RESOLUTIONS

Each year the board of directors and general membership of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation vote and pass resolutions to express a stance on a particular issue.

RESOLUTIONS: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003

2010 Resolutions

SPORTSMAN RESPONSIBILITY DOCTRINE
 
Resolution Preamble: The future of hunting, and to many degrees fishing, in North Carolina is dependent upon responsible behavior by hunters and anglers in several key areas:

1. Respecting landowners’ property rights – The majority of hunting occurs on private property. Much fishing, especially in the mountains, is dependent on private property access. As human populations grow and more land is developed, hunters and anglers must respect and cooperate with landowners of remaining tracts of land. Failure to respect landowners‟ rights will result in greater difficulty in obtaining permission to hunt on private property or to access fishing waters. Sportsmen must adhere to the reasonable proposition of asking landowners for permission to hunt or cross properties and protect the landowners‟ property from trespass, littering, fire, vehicle abuse, and poaching while exercising that permission.
2. Projecting a safe and responsible image to the general public – Hunting activity should be confined to appropriate hunting grounds using safe and legal methods and adhering to the principle of “fair chase.” Hunters need to abide by the strict rules prohibiting hunting from roads, hunting in close proximity to human habitation, wanton waste of game, and using illegal methods to poach game. Anglers, too, must embrace ethical and responsible methods of take, legal gear, and adhere to seasons of harvest, and obey size restrictions and bag/creel limits.

WHEREAS, salient points relative to hunter/angler behavior and the future of hunting and fishing in the tradition enjoyed today are set forth in the Preamble above; and

WHEREAS, the continued population growth and influx of people unfamiliar with these traditional hunting and angling activities in the State provide a potential misperception and unfavorable political view of these activities if these user groups do not abide by ethical conduct in such pursuits; and

WHEREAS, adherence to these basic premises of hunter/angler responsibility depends upon adoption, dissemination, and enforcement of laws and rules by the North Carolina General Assembly and the Wildlife Resources Commission governing hunter/angler behavior in the areas identified; and

WHEREAS, a positive public image of a safe, proficient, responsible hunter/angler is formed by behavior that respects the wildlife resource, the landowner, other hunters/anglers and land users, the safety and welfare of others, the principles of “fair chase,” and the laws, rules, and traditions of hunting and fishing;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, this date of May 8, 2010, pledges to work in cooperation with hunting and fishing groups, the general public, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the North Carolina General Assembly to develop a slate of amendments to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Law and implementing Rules to be known as the „Sportsman Responsibility Doctrine‟ that will address the image and behavior of hunters and anglers in the State to the end that conflicts among hunters/anglers, landowners, and the general public will be minimized and the traditional heritage of hunting and fishing within North Carolina will be preserved.

MARINE FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

WHEREAS, North Carolina is blessed with abundant and productive estuaries, barrier island sounds, coastal rivers, and beach shoreline, which provides a multitude and diverse marine habitats for many fish and shellfish, reptiles, birds, and mammals; and

WHEREAS, these diverse marine fauna present the opportunity to provide great long-term value to North Carolina’s citizens and out-of-state tourists through wise stewardship and management of our marine fish and wildlife resources including their habitats; and

WHEREAS, the activities of recreational and commercial fishing, hunting, wildlife watching, nature study, eco-tourism, and every other resource-based activity that is enhanced by the presence of marine fish and wildlife bring a higher quality of life to the State and also brings an opportunity for local employment and income from jobs serving these activities; and

WHEREAS, many of the State’s marine fauna populations are stressed, threatened, and some even endangered by over exploitation and habitat degradation; and

WHEREAS, the demise of many commercially important marine fisheries in the United States has caused great economic hardship in coastal communities through job loss and fishing harvest restrictions while populations recover; and

WHEREAS, this job loss in coastal communities alters traditional livelihoods of many coastal citizens who have this knowledge and job occupation passed down from generation to generation as an economic way of life and living standard and provides a rich social and cultural diversity to North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, the proper stewardship practices including sound management, and conservation of our marine fish and wildlife resources demands the best available science and resource management techniques administered by professional marine biologists, law enforcement officers, and managers without undue interference by special interest groups or politically motivated intervention;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation gathered on this day of May 8, 2010, places paramount importance on the proper and successful protection and management of North Carolina’s marine resources, and in this regard, calls upon marine resource management agencies at the state and national level to incorporate strong action plans agendas in their management, regulatory, and enforcement policies, provide proactive management programs and action plans to ensure long-term sustainability of marine fauna and their habitats; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to accomplish said objectives, the following principles should be achieved:

