channel gate and apply epoxy to cracks in the dam wall.

Click here to read more

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