For five nights in February, North Carolina hunters will have their best shot ever at moving the needle on Sunday hunting on publicly-owned lands in the state. Since 1869, these lands have been closed to hunting, despite the fact that hunters pay in large measure for their acquisition, upkeep, and management. Astonishingly, North Carolina is one of only four states in the entire nation that outright bans hunting on public lands on Sunday. The North Carolina chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is leading the charge to rally hunters across the state to SHOW up, STAND up, SPEAK up, and open OUR lands to public hunting.

The state has taken baby steps to address this miscarriage of equity by incrementally allowing some hunting on private lands, but such efforts ignore the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding conservationist-hunters who have dramatically diminished access to public lands for 50 percent of the weekend. This is unfair, unscientific, and plain wrong.

This is the time to let your voice be heard, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has set the place—or places. From Clyde to Williamston, you’ll have the opportunity to meet, speak, and make a difference. The NC BHA community will be out in full force. We will walk lock-step with you. Contact us to sharpen your message. Join us as we show up respectfully, but strong of heart and commitment.

Let’s fix this now!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY!

Points to Ponder / Positions to Make

• Public land Sunday hunting is legal in the adjacent states of Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia.

• Sportsmen and women in North Carolina hunt on Game Lands six days of the week (except for properties designated for three days per week only) without significant conflict with other user-groups. Hunting can also take place on Sundays on Game Lands without significant conflict with other user-groups.

• In a survey of public lands users in North Carolina, opponents to Sunday hunting cited religious beliefs as their primary reason for opposition only 11.07 percent of the time.

• Hunters are one of the few user-groups in North Carolina that are required to purchase a Game Lands License to utilize Game Lands (other activities requiring a Game Lands License are trapping, dog training, and field trials). Anglers, hikers, bikers, geocachers, and other users are not required to purchase a privilege license to access Game Lands, yet hunters are the only user-group that is restricted from accessing Game Lands on Sundays.

Here’s the calendar. All the forums begin at 7 p.m. Let us know who’s planning on attending, and look for your fellow BHAers at every meeting.

• February 10—Martin Community College Auditorium Building 2 in Williamston
• February 11—Bladen Community College Auditorium in Dublin
• February 12—Foothills Higher Education Center HEC-163 Auditorium in Morganton
• February 13—Haywood Community College Regional High Technology Center Auditorium in Clyde
• February 18—Alamance Community College Auditorium in Graham

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY!