Archive for the ‘N.C. Wildlife Commission’ Category

Elk to remain a species of special concern

Friday, March 5th, 2010
Back in January the N.C. Wildlife Commission proposed a new rule that would've resulted in elk losing their status as a species of special concern. This special designation was originally assigned as part of the reintroduction experiment of the elk to the Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains in 2001.

With this rule in place, it has been illegal to shoot an elk — both inside the national park boundaries and outside the park. If delisted as a species of special concern, elk would've retained their status as a “non-game” animal, making hunting them illegal even if they wander outside of the national park. However, landowners would've been able to shoot problem elk without a permit under the proposed change. The commission said the proposal was put forward by its biological staff because they said the special status was no longer necessary.

Yesterday, however, the N.C. Wildlife Commission voted not to remove the elk from the state’s list of Special Concern species. This was a clear victory to all the people who voiced their concern on this during the public hearing phase.

The Commission also announced that is has approved of several changes to state hunting, fishing and trapping regulations. You can read more about these by clicking here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Cataloochee, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, N.C. Wildlife Commission, elk, hunting, species of special concern | Comments Off

Most back continued protection for Cataloochee’s elk herd

Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Lat week I mentioned that a public hearing had been scheduled to discuss a new rule change proposed by the N.C. Wildlife Commission that could result in elk losing their status as a species of special concern. This designation was assigned as part of the reintroduction experiment of the elk to the Cataloochee area of the Great Smoky Mountains in 2001.

Right now it is illegal to shoot an elk — both inside the national park boundaries and outside the park. Despite a delisting as a species of special concern, elk would retain their status as a “non-game” animal, making hunting them illegal even if they wander outside of the national park.

However, landowners would be able to shoot problem elk without a permit under the proposed change. The commission has said the proposal was put forward by its biological staff because the special status is no longer necessary.

Last night a crowd of about 100 people showed up for the hearing at Southwestern Community College. Everyone who spoke on the topic was against removing the elk from the list of “species of special concern.”

Some speakers demanded the state create an elk management plan in conjunction with the National Park Service and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians Tribal Council. They also suggested creating an indemnification fund to cover damages on private land.

The report on the Asheville Citizen-Times website did not mention when a decision would be made concerning the new rule proposal.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Cataloochee, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, N.C. Wildlife Commission, elk | Comments Off

Elk could lose status as species of special concern in NC

Saturday, January 9th, 2010
The Smoky Mountain News is reporting that elk could lose their status as a species of special concern under a new rule change proposed by the N.C. Wildlife Commission.

It is illegal to shoot an elk — both inside the national park boundaries and outside the park. Despite a delisting as a species of special concern, elk would retain their status as a “non-game” animal, making hunting them illegal even if they wander outside protected national park lands.

“This is primarily an administrative change,” said Brad Howard, private lands program coordinator for the Wildlife Commission. “There is no documented evidence we need to have a special concern status on the elk species right now.”

Howard said the move will mirror the national park’s change in status expected later this year, which will shift from “experimental release” to an official “reintroduction.”

The proposal, however, is causing a great deal of confusion.

A public hearing on the proposed changes to state hunting and fishing rules will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva. Organizations that provided financial support for the reintroduction of the elk are prepared to speak out against the proposed rule change.

You can also submit comments on the proposed changes on the NC Wildlife website.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in N.C. Wildlife Commission, elk | Comments Off