NC Wildlife Resource commission proposals: potential impacts on public access and equity
Wildlife Resources Commission seeks to charge public for access to Game Lands
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) has proposed a requirement for the general public to purchase a pass for WRC lands. In the Haw River Watershed, this includes all of the Jordan Lake game lands. Hunters and fishers have historically carried the financial burden of supporting this important agency, which maintains trails and enforces hunting requirements. These game lands are some of the few places in the triangle where hunters can go, and the lack of signage or education can potentially create a dangerous situation for the general public walking on the lands during hunting season. The pass aims to provide more revenue for this agency, which is consistently underfunded, and would ensure that the pass holders know when the hunting seasons are. However, having this kind of permit would require WRC to spend additional revenue enforcing the permit requirements, and would deter people from accessing some of the few large contiguous forests in our watershed, such as the Jordan Lake game lands. Additionally, this pass would be required for accessing the Fearrington Point boat launch, which would limit recreational programs that our organization and other outfitters can offer at low of no cost to all participants.
Haw River Assembly's mission is to protect and preserve the Haw River watershed and Jordan Lake for ALL of the communities who depend on it. Requiring paid passes for communities to access public lands around Jordan Lake does not align with that mission. We love our hunters and fishers, and believe that Wildlife Resources Commission should have more funding to support their important work. However, excluding communities from public lands is not the solution we hope to see.
The public comment period is open until March 28th. Please make your comment here. You can read more HERE.
Unintended Consequences: How Senate Bill 220's Restrictions on Right of Way Access Could Harm Our Waterways
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) is also supporting a bill that threatens to classify any launching of motorized or non motorized watercraft from a Right of Way as a class 2 misdemeanor. This bill would be devastating to our water quality monitoring work, as many sites where we need to access to isolate pollution sources can only be accessed from Right of Ways, as opposed to WRC approved or official boat launches. This also threatens many of our outfitters, fishing guides and those who fish across the state. This bill is currently being "held as filed" which means it has not been heard in committee and is not currently moving forward, but we need your help to make sure that representatives understand the impacts this bill could have on our communities. Let your representatives know that Senate Bill 220, specifically section 4, needs to be removed.
You can read Senate Bill 220 HERE.
Find your NC Legislators HERE. Call your representatives today and let them know that "Senate Bill 220, specifically section 4, needs to be removed."