North Carolina Wildlife Federation Calls on Governor Perdue to Clean Up North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Appointments

The State Board of Elections concluded their hearings last week into the former Governor’s administration turning it over to the district attorney’s office because it appears state laws were violated. As part of the hearings allegations that seats on the Wildlife Commission were up for sale was testified to under oath. Now the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has passed a resolution asking the current Governor to fix this problem;

THE NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE FEDERATION CALL TO UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMMISSION AND THE PROCESS BY WHICH COMMISSIONERS ARE APPOINTED

WHEREAS sworn testimony in the recent hearings of the Board of Elections regarding irregularities in the Mike Easley for Governor Campaign of 2004 alleged that the appointment of certain commissioners to the Wildlife Resources Commission was predicated upon political donations of over $100,000; and,

WHEREAS Wildlife Commissioners serve a crucial and sensitive role as guardians of the fish and wildlife resources of North Carolina that demands the highest level of integrity and objectivity as they establish rules and policies to guide the agency in its mission to provide a sound and representative fish and wildlife conservation program; and,

WHEREAS the North Carolina Wildlife Federation was formed in 1945 on the premise that fish and wildlife conservation programs must be conducted in a manner beneficial to the resource and representative of citizens who value and enjoy outdoor recreational activities and was instrumental in the establishment of the Wildlife Resources Commission in 1947 based upon that principle; and,

WHEREAS the alleged circumstances of the appointment of certain North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Commissioners with an expectation of political contributions predicating the nomination is contrary to the law prohibiting the sale of office, erodes public confidence, and casts aspersion on the integrity and operations of the agency and its policy makers.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation condemns the practice of appointing Wildlife Commissioners based upon political considerations as contrary to the founding principles upon which the Wildlife Resources Commission was created, and calls for appointments to the Commission to be solely based on interest, concern, knowledge, and commitment to the natural resources of our State.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Wildlife Federation, on behalf of all sportsmen and fish and wildlife enthusiasts in North Carolina, calls upon Governor Beverly Perdue to use all the means at her disposal to determine the truth of the allegation that appointments to the Wildlife Resources Commission were made in return for political donations; and, if that allegation is substantiated thereby calling the integrity of the Wildlife Resources Commission into question, the Wildlife Federation further calls upon Governor Perdue to immediately demand the resignations of any individual who were appointed under such circumstances and to appoint duly qualified, representative citizens to serve out those replaced terms thereby restoring as much credibility to the current appointment process and structure of the Wildlife Commission as it and the mission it represents rightly deserves.

I hope sportsmen across the state will stand up and demand that the politics get removed from the Wildlife Commission.

“I Don’t Recall”

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is into day two of the former Governor Easley Campaign Finance Hearing and the testimony so far seem devastating. A number of the former governor’s associates have testified to the committee about efforts to avoid campaign finance laws and donation limits as donations for Easley were washed through the State Democratic Party.
The role of the Allen Brother’s Gary and Randy is of particular interested seeing that both have served as wildlife commissioners (Randy is still a commissioner).

Gary Allen, a developer, doesn’t remember anything about writing two $50,000 checks to the N.C. Democratic Party.
Lanny Wilson, a friend and business associate to Allen, testified Monday that he briefed former Gov. Mike Easley a list of things Allen wanted including his seat on the Wildlife Commission and a permit for a boat dock.

N&O

In an earlier story I asked if there Mr. Randy Allen bought his way on to the Wildlife Commission and it appears that they may be a very valid question.

Six years ago, Wilmington developer Lanny Wilson laid out a five-point plan for Gov. Mike Easley to win a big campaign contribution from Wilson’s business partner.
Wilson wrote in an e-mail to an Easley campaign staffer that Gary Allen, a Charlotte-area developer, would like to keep his appointment on the state Wildlife Commission and needed the governor’s help to get a permit to construct a boat ramp at a Brunswick County subdivision.
Easley, he wrote, should take credit for helping arrange a meeting between Allen and a Progress Energy vice president to discuss land that Allen wanted. And Easley should ask an aide, John Merritt, for background information on Allen to help set him at ease.
Easley was to meet with Allen the following day. By the end of the month, Allen had written a $50,000 check to the N.C. Democratic Party, a contribution that Wilson testified Monday was intended to wind up in Easley’s campaign.
Allen won the boat ramp permit, and Easley reappointed him to the commission in 2004. Easley appointed Gary Allen’s brother and business partner, Randy Allen, to the commission the next year.