1. Fishing rules must limit harvest from all sources to the annual available production to ensure sustainability of fish stocks considering all sources of mortality.
2. When a particular type of fishing gear is shown to be detrimental to a non-target fish or other marine animal that gear must be eliminated or curtailed in its application so that the gear does not kill or injure the non-target fish or marine animal; this principle is especially critical when the non-target marine species is classified as threatened or endangered.
3. When a particular type of fishing gear is destructive to vital marine habitat, that gear must be properly modified, or its use eliminated or curtailed, as necessary, so as not to degrade or destroy marine habitat.
4. To ensure progressive, successful, representative, science-based marine fish and wildlife programs free of political intervention or interference by special interests, appointees to policy making commissions must not have conflicting interests; members must not vote on or participate in establishing positions and proposals on issues that will affect their livelihoods or material investments and holdings; any statutory provisions that authorize and even require appointment of individuals with known special interests to policy and decision making commissions that regulate marine fish and wildlife resources should be repealed.
5. Redundancy, waste, and inefficiency in state agencies that exercise overlapping jurisdictions in our marine and inshore waters should be eliminated for economy, clarity, efficiency, and effectiveness in development and implementation of management plans and fishing rules in joint and coastal waters.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation supports initiatives that support coastal jobs and resource sustainability such as HR4914, Coastal Jobs Creation Act, currently being considered by the United States Congress. This Act will provide funds to create new jobs in coastal communities when, where, and if fishermen are displaced from their traditional work by situations that result from fishery stock collapses and fishing closures. The Act will capitalize on the skills and knowledge of commercial fishermen and enable the use of their equipment to complete jobs designed to improve marine habitats, provide safe harbors, and conduct surveys to collect information important to management of fishery stocks.

SUPPORT FOR THE YADKIN RIVER

WHEREAS, The Yadkin River is the second largest river basin in North Carolina and provides a conduit to numerous lakes and tributaries located within the Yadkin-Pee Dee Basin; and

WHEREAS, the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin contains reservoirs, tailwaters and receiving systems that are required to meet state water quality standards for North Carolina surface waters that are suitable for aquatic life propagation and maintenance of biological integrity, wildlife and secondary recreation, domestic consumption and agriculture; and

WHEREAS, the Yadkin River Basin provides significant aquatic resources that includes diverse fish and mussel populations and provides numerous recreational and economic opportunities that serve the public trust and citizens of North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, operations along rivers, such as hydropower dams, have the potential to adversely impact water quality upstream and downstream by impeding and altering stream flow and water quality regimes which can result in impacts to downstream aquatic life; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydro relicensing process under the Federal Power Act has been established to issue and renew hydroelectric dam operations and the associated operating license, which includes a process of including input from interested stakeholders to ensure all perspectives are included and balanced in the operations of FERC licensed facilities; and

WHEREAS, competition for the resources of the Yadkin River Basin will become even more intense during the license period; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa Power Generating, Inc. (APGI a multi-national subsidiary of Alcoa, Inc.) has filed a license application with the FERC seeking renewal of its 50 year license for the continued operation of the Yadkin Project, a four development hydroelectric power generating project located on the Yadkin River; and

WHEREAS, Governor Perdue exercised a motion to intervene in the relicensing process; and

WHEREAS, while not within the project boundary of the hydroelectric Project, documented dumping of arsenic, cyanide, fluoride and polychlorinated biphenals (PCBs) by APGI from their Badin Works Smelting Plant has contaminated groundwater and reservoirs leading to capping of wells and issuance of fish advisory warnings for largemouth bass and catfish by the North Carolina Division of Public Health in Badin Lake; and

WHEREAS, the past, present, and future operations of this hydroelectric project need to consider ongoing and future impacts of past PCBs contamination to water quality and aquatic populations resulting from Alcoa’s smelter facility located on Badin Lake and other ongoing impacts due to low dissolved oxygen due to project operations.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, gathered on May 8, 2010 supports the most stringent licensing conditions for the eventual new licensee of this project to ensure protection of water quality, wildlife, habitat, ecosystems biological integrity and resource based recreational opportunities within the Yadkin River Basin for current and future generations of North Carolina citizens over the next FERC license term. Such stringent conditions should include consistent flow of the Yadkin River within careful limits for lake levels, oxygen content and other key metrics for the health of the river. The licensing conditions should further provide for specific and careful monitoring of the water quality standards by appropriate state and federal authorities, and contain appropriate and strong penalties for violations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation recognizes and applauds the Governor’s intervention in the relicensing to reaffirm the concept that any entity that uses a public resource for profit return benefits to the citizens of North Carolina commensurate with the value received from that resource and that any entity that uses public trust resources for profit be required to manage those resources under best management practice protocols for not only their business use, but for all North Carolina public stakeholders; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the stakeholder interests already negotiated, including land acquisitions, low flow protocols, boat ramps, dissolved oxygen levels etc shall be retained regardless of which entity gains the license from FERC over the next licensing term; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that regardless of the FERC timetable for issuing a license to any entity, the aforementioned environmental pollution cleanup process must be commenced with due haste and that APGI, as required by law, must pay the costs of this clean up to the complete and full satisfaction of local, state and federal agencies and that local, state, and federal agencies be required to execute their authority to press this clean up to the full extent of their respective mandates.

