Please note: since this press release was published, the dates for the Setzer Hatchery renovation have been changed. The information has been updated below.
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The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will host two family-friendly event to recognize National Hunting and Fishing Day, an annual celebration promoting outdoor recreation and conservation.
Hyperphagia means a significant increase in appetite. And that is exactly what begins to happen to black bears this time of year. Bears are in “eat mode” through fall, and sometimes even into winter, so they can put on extra weight, up to 2-3 lbs. a day, to get ready for denning season.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) approved a temporary amendment to the flounder rule at their business meeting on July 25th that was subsequently approved by the N.C. Rules Review Commission (RRC) on July 31st. Under this modification, the 2024 flounder season will be open in Inland Fishing Waters and in Joint Fishing Waters for hook and line fishing only on September 1st and 2nd and again on September 7th and 8th.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) at its July business meeting adopted an emergency rule and initiated temporary rulemaking at White Lake in Bladen County that will require motorboats to travel perpendicular to the shore and at no wake speed within the restricted area at White Lake.
Because of the changes to the 2024 deer season, this amendment is needed to remove the one day of introductory antlerless deer harvest during the gun season on the Needmore Game Land in Macon and Swain Counties, and will align Needmore Game Land to the same antlerless deer season structure as the adjacent Nantahala Game Land in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) has stated they will not open the recreational flounder harvest season in 2024 due to the recreational sector exceeding the 2023 harvest allotment. To be consistent with the annual quota management measure of the North Carolina Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 and with the NCDMF closure of the recreational season in coastal waters, the proposed amendments close the flounder harvest season in 2024.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 32 trout streams and two lakes classified as Delayed Harvest to trout harvest on June 1 through Sept. 30.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is confirming 13 new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) from deer samples submitted since July 1, 2023.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) welcomes returning Commissioner Joseph (Joe) R. Budd of Winston-Salem to its governing board. Budd was sworn in on Jan 30. He previously served as NCWRC’s District 7 commissioner from 2014 to 2020.