Charlotte Observer

Mr. Allen seems to be a lot like Hillary Clinton from years ago with his answer “I don’t recall…”
With the testimony that has been offered so far it seems that there is more than ample evidence to present to a grand jury and to get some indictments.
While to the average citizen the work of the Wildlife Commission may not be something they really think about or realize how it impacts them but for some of us it is extremely important and impacts important areas of our lives and culture. Corruption anywhere cannot be tolerated but the sale of seats at the Wildlife Commission has got to stop. The days of political cronies and political payback in the appointment of Commissioners should be stopped Now.
I’ll not hold my breath waiting for it to happen but I hope there is a price to pay for those who put their integrity up for sale. I hope that as the musical chairs get shuffled that the former governor does not leave everyone else holding the bag if he is guilty he should be treated just like the criminals he took down as the State Attorney General.

Other Stories I’ve Done

Feds Investigate Possible Corruption in Wildlife Commissioner Appointment

North Carolina’s Own “White Water”

Commissioner Randy Allen Buy His Way On To The NCWRC?

Commissioner Randy Allen Buy His Way On To The NCWRC?

There is certainly a lot of questions swirling around about Commissioner Allen’s association with former Governor Michael Easley and a sweetheart land deal the governor got on a waterfront lot. Randy Allen besides being a Wildlife Commissioner he is also the president of RA North Development. As I had reported earlier state news organizations were digging into the land deal between the then Governor of North Carolina and RA North Development. The News and Observer has obtained the documents showing the lot sold well below what at the time would appear to be fair market value and after developers obtained expedited wastewater permits so the project could be done ;

The permit was granted on June 8, 2005. Twelve days later, the Easleys wrote a $5,000 check for earnest money for Lot 514, a choice parcel on the Cannonsgate waterfront.
The governor’s former spokeswoman said in 2006 that the lot was intended as an investment for the Easleys. They own homes in Raleigh and Southport.
The original contract on the Cannonsgate lot, signed on Nov. 30, 2005, showed a price of $549,880.
Reviews of that price, including analyses by the Carolina Journal and The Charlotte Observer, indicated that it was a good deal compared with nearby sales. Two weeks before the Easleys closed, for example, two deeper but narrower waterfront lots nearby sold for $699,000 each. And in 2007, the Easley lot was valued for taxes at $1.2 million, although it would be worth far less in today’s market.
But the publicly listed price of $549,880 was not what the Easleys paid, according to the closing documents.
They signed a deal dated Dec. 15 that included a “seller discount” of 25 percent, which was worth $137,470, the settlement statement shows. That brought the Easleys’ cost down to $412,410.
The Easleys got a loan from BB&T for $494,000, an amount based on the original contract and more than the actual purchase price. They had paid $54,988 down. Because of the discount, they took $135,000 away from the closing.

Charlotte Observer

If this was not suspicious enough this all took place around the same time that Governor Easley appointed Randy Allen to the Wildlife Commission. As federal investigators pour over the mounds of possible corruption and questionable deals involving the Easley’s and their cronies one has to wonder how effective Commissioner Allen can be. The appearance of a quid pro quo in the appointment of Commissioner Allen seems likely and one has to wonder whose interests he might represent.
The recent history here in North Carolina has been that corrupt politicians do get indicted, convicted and sent to prison. Meg & Jim can tell you all about that.

N&O Editorial

The Chairman Plays 10 Questions With WRAL

Raleigh TV Station WRAL does a series where they pick out a leader a week and let viewers submit questions for that leader. Then that leader answers 10 questions and they post them on the website. The most recent one was North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Chairman Steve Windham. Chairman Windham took a variety of questions with the most common theme being access for hunting and fishing in the state. It’s no secret that development continues to sprawl across the state access is lost for many outdoor activities.

As a result of continued acquisitions and cooperative agreements with other state, federal, corporate and private landowners, the game land acreage in our state has increased to more than 2 million acres.
The Wildlife Resources Commission currently owns approximately one-half million acres in fee title, and more than half of that has been acquired since 1990, largely as a result of the funding opportunities provided by the creation of the North Carolina Natural Heritage and Clean Water Management Trust Funds, along with the support of numerous conservation partners that have worked with us to identify and protect these valuable properties in conservation ownership.
Within the last couple of years, we have just completed one of the largest land acquisition projects in the agency’s history. In a deal brokered by The Nature Conservancy, we have added 66,000 acres of former International Paper Company lands to our game lands program in the Upper Tar, Roanoke and Chowan River Basins. Incidentally, this acquisition will be featured in the October 2009 issue of our Wildlife in North Carolina magazine.

