HUNTING ON FEDERAL LANDS BIG GAME HUNTING REGULATIONS & INFORMATION State regulations and license requirements apply on federal lands. BEAR Some of the areas listed below may be closed to hunting. For Nonresidents hunting bear must possess a bear/wild boar hunting specific information, contact the appropriate federal entity: license (See page 8). Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Restrictions It is unlawful to do any of the following: P.O. Box 1969, Manteo, NC 27954 ● Hunt bear in any areas not included in the listings below. Phone 252-473-1131 ● Take a cub (less than 50 pounds) or a female bear with cub(s). Camp Lejeune ● Take a bear with the use or aid of bait, which includes any salt, Conservation Law Enforcement Office, Assistant Chief of Staff salt lick, grain, fruit, honey, sugar-based material or substance, Installation Security and Safety Dept, Building PT-3, animal parts or animal products. Camp Lejeune, NC 28542 ● Place processed food products as bait in any area of the state with Phone 910-451-5226 an open season for taking black bears. Processed food products Cape Hatteras National Seashore are any food substance or flavoring that has been modified by 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954 the addi tion of ingredients or by treatment to modify its chem- Phone 252-473-2111 ical com position or form or to enhance its aroma or taste. This Cape Lookout National Seashore includes: food products enhanced by sugar, honey, syrups, oils, 131 Charles St., Harkers Island, NC 28531 salts, spices, peanut butter, grease, meat, bones, or blood; candies, Phone 252-728-2250 pastries, gum, and sugar blocks; and extracts of such products. Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The prohibi tion against taking bears with the use and aid of bait 3100 Desert Road, Suffolk, VA 23434 does not apply to the release of dogs in the vicinity of any food Phone 757-986-3705 source that is not a processed food product. However, dogs may Fort Bragg not be released in the vicinity of any commercially available Wildlife Hunting and Fishing Center, Fort Bragg, NC 28307 mineral supplement whether placed for the purpose of attract- Phone 910-396-7506 ing deer or otherwise. Mackay Island and Currituck National Wildlife Refuges ● Hunt bear on a bear sanctuary. (See the information below on P.O. Box 39, Knotts Island, NC 27950 bear sanctuaries.) Phone 252-429-3100 BEAR HUNTING SEASONS Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point Daily limit 1; Season limit 1 Environmental Affairs Dept. Natural Resources Manager, WESTERN BEAR SEASON PSC Box 8003, Marine Corps Air Station, Oct. 17 – Nov. 19 Cherry Point, NC 28533-0003 Dec. 12 – Jan. 2 Phone 252-466-3593 West of the boundary formed by I-77 from the Virginia state line to Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge I-40 and I-40 west to N.C. 18 south to the South Carolina state line. 38 Mattamuskeet Rd., Swan Quarter, NC 27885 Note: Further game land restrictions may apply. See the Game Lands Phone 252-926-4021 section for specific game land rules. Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge EASTERN BEAR SEASONS: P.O. Box 1969, Manteo, NC 27954 Nov. 14 – Jan. 2 Phone 252-473-1131 In the following counties: Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge Bladen Onslow 5770 US Hwy 52 North, Wadesboro, NC 28170 Carteret Pamlico (use of dogs for hunting Phone 704-694-4424 Cumberland bear is prohibited here.) Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge Duplin Pender P.O. Box 329, Columbia, NC 27925 New Hanover Sampson Phone 252-796-3004 Dec. 5 – Dec. 24 Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge Brunswick Columbus P.O. Box 430, Windsor, NC 27983 Nov. 14 – Nov. 19 and Dec. 12 – Dec. 24 Phone 252-794-3808 In the following counties: Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal Beaufort Hyde 6280 Sunny Point Rd. SE, Southport, NC 28461 Camden Jones Phone 910-457-8291 Chowan Pasquotank U.S. Forest Service Craven Tyrrell 160 Zillicoa St., Suite A, Asheville, NC 28801 Dare Washington Phone 828-257-4200 Nov. 14 – Nov. 19 and Dec. 12 – Dec. 14 Blue Ridge Parkway In the following counties: Permits and information about special parkway regulations governing Halifax Northampton access to adjoining game lands may be obtained from: The Super- Martin intendent, Blue Ridge Parkway, National Park Service, 199 Hemphill Nov. 12 – Nov. 19 and Dec. 12 – Dec. 24 Knob Rd., Asheville, NC 28803. Phone 828-271-4779. Bertie Hertford Currituck Perquimans Gates Nov. 14 – Nov. 19 Greene Pitt Lenoir Please note: For the convenience of the reader, major regulation changes appear in RED. 45 Bear Sanctuaries Bear may not be taken in those parts of DEER counties included in the following sanctuaries: EASTERN DEER SEASON Sanctuary Applicable County or Counties Archery: Sept. 10 – Sept. 30 Bachelor Bay Bear Sanctuary Bertie, Martin and Washington Muzzleloader: Oct. 1 – Oct. 14 