The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is a state

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

created by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

in 1947 to conserve and sustain

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

resources through

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...

, wise use, and public input. The Commission is the regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of N.C. fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws.

Licenses and regulations

Hunting, fishing, trapping and boating

The agency issues licenses and permits for hunting, trapping, and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, as well as titles and registrations for boats 14 feet or longer and personal watercraft (

jet ski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

s) in the state. It employs law enforcement officers (commonly called game wardens) who enforce the rules and regulations associated with these activities. The agency also constructs public fishing areas (PFAs) (https://www.ncwildlife.org/Fishing/Where-to-Fish) and boating access areas (BAAs) (https://www.ncwildlife.org/Boating/Where-to-Boat) that provide parking spaces for tow vehicles and trailers, and ramps and docks for launching boats into the water. The sale of hunting and fishing licenses, federal grants and other receipts provide financial support of the agency. The Commission has an operational budget of approximately $65 million and employs over 590 full-time men and women across the state, including wildlife and fisheries biologists and technicians, wildlife officers, conservation educators, and public information, customer service, information technology, and administrative professionals. According to the state's Department of Commerce, hunting and fishing ranked 12th on the state's top industries in 2014.

Education

The agency operates three Wildlife Education Centers, one each in the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, and

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

regions of the state. From its headquarters in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, the Commission issues a wide variety of publications, including guides for

outdoor enthusiast Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

s, maps, conservation plans, and a monthly magazine entitled ''Wildlife in North Carolina''. The Commission also operates an online store that sells books and memorabilia associated with wildlife and conservation.

Awards

Every year, the Commission recognizes those throughout North Carolina who contributed significantly to wildlife and outdoor management in the state. The Lawrence G. Diedrick Small Game Award is given to an organization or person "whose actions significantly and positively impact North Carolina's small game populations". The Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award, named for the late activist and professor of zoology at N.C. State University, goes to a leader for "conservation of wildlife diversity in North Carolina." The Commission's most recent award, the Guy Bradley Award, "recognizes extraordinary individuals who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution to wildlife law enforcement, wildlife forensics or investigative techniques." Commission staff have also received awards. The highest received is the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

's Award of Excellence, given to employees for dedicated service beyond the call of duty.

References

External links