Other themes he touched on were dealing with wildlife that has become problematic and destructive and of course the hunting ban on Sunday’s that continues to be a hot button issue. Overall a pretty good selection of issues to cover in this small format forum that WRAL “Ask Anything”.
While it would appear that many of the folks that they interview for this section seem hard to get up with and talk to for the average person I honestly don’t believe this is the case with Chairman Windham or any of the other wildlife commissioners. My interactions with them whether in person or through email has always been good even when we talked about issues we didn’t agree on. So I guess what I’m saying is if you have a question that wasn’t covered in the 10 Chairman Windham answered contact him or one of the commissioners and get it addressed.

My Thoughts On The NC Bow Hunters Association and Why I’m No Longer a Member Part Two

This is the second part of my response to the guest blog post from Ramon Bell of the North Carolina Bow Hunter Association. As I said in my earlier post I’m grateful for Mr. Bell’s post and while we may disagree on a few points there is many points we do agree on. Today I want to address the crossbow issue and the reason in good conscience I could not renew my membership.

The other proposal NCBA opposes is the legalization of crossbows across the board for anyone who wants to use them. We specially oppose them being legalized during ‘Bow Only’ seasons for anyone other than those who qualify for the handicapped hunting permit to use them. This is why this state law was enacted some 12-15 years ago.. to give the handicapped and physically challenged hunters a “special” privilege and the opportunity and advantage to hunt during bow seasons. Adoption of this proposal will eliminate the need for the special handicapped license/permits, and it will also eliminate the only advantage and privilege

NCBA Crossbow Facts & Fiction

Most of the folks I’ve met over the years that have a handicap did not necessarily want an “advantage” over those who don’t have a handicap just an opportunity to participate. Nor do I believe that the crossbow is an advantage over the modern compound bow.
Opposition to the crossbow by the NCBA is certainly their right as an organization even though I don’t understand the demonization of this weapon.

The N.C.B.A. will not permit its members to use this type of weapon (Crossbows or “Draw-Lock” devices), to hunt legal game, unless the member is legitimately physically disabled.
Members may not endorse such a weapon under any circumstances. If a member is caught using or endorsing such a weapon in violation of this article, he/she will be subject to immediate dismissal from N.C.B.A. membership.

NCBA

Opposing its use during the archery season is one thing but to oppose its use ever even during firearm season seems to be a bit extreme. In states that have legalized the use of a crossbow there has not been a significant loss of bow hunters. I think one could make the argument that more folks leave the bow hunting ranks and use firearms rather then switch to crossbows. However NCBA will drum a member out who uses a crossbow but has no such rule for firearms.
I don’t see anything wrong with a crossbow and if it brings more folks into the hunting ranks I think it is a good thing. So instead of getting kicked out I decided that I just would not renew my membership.
The NCBA is a great organization and does a lot of good things but their don’t ask don’t tell stand on crossbows is just one I can’t live with.

My Thoughts On The NC Bow Hunters Association and Why I’m No Longer a Member Part One

I was pleased to have Ramon Bell from the NCBA as a guest poster on here earlier this week. I appreciate his willingness to address the issues and clarify the Association’s position. The NCBA is certainly a prominent sportsman organization here in the state and have supported and advocated for our sport over the years. While I agree with them on many issues there is a few I fundamentally don’t agree.

Opposition to 2nd Week of Muzzleloader Season

The one that is most important to NCBA is the opening of gun (muzzle loader) season one week earlier statewide. Not so much that it encroaches on the ‘bow only’ seasons statewide by another week, it does. But because we feel this is not in the best interests of the quality of the buck deer population and the quality of deer hunting in general for all of North Carolina.

I don’t know about anyone else but I was surprised at this statement because the message I heard at the public hearing I went to was that adding this week on would only make the bucks go nocturnal earlier reducing the opportunity for bow hunters. I’m certain that there message of Quality Deer Management and improving the Buck population was missed by a lot of the hunters in attendance at the public meetings and not just me. I’m not convinced that the way to go about improving the maturity of bucks in NC is by season lengths but rather by bag limits and other regulatory measures. I’m not advocating for that and that is really another whole topic (QDM, Antler Restrictions, and Earn a Buck programs) that we’ll certainly get into in the future.
In the past archery equipment was not allowed during the muzzleloader season but that has been corrected and basically you can bow hunt from opening day in September all the way till the closing day on January 1st. The majority of hunting takes place on private land so individuals and clubs can easily control hunting methods, antler restrictions, doe harvesting etc. Everything one could want except controlling how your neighbors hunt.

We (NCBA) also believe there are other ‘Safety’ and ‘Social’ factors for why any gun season for deer should not be opened earlier. From a ‘Safety’ standpoint, we feel it will be dangerous, not only for hunters and bowhunters in particular! It will be dangerous to others who will be using the woods at this time of year.. late October.. when leaves are still on trees and in full fall colors to boot. This foliage will not only restrict vision and line of sight for hunters and make for dangerous shooting situations, our ‘blaze orange’ hats and vests will blend in with the fall colors complicating already dangerous situations. From a ‘Social’ standpoint, there could be many more unwanted and unnecessary confrontations and conflicts between hunters and others who will be in the outdoors during this time engaging in a variety of other outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, animal/bird watching.. and just sightseeing in general to take in the fall colors.

Safety while handling any weapon is important safe gun handling is especially important. I fully support and advocate people follow the rules when it comes to guns. Identifying your target is paramount whether it is an arrow, bolt, or bullet you are releasing. Hunting is a safe sport especially compared to other recreational activities like softball, soccer, and football. The vast majority of serious and fatal accidents in hunting are from falls. There are a number of firearm hunting opportunities that take place prior to killing frosts while foliage is still present. There does not seem to be an increase in accidental shootings because of it. I believe that this argument supports an unfounded stereotype against hunters in general and I would have hoped that the NCBA would not engage in promoting such a stereotype.
How this proposal came to be is not that important because it obviously had wide support at the public meetings. There are many gun hunters that support QDM practices but the majority of them did not appear to support this argument at least in the public meeting forums I attended. I honestly believe that if people feel strongly about improving the age of bucks in this state that there are better ways to go about it then season structure. I’d be curious to know the age structure of bucks taken by bow as to those taken by gun. Anecdotally in conversations I have with hunters that hunt all methods it seems that when they have a bow in the hand they are more apt to take a smaller buck then if they were gun hunting they’d pass it up. I got two buck tags for where I hunt whether I take them in October, November, or December I don’t think will matter.
Part 2 will look at the Crossbow Issue and I elaborate a bit on why I did not renew my membership.

How Much Will I Miss Senator Kennedy?

No Sir Probably not that much. LOL
Some gallows humor on my part. Got to admit he was a strong liberal that support causes that I certainly opposed and feel would destroy our great country. Misguided till the end…. now part of the history of this great country. RIP Teddy

Today’s Big Game Committee Meeting

Well I took the morning off to attend the Big Game Committee Meeting where a lot of the hunting regulations we debate get their legs so to speak. Long before they end up in the proposal booklet at the public meetings chances are pretty good some if not all the Commissioners have kicked them around a bit.

I’ll try to give you the readers digest version of the meeting and add a bit more flesh in future posts. If anyone has a specific question post it up and I’ll try my best to review my notes and recall my memory to give you the best answer about what was said.
They started the meeting off with reminding everyone that a number of hunting proposals were delayed from implementation for at least a year. At the meeting they reiterated that the 10 letter rule delayed all the deer rules and that there was no way the NCWRC could of sidestepped this with the use of temporary rules. I also asked about separating the rules so opposition to one or two does not sink the entire slate which they also said was not an option. From where I sit it would appear to me that we better just plan a two year cycle for getting new rules. Getting 10 letters of opposition is such a low threshold I can see some folks having fun with that process.

The first agenda item was a presentation on a proposal to establish a captive cervid herd certification program. (Deer Farming)

This would be for the current farms and will not allow any additional farms. Chronic Wasting Disease is the reason that tight control by state and federal agencies was implemented a few years ago. Presently there is no known cases of CWD in captive or wild deer in North Carolina. The closest cases of CWD is in West Virginia in both captive and wild deer. Under current laws captive deer in North Carolina are highly regulated with each farm receiving two inspections a year to verify compliance.

They are looking at establishing strict guidelines under which deer could be transferred / transported between two licensed farms. Operations would have to be clean record for 5 years before they could reach this status. This is in the early process and will go to public meetings if the NCWRC as a whole decides to go forward with it. Under this plan there is no plan to issue any new licenses this only for existing operations.

Bear

Proposal to look at a harvested bear needing to weigh 100 lbs or more was shot down.

Proposal to alter bear season in the NE part of the state so it didn’t fall the week of Christmas. Shot down

Both of those proposals were asked for by a number of bear hunters at the last meeting

Baiting of bear was again discussed. Under current law still hunters can not bait bear however hound hunters can strike dogs off a bait pile. This has led to some places where hound hunters are baiting and either drawing bears off others lands or limiting hunting opportunities on others land.

Baiting 3 proposals sent out of committee to the Commissioners Meeting.

(side note all of these are a ways off because they’ll require legislative action for any of them. They are being floated to see if the NCWRC wants to hear from folks on any of these potential proposals)

1. Outlaw all bear baiting outright.
2. Keep the law as it currently is and add a 3 day pre dog hunt still hunt over baits. This would be a limited draw hunt and NCWRC would set the number of permits it would issue for this hunt. (Private land only)
3. Establish a 3 day still hunt prior to the opening of dog season but no bait Rest of the current laws would stay in place

1&2 passed with only one vote each in opposition
3 passed unanimously from the committee.

Deer

Talking about QDM and possible inviting Mr. Hamilton to address the committee in the future. Early stages of this idea so it may nor may not happen. Several of the commissioners voiced concerns over internal politics within the QDM movement.

Beginning to look at the possibility that some deer rules maybe by county if the majority of hunters want a particular rule. IE. Some folks are wanting a one buck limit the big game committee is going to explore that topic of special rules for a county.
Well that is a brief overview of the meeting and some of these I’ll elaborate a bit more in future posts.

Fair Chase and Senator Feinstein

So are we to believe that the Senator is going to take up hunting with her concern over fair chase when it comes to Alaska wolves? Somehow I doubt it but I did get a kick out of a recent editorial on the subject in Juneau Empire

Feinstein did so, at least in part, because she believes the state’s effort violates “the hunting principle of fair chase.”
No, it does not, because, as she said, Alaska’s wolf control program is not sport.
“Fair chase” is a loose, ever-shifting set of guidelines employed by individual hunters who, for a variety of personal reasons, often make their hunts more difficult for themselves and thus potentially less lethal to their prey. More power to them, but such standards are illogical when attempting to manage wildlife populations.
What homeowner would set a mouse trap but leave it unbaited just to give the mice a chance? What farmer would put cats in the barn but remove their claws so the rats have a fair shake?
When attempting to control an animal population, neither individuals nor the government can apply standards of fair chase, because those standards are designed solely to make success more difficult. In a control effort, the intent is to kill the animal. The most efficient, quickest method should be used. The state of Alaska follows that mandate when it kills wolves using gunners in aircraft.

The editorial is right on the money the killing of the wolves by the state of Alaska is not for sport but an effort to control specie that is getting out of balance. This is a smoke and mirrors attempt by the Senator to inject an idea to cloud the issue that just doesn’t belong in the discussion to begin with. If the Senator wants to look at some guiding principles how about this one;

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The Federal government has become too powerful and we need it to go back to the principles established by our founding fathers and restore the rights of the states and the people.

Guest Post: Statement from NCBA on 2009 WRC Regulations

Statement from NCBA on 2009 WRC Regulations

The N.C. Bowhunters Association has been criticized because some of our members, along with other hunters, non-NCBA members, sportsmen and women, wrote letters to the ‘Rules Review Commission’ (RRC) objecting to some of the proposed wildlife regulations for 2009-10 that were approved by the N.C. Wildlife Commissioners. This resulted in many deer proposals being placed on “HOLD” temporarily for legislative review beginning next year.

It should be known that the WRC knew that letters would most likely be written to the RRC objecting to a number of the new proposals, as this procedure was a topic of discussion with us (NCBA) and some of them (WRC) over a year ago. In fact, we (NCBA) were informed of this (Rules Review) option by WRC officials to begin with.

We (NCBA) also were aware that if these TEN letters were received by the RRC that all the WRC had to do was request that the new regulations be enacted as a temporary rule. We fully anticipated that this is what they would do, but that didn’t happen.

So.. why didn’t the WRC asked for a temporary rule to enact these proposals this year? Possibly so that this inaction by the WRC may be intended to place the burden (or blame) primarily on NCBA for the delay in enacting these proposals.

NCBA has only taken issue with two of the proposals that were approved. The fact that other proposals were also included is beyond our control, as multiple proposals were included in one “omnibus” regulation that encompassed them all. The one that is most important to NCBA is the opening of gun (muzzle loader) season one week earlier statewide. Not so much that it encroaches on the ‘bow only’ seasons statewide by another week, it does. But because we feel this is not in the best interests of the quality of the buck deer population and the quality of deer hunting in general for all of North Carolina. This is echoed by reports and opinions from professional biologists from both within the WRC and also biologists in the private sector. In a report from the WRC’s ‘Deer Committee, a majority of their biological staff did not recommend opening gun seasons up any earlier, including the muzzleloader season. In fact, some have gone on record stating gun seasons should be opened later, especially in the Eastern Deer Season. Dr. David Cobb, the WRC’s chief biologist, told them that this is not an option, and since Dr. Cobb sets the official policy for the agency.. that’s the way it will be. Apparently, it doesn’t really matter what the opinions of his field staff of biologists believe to be best for the resource and for the stakeholders.

