SEASHORE DUCK BLIND PERMITS AVAILABLE FOR THE 2009-2010 HUNTING SEASON

Date: August 18, 2009
Contact: Wouter Ketel, [phone] Ext. 3005

Harkers Island, North Carolina.  Superintendent Russel J. Wilson announces that permits for temporary duck blinds will be available at the Harkers Island Visitor Center beginning Tuesday, September 8, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and thereafter Monday through Friday. 

For the 2009-2010 season, the park will utilize a lottery system to determine the initial order for registration.  All hunters who are present at the Harkers Island Visitor Center at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8 will draw a numbered ticket.  This ticket will determine the order for registering a duck blind permit.  All hunters who arrive after 9:00 a.m. and are not present at the start of the lottery, will register on a first come, first served basis