OPPOSITION TO REMOVAL OF NORTH CAROLINA’S BAN ON HARDENED EROSION CONTROL STRUCTURES

WHEREAS, North Carolina has some of the most pristine coastline, salt marshes and estuarine ecosystems in the world, and hundreds of thousands of local residents, state citizens and out-of-state tourists use these resources each year; and

WHEREAS, the estuarine habitats are among the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth and provide essential habitat for a multitude of wildlife species with important economic, recreational and ecological values; and

WHEREAS, the natural beach sand migration from north to south along coastal beaches enables natural coastline renourishment and provides a mechanism for barrier island migration, which permits them to exist as sea levels change; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina coast is home to diverse wildlife habitat and numerous species including breeding habitat for native birds, endangered sea turtles, and other marine life that depend on these barrier islands to provide habitat critical to sustain their life cycles; and

WHEREAS, terminal structures, such as groins and jetties, have been demonstrated to trap sand, which deprives natural sand movement resulting in a sand deficit and increased erosion rates on coastlines south of such structures; and

WHEREAS, the current North Carolina ban on hardened erosion control structures allows barrier islands to renourishment and migrate naturally, thereby protecting significant wildlife habitat along the coast;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation gathered May 8, 2010, strongly opposes the removal of North Carolina’s ban on hardened erosion control structures.

INCORPORATING CLIMATE CHANGE INTO NORTH CAROLINA’S WILDLIFE ACTION PLAN

WHEREAS, climate change is impacting or will potentially impact wildlife and habitat in North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, parts of North Carolina’s 3,375 miles of coastal shoreline have already seen a 2-inch rise in sea level over the past century and by 2100, current sea level rise projections may increase by another 12 inches, causing beach erosion, salt-water incursion, and damage to coastal development; and

WHEREAS, North Carolina harbors an incredible diversity of native plant and wildlife species, including 360 birds, 107 mammals, 206 fish, 68 reptiles and 84 amphibians and more than 60 different species of freshwater mussels; and

WHEREAS, summertime droughts and higher air temperatures will likely shrink bobwhite quail populations by disrupting the birds’ breeding cycles, reducing protective vegetative brood cover, and reducing the availability of insects and seeds they feed on; and

WHEREAS, nationwide, up to 42 percent of current trout habitat will be lost before the end of the century and the South is one of the regions that will experience especially severe reductions; and

WHEREAS, changes in precipitation patterns including heavy, flood producing rains interspersed with severe droughts – will cause major fluctuations in stream habitats thereby affecting the aquatic populations that reside there; and

WHEREAS, hunters are reporting waterfowl migrations that are occurring later in the season – and in some cases, not occurring at all; and

WHEREAS, just a slight increase in temperature could cause North Carolina’s mountain red spruce and Fraser fir populations to be replaced by more heat-tolerant southern pines and oaks, affecting the wildlife that calls those unique mountain forests home; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission completed a comprehensive wildlife action plan to proactively conserve priority species and ecosystems known as the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan was developed by scientists, sportsmen, conservationists, and biologists working together to conserve wildlife and protect their habitats before they become more rare and more costly to protect and to help growing communities conserve wildlife habitat and the quality of life for future generations; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan does not currently describe the impact of climate change on wildlife nor provide a wildlife adaptation management strategy; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan, as the most comprehensive blueprint for protecting wildlife and habitats, provides an ideal framework to address climate change impacts to wildlife;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, assembled May 8, 2010, hereby supports integrating climate change adaptation strategies for wildlife into the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the North Carolina Wildlife Federation supports the convening of North Carolina’s wildlife stakeholders to discuss climate change impacts on wildlife, identify priority actions to address these impacts, and share information on stakeholder activities and efforts related to addressing climate change.