So, where did this proposal originate? The 2008-09 Proposed Regulation Change (#16) was originated by a man named Grady Barnes. It was submitted by a man named Daron Barnes. (NOTE: Daron Barnes works for the WRC at the main office in Raleigh. He is not a field biologist. We have been told, confidentially, that Mr. Barnes was asked, or recruited to sumbit this proposal by one of his superiors.) It states, in part, “Hunters who are interested in utilizing a hunting opportunity outside the regular gun season currently have two options: a muzzle-loading season that is limited to 7 days (really 6 days), or an archery season that ranges from 24 up to 54 days. This means that hunters who are capable and interested in bowhunting have, depending on their geographical location, from 17 to 47 additional hunting days (opportunities) than hunters who are not interested or incapable of bow hunting…. This bias towards bowhunting reduces the opportunity of hunters who are interested in pursuing muzzle-loading style hunting. It goes on to say, “In a time of concern of hunter recruitment and retention, this rule change will increase the hunting opportunities for hunters who are not able to take advantage of current bow hunting opportunities.”

Mr. Evin Stanford (Deer Biologist’s) comments were that he was “OPPOSED to this proposal. He stated, “The NCWRC recently completed a human dimensions study of NC deer hunters, and a question concerning this exact season change was included on the survey. Survey results indicated that deer hunters were equally divided on this season change at 40% in favor and 40% opposed, and the other 20% had no opinion regarding this issue. The Deer Committee also has discussed this type of regulation proposal, and the consensus of the committee is that such a regulation change is NOT desirable at this time. While muzzle-loader season is much shorter than archery season (6 days vs. 24-54 days, muzzleloader hunters reported harvesting 53% more deer than archery hunters during the ‘06 season. However, does made up 51% of the reported archery season harvest, while does only made up 33% of the reported muzzleloader season harvest. Muzzleloader season hunters actually harvested slightly fewer does than archery season hunters, but the muzzleloader season buck harvest was 112% higher than the archery season buck harvest. While increasing the length of the muzzleloader season may provide more opportunity, the selectivity of muzzleloader hunters may result in an unwanted increase in antlered buck harvest with little corresponding increase in doe harvest. Results of the human dimensions survey indicated that 80% of deer hunters indicated that a lack of mature deer is a barrier to deer hunting. If the rule proposal does go forward, the proposed rule text should be clarified to more clearly define the season dates.”

Let me take a moment to clarify the “numbers” that Mr. Stanford refers to. I have included a chart below that breaks down the number of days actually allocated to archery season and to firearms seasons, muzzleloader season included. NOTE that in the Eastern Deer Season area, where the deer population is most prolific, the current season includes 24 days for archery only season and 70 days for firearms season. In the Central Deer Season, it is about even with 48 archery only days and 46 firearms days. The Northwestern Season has 54 archery days versus 31 firearms days, and the Western Deer Season has 60 archery days compared to 24 firearms day. Keep in mind that the deer season currently ends about two weeks earlier in the Northwestern and Western Deer Seasons. Also keep in mind that deer population densities are much thinner in the Western and Northwestern areas.

Secondly, NOTE the days during the “Peak of the Rut” that “archery only” seasons occur versus “firearms seasons.” In order to be fair, equitable and not show any “bias” toward any method of hunting, this is, or should be, the most important factor in determining WHEN the transition from archery to muzzleloader to regular modern firearms should be occurring. NOTE that in the Eastern Deer Season area, archery hunters have “0″ days that occur during the “Pre-Rut or entire Rutting Season.” We consider the “Rut” to encompass dates between November 1st and December 13th, or about the end of the deer seasons in the Western and Northwestern areas. In the “Central Deer Season” area, archery hunters currently have “6″ (SIX) days during the “Pre-Rut” for “Bow Only” days. Firearms seasons cover the remainder of the “Rutting” season, which is 31 days. Northwestern bowhunters have 12 days that occur during the “Pre-Rut and Rut” versus 25 days for firearms hunters, and Western bowhunters have 19 days compared to 18 days for firearms hunters. These season dates were established and agreed upon by our staff of field biologists based scientific data and their knowledge of what is best for the resource. It does not appear that there is any basis of scientific data or fact that supports Mr. Barnes proposal. And, his comment that there is a “bias” toward bowhunting seems to be an exaggeration on his part to place blame on the bowhunting community for the current hunting season date structure.

