Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the start of the busy boating and summer travel season. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is encouraging safe boating practices and reminding the public of the dangers of operating a water vessel while impaired.  

“On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” is a public safety campaign aimed at reducing alcohol and drug-related incidents on the roadways and waterways. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 30 trout streams and two lakes classified as Delayed Harvest to trout harvest on June 6. They will remain open through Sept. 30.

On the first Saturday in June, anglers may begin harvesting trout from Delayed Harvest waters. From 6 a.m. until noon, fishing in those waters is limited to youth only.

Construction has begun on the long-planned renovations to the Bobby N. Setzer Hatchery near Brevard, and contractors are saying the project is on schedule for a full-reopening early next year. 

During a tour for local media last week, contractors and state officials provided an inside look at the construction. Stacks of piping, totaling about 2.5 miles line the site of future trout raceways, heavy equipment moves rock and laborers dig and survey.

 N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has announced the approved season dates, bag limits and applicable regulations for the 2026-27 waterfowl, webless migratory game bird (including doves) and extended falconry seasons. The dates and associated regulations are available on the agency’s website and will be published in the 2026-2027 Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest this August. 

“Barn Owlet Watch 2026” is underway for a nest box with six barn owl eggs, and the public has 24-hour access to the  N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s live cam with audio to watch all the action in real time. The expected “hatch” date is between April 9 and 15. 

NCDOT partners with wildlife agencies on creative concept for bat habitat. Sometimes, it helps to step away from the workplace to get the creativity flowing. That’s what happened to Kenny McCourt, an N.C. Department of Transportation resident engineer overseeing a set of bridge replacement projects on Interstate 40 in Haywood County. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission invites 2025 North Carolina taxpayers to donate all or part of their state tax refund to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund. Donations support research and conservation projects for the state’s most vulnerable wildlife. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is advising residents that it is illegal to keep deer as pets and unwise to try to tame deer. Several incidents have occurred across the state this year involving people and dogs being attacked and injured by deer that were likely raised by humans illegally and regularly fed by local neighbors. 

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has transferred 1,060 acres in Haywood County to the State of North Carolina to become part of public lands managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

These tracts include land for the Cold Mountain Game Land and Pisgah Game Lands, including the 409-acre White Oak Mountain tract adjoining the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that SAHC purchased in December 2024.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently released 12 rehabilitated black bear cubs back to the wild, four from the coastal region and eight from the mountains. 

NCWRC has been overseeing the rehabilitation and release of orphaned black bear cubs since 1976 through the agency’s cub rehabilitation program, one of the first in the country.