Bombing Range Bear Sanctuary Dare Gun: Oct. 15 – Jan. 2 (except by permit only) CENTRAL DEER SEASON Daniel Boone Bear Sanctuary Avery, Burke and Caldwell Archery: Sept. 10 – Oct. 28 (except by permit only) Muzzleloader: Oct. 29 – Nov. 11 Columbus County Bear Sanctuary Columbus Gun: Nov. 12 – Jan. 2 Croatan Bear Sanctuary Carteret, Craven and Jones NORTHWESTERN DEER SEASON Fires Creek Bear Sanctuary Clay Archery: Sept. 10 – Nov. 4 Flat Top Bear Sanctuary Mitchell and Yancey Muzzleloader: Nov. 5 – Nov. 18 Green Swamp Bear Sanctuary Brunswick Gun: Nov. 19 – Jan. 2 Gull Rock Bear Sanctuary Hyde WESTERN DEER SEASON Gum Swamp Bear Sanctuary Pamlico and Beaufort Archery: Sept. 12 – Oct. 1 and Oct. 17 – Nov. 19 Harmon Den Bear Sanctuary Haywood Muzzleloader: Oct. 3 – Oct. 15 Panthertown-Bonas Defeat Jackson Gun: Nov. 21 – Dec. 10 Bear Sanctuary Seasons See the maps on the following pages for season dates for Mt. Mitchell Bear Sanctuary McDowell and Yancey deer with visible antlers, primitive weapons seasons and general (except by permit only) season dates for either-sex deer. North River Bear Sanctuary Camden and Currituck ● Seasons for deer with visible antlers and primitive weapons Pisgah Bear Sanctuary Buncombe, Haywood, seasons on game lands follow the season for the county in which Henderson and Transylvania they are located except for Buffalo Cove Game Land, Nicholson Pungo River Bear Sanctuary Hyde Creek Game Land, Rockfish Creek Game Land, Sandhills Game Rich Mountain Bear Sanctuary Madison Land and South Mountains Game Land. See the Game Lands Sherwood Bear Sanctuary Haywood section for additional restrictions on these Game Lands seasons. Standing Indian Bear Sanctuary Macon Refer to the “Game Lands” section for Gun Either-Sex Deer Season Suggs Mill Pond Bear Sanctuary Bladen dates on game lands. Thurmond Chatham Bear Sanctuary Wilkes General Restrictions ● HUNTING REGULATIONS & INFORMATION Wayah Bear Sanctuary Macon Any person hunting deer during a deer firearms season shall The following additional restrictions apply to bear sanctuaries: wear hunter orange. This includes hunting on Sundays during ● It is unlawful to take wild boar on bear sanctuaries except during the muzzleloader or gun seasons, even though hunters may only the deer archery season, deer muzzleloading season, deer gun use archery equipment on Sundays. Landholders, their spouses season and any small game season using only weapons and and children hunting on land held by the landholder do not manner of take prescribed for that hunting season. have to wear hunter orange. ● Dogs may not be used to take wild boar. ● Deer with visible antlers may be taken during any open deer ● Dogs may not be used to pursue bear. season. Anterless deer may only be taken during either-sex deer ● The Harmon Den Bear Sanctuary and Sherwood Bear Sanctuary in seasons. See page 55 for information about either-sex seasons. Hay wood County are closed to raccoon, bobcat and opossum hunting. ● Visible antlers are defined as bony structures that protrude ● It is unlawful to train dogs or allow dogs to run unleashed on bear through the skin. Knobs or buttons covered by skin or velvet sanctuaries in and west of Madison, Buncombe, Henderson and are not considered visible antlers. Polk counties from March 1 until the Monday on or nearest Oct. 15. ● It is unlawful to place processed food products as bait in any Attention Bear Hunters: The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commis- area of the state with an open season for taking black bears. sion is collecting information from black bears harvested by Processed food products are any food substance or flavoring hunters. We use the upper premolar tooth (located directly that has been modified by the addition of ingredients or by behind the upper canine tooth) from a harvested bear to deter- treatment to modify its chemical composition or form or to mine the bear’s age. This information helps us monitor the enhance its aroma or taste. This includes: food products status of our bear population, which is an important aspect enhanced by sugar, honey, syrups, oils, salts, spices, peanut of our bear management program. butter, grease, meat, bones, or blood; candies, pastries, gum, If you harvest a bear, please contact our wildlife staff in the field and sugar blocks; and extracts of such products. so that a tooth and other information may be collected. If you ● The placement of commercially available mineral supplements cannot locate wildlife staff, please call the Wildlife Management specifically and exclusively marketed for attracting or feeding division at 919-707-0050 so that we may send information to deer is allowed anywhere in the state, except on game lands. you on how to collect the tooth. If you provide a tooth, we will Weapons and Dogs mail the age of the bear you harvested to you prior to the next ● Archery. During the archery season the following are legal hunting season.