DEER SEASON DAYS BY WEAPON

BOW GUN

NOTE: GUN INCLUDES 6 Day Muzzle Loader Season

EASTERN
24 70

CENTRAL
48 46

NORTHWESTERN
54 31

WESTERN
60 24

IF ONE WEEK Muzzle Loader SEASON IS ADDED……

EASTERN
18 76

CENTRAL
BOW GUN
42 52

NORTHWESTERN
48 37

WESTERN
54 30

*DAYS DURING PEAK OF THE “RUT”..PRIME DEER SEASON – (NOV. 1 – DEC. 13)

BOW GUN
EASTERN
0 37

CENTRAL
6 31

NORTHWESTERN
12 25

WESTERN
19 18

Statewide TOTALS:
BOW GUN
37 111

Additional Comments:

* The whitetail “RUT” normally begins on/about the first of November and continues until what is commonly called the
“Second rut”, which begins about the first week of December. This is the “prime” time to hunt whitetail deer in N.C.

NOTE that “bow only” seasons include only a total of 37 days statewide during this period, and that the EASTERN Deer Season has NONE., while a TOTAL of 111 (one-hundred eleven) days are currently assigned to firearms seasons statewide. Where is this “bias” toward bowhunting that Mr. Barnes refers to?

The CENTRAL Deer Season has only 6 “Prime” hunting days for “Bow Only” season while 31 days are open for gun hunting. The EASTERN Deer Season already has “0″ days of prime deer hunting for “Bow Only” season, and if the muzzle-loader season, is opened one week earlier, it will push bowhunters even further back away from the peak season.

The traditional transition between “Bow season, Muzzle Loader Season and the regular Gun seasons that all hunters have become accustomed to should continue to occur near when the “Rut” begins, as it has been for many years. Gun season hunters already have a disproportionate number of “prime” days to deer hunt, except in the WESTERN Deer Season, where deer populations are less and a longer gun season is not justified.

If the gun season is opened up one week (6 days) earlier, to provide for two weeks of Muzzle Loader season statewide, the CENTRAL Deer Season will have “0″ days of “Bow Only” days during the “Pre-Rut”, which is still not after the “Rut” really kicks in about mid-November. Statewide totals will change from 37 to 31 days for the bow only season and from 111 to 117 days for the firearms season. Again, where is the “bias” toward bowhunting? It seems from the “Human Dimenseions Surveys” that there was no overwhelming majority of hunters that favor this proposal, so there was no “mandate” to approve it to begin with. And, again, there was no biological data to support this change. So, why did the commissioners vote to approve it? This is why we (NCBA) oppose this change.

We (NCBA) also believe there are other ‘Safety’ and ‘Social’ factors for why any gun season for deer should not be opened earlier. From a ‘Safety’ standpoint, we feel it will be dangerous, not only for hunters and bowhunters in particular! It will be dangerous to others who will be using the woods at this time of year.. late October.. when leaves are still on trees and in full fall colors to boot. This foliage will not only restrict vision and line of sight for hunters and make for dangerous shooting situations, our ‘blaze orange’ hats and vests will blend in with the fall colors complicating already dangerous situations. From a ‘Social’ standpoint, there could be many more unwanted and unnecessary confrontations and conflicts between hunters and others who will be in the outdoors during this time engaging in a variety of other outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, animal/bird watching.. and just sightseeing in general to take in the fall colors.

NCBA firmly believes gun seasons should not open earlier for these reasons, not only in the Central and Western Deer season areas, but in the Eastern seasons as well.

The other proposal NCBA opposes is the legalization of crossbows across the board for anyone who wants to use them. We specially oppose them being legalized during ‘Bow Only’ seasons for anyone other than those who qualify for the handicapped hunting permit to use them. This is why this state law was enacted some 12-15 years ago.. to give the handicapped and physically challenged hunters a “special” privilege and the opportunity and advantage to hunt during bow seasons. Adoption of this proposal will eliminate the need for the special handicapped license/permits, and it will also eliminate the only advantage and privilege handicapped hunters currently have during the hunting season. We also feel this new rule that legalizes crossbows for everyone will contribute to overcrowding on public game lands during bow only seasons and detract from the quality of the hunting experience for those who have no other hunting opportunities available to them. The obvious solution to this is to restrict crossbows to gun seasons only.

As for Sunday hunting, NCBA has always taken a neutral stance, but stated that we would support whatever position the Wildlife Resources Commission chose to take on this issue. Since the commissioners did vote to approve Sunday bowhunting, we now voice our support of this proposal.

As President of the N.C. Bowhunters Association, I cannot lose sight of the fact that it is my sworn duty to work to preserve the heritage and tradition of the sport of bowhunting, and to support and enforce our Constitution and Bylaws. It is my intent to continue to do this. It is also our intent to continue to work with our wildlife agency and its professional staff to do what is best for our wildlife resources.

