Make Your Voice Heard At NC Wildlife Commission Hearings

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will start its yearly round of public hearings on proposed rule changes for fisheries, game lands, hunting, and other issues. The commission will start their hearings on Tuesday in Bladen County and conclude them on January 21st in Rocky Mount. Hearings will be held in all nine districts.

Among the proposed regulations are the opening of an elk season and an alligator season. Some of the proposed regulations are to bring them into compliance with state law. There is one proposed regulation that has gun rights implications. The text of the proposed regulation deals with US Army Corps of Engineers managed properties that are enrolled in the NC Game Lands program.

On Butner-Falls of Neuse, Jordan, Kerr Scott and Vance game lands, no person shall possess loaded firearms, ammunition, bows and arrows, crossbows, or other weapons except as provided in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36, Chapter III, Part 327.13.

That section of the Code of Federal Regulations prohibits the possession of loaded firearms unless you are law enforcement, hunting, at a target range, or have written permission from the District Commander. This was the issue in Nesbitt v. USACE which was a win at the District Court level but was appealed by the government to the 9th Circuit.

Written public comments can be submitted until January 25th. The comment form is located here. Personally, I'd wait to make my comment until the wording of the proposed regulations are released.

The schedule and location of the hearings is below:

The schedule for the 2016-17 public hearings is below. Public hearings begin at 7 p.m.

DATE	DISTRICT	CITY	LOCATION
Jan. 5  (Tues.)	4	Dublin	Bladen Community College Auditorium  7418 N.C. Hwy. 41W Dublin, N.C. 28332
Jan. 6  (Wed.)	5	Graham	Southern Alamance High School 631 Southern High School Road  Graham, N.C. 27253
Jan. 7  (Thurs.)	6	Norwood	South Stanly High School 40488 South Stanly School Rd.  Norwood, N.C. 28128
Jan. 12  (Tues.)	9	Clyde	Haywood Community College Auditorium 185 Freelander Drive Clyde, N.C.
Jan. 13  (Wed.)	8	Morganton	Western Piedmont Community College Leviton Auditorium, Moore Hall 1001 Burkemont Ave. Morganton, N.C. 28655
Jan. 14 (Thurs.)	7	Elkin	Elkin High School 334 Elk Spur Street Elkin, N.C. 28621
Jan. 19 (Tues.)	1	Edenton	Swain Auditorium 200 E. Church St. Edenton, N.C. 27932
Jan. 20 (Wed.)	2	New Bern	Craven Community College Orringer Auditorium 800 College Court  New Bern, N.C.  28562
Jan. 21 (Thurs.)	3	Rocky Mount	Nash Community College Brown Auditorium 454 N. Old Carriage Road Rocky Mount, N.C. 27804