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Date: 2/13/25 10:11 am From: \J. Merrill Lynch\ (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: Conservation Access Pass Proposed by NCWRC
I agree this would be a good thing to support. Many other states already have a special permit for access to public gamelands. A requirement to wear blaze orange during hunting season would be a sensible addition. And I also agree it would give the non-hunting community a bigger seat at the table on decisions regarding public lands management. J. Merrill Lynch Echo Valley Farm Watauga County, NC Elevation: 3,400 feet On Thu, Feb 13, 2025 at 11:16 AM Ann Robertson <carolinabirds...> wrote: > Dear Carolinabirders, > > In this morning's Coastal Review, I read about an exciting proposal from > the NC Wildlife Resources Commission to offer a "Conservation Access > Pass". This would be the birder equivalent of a hunting / fishing license, > and would renew annually. The pass would provide entry to 2 million acres > of gameland, boating access areas, and more. It is not limited to birders; > a range of recreational uses are mentioned > > There are three public meetings across the state, coming up soon. There's > also a VIRTUAL meeting on March 4th, for which you may register. > > I was told a while back by a politically experienced birder that one > reason birders don't carry as much weight with state officials as hunters > is that we don't contribute to the public till with special taxes, > licenses, etc. Apparently, at one time a "birders' tax" was proposed on > items such as binoculars, birdseed, etc., that would have fed into > conservation. Our flock apparently did not endorse this, sadly. > > I may be wrong, and wiser heads may weigh in, but I believe this > Conservation Access Pass would be a win-win. It would provide access to > wonderful birding areas while funding our under-resourced NCWRC. Here's a > link to the article so you may consider this issue: > https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://coastalreview.org/2025/02/state-seeks-feedback-on-proposed-conservation-access-pass/__;!!OToaGQ!rTjmn2ZrwHTVDxI63yXqJjHFbd9bIvFyInTuZTbm6dfEmeokkw4Qkq9bYtmeJ0ybcKZDowtPFn5w3TaIypcpIPbqTBc$ > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://coastalreview.org/2025/02/state-seeks-feedback-on-proposed-conservation-access-pass/__;!!OToaGQ!sQbft_AcXNQj8ledwFhYKky5NbZn7hca1wSaI14YgPSug_57wpicBzaStZZ4T4YPmUX3aRzPCYnXvYK17yBxJIbgMXyGXw$> > > Best regards, > Ann Blue Robertson > Winston-Salem >

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