Ramon Bell, President/NCBA (August 21, 2009)

The following “Comments” were posted on the NC Sportsman Website on May 27, 2009. These comments are in response to an article in the Raleigh News & Observer titled, “Change Needs to Occur”.. by Mike Zlotnicki.
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NCBA at odds with WRC over public meetings and comments from commissioners to NCBA officers

The article appeared in the April 12th issue of the Raleigh News & Observer. It outlines some continuing issues we (NCBA) have had with the leadership of the NCWRC. Sometime after the March 4 commission meeting, NCBA (and others) questioned the legality of not being informed or allowed to attend committee meetings as had been the case in the past. It appears that this issue has been resolved at this time, as we received an email from the WRC today explaining the new policy.
There is also an article on the North Carolina Sportsman Magazine website that allures to an official grievance that has been filed with the office of the Governor pertaining to pressure brought upon us (NCBA) by the chairman and other leaders from the commissioners group meant to discourage future opposition to proposals we (or anyone) may be in disagreement with. Several of us have met personally, and also received phone calls from a couple of the commissioners who, in the course of conversation, mentioned their close political ties with the Governor and other legislators. And they insinuated that they could deny us consideration in the future on many issues, and even eliminate our bow seasons if they chose to do so. We interpreted this as being very intimidating to us personally, and even threatening to the existence of bowhunting itself. We (NCBA) also view this as abuse of the power vested
in them by their appointment and a violation of their oath of office as a wildlife commissioner.

Mr. Seegars (Chairman at the time) stated, “Anytime we had a disagreement with them, they would take it personally. They have been incensed over this stuff, and I don’t know why.” I will comment that. In reference to the proposals, we do not take it personally. We objected because we did not agree with the proposals, and we will continue to object to proposals that we disagree with and feel are not in the best interest of the resource, or of the sport of hunting, and bowhunting in particular.
The WRC continues to whittle away the “Bow Only” seasons and Mr. Seegars says he doesn’t know why hunters are not happy with that! No one, including the NCBA is seeking to convert gun seasons to “Bow Only” seasons. On the contrary, it is quite the opposite. We are in a continuing struggle to try to preserve the existing “Bow Only” seasons from being converted to gun seasons for reasons not supported by any biological basis or fact, or by the majority of the WRC’s biological staff. The WRC’s position has been simply stated that, “we want to increase gun seasons so more people can have the opportunity to gun hunt earlier.” This sort of approach to management of deer has wreaked havoc on deer populations in other states like Pennsylvania and Georgia and ruined deer hunting in general for the average hunter. It is our opinion that this sort of wildlife/deer management mentality here in North Carolina would be devastating to the deer herd and to the sport of deer hunting itself, not to speak of the effect it would have on bowhunting and the archery industry itself in N.C.
For Bowhunting,
Ramon Bell, President/NCBA
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Guest Blogger Here Tomorrow

From time to time bloggers will have guests in to post on important topics or to fill on when the regular blogger is off. Tomorrow I’ll be stepping aside to allow a guest post on a very hot topic here in North Carolina and a man that has found himself at the center of it because of his position as president of the North Carolina Bow Hunters Association.
I sat next to Ramon Bell last month at the Big Game Committee Meeting and we struck up a conversation during the break. While there is a few things Raymond I probably disagree on there is far more stuff we agree on. As some may remember that many of the rule proposals for this upcoming season got sidetracked at the last minute and the NCBA has taken much of the blame for this. Initially that was my take on it but after some conversations with some folks and some digging on my part I discovered that the NCWRC had a lot to do with what happened.
At a time when hunters really should stand shoulder to shoulder with each other we don’t need some of the strive we have seen on some of the message forums. I’m happy to give Ramon and the North Carolina Bow hunters Association the opportunity to get their message out. I hope all my readers and any guests that drop in will listen to what Ramon has to say and feel free to comment.
While I wish Ramon was filling in because I was on the way to Maine to chase bears the reality is that I’m still in town but this is such an important topic that we need to talk about it. So please stop by Monday and see Ramon’s blog post.

NCWRC Reminds Hunters That Some New Rules Are Delayed

With hunting season fast approaching many of us are getting ready and we need to make sure we are familiar with the rules. This past year there was a wrinkle in the traditional method of how the rules get changed and many that we thought were passed actually got delayed and are not in effect. Here is the list changes that are delayed and not in effect for the upcoming season.

Rules NOT in effect for the 2009-2010 season are:
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.

The current regulation digest is available on line or a hard copy can be found at most places that sell hunting and fishing licenses.

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