Wildlife Commission Adopts Modified Rules for 2018-2019 Seasons
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission voted yesterday to adopt rules related
to wildlife, fisheries, and game lands management for the 2018-19 seasons. The effective date for these changes is Aug. 1,
2018.
Throughout the public hearing process, the
Commission received passionate, well-articulated concerns from constituents regarding the cultural and traditional impacts
of proposed deer season changes. Commissioners carefully weighed those comments along with biological information and decided
to only adopt the following:
•Implement a
statewide bag limit of two antlered and four anterless deer.
•Bonus Anterless
Deer Harvest Report Card are restricted to the Urban Archery Season only.
•Deer Management
Assistance Program (DMAP) participants would
retain harvest flexibility.
•Shift
either-sex days to the beginning of the Introductory, Conservative, and Moderate Gun Either-Sex Seasons.
•Move Polk, Rutherford and Cleveland Counties to the Northwestern Deer Season, and retain the Moderate Gun Either-Sex
Season.
The Commission adopted rules to align
bear hunting seasons in the Coastal Bear Management Unit (CBMU) with the five bear hunting zones with one modification, moving
Pamlico County into Zone 5 of the CBMU. Additionally, the Commission disapproved the proposal to add two weeks to bear hunting
season in the Mountain Bear Management Unit.
The table of upcoming season dates, approved by the
Commission, may be found on the agency’s website<http://www.ncwildlife.org/blog/changes-in-regulations-for-2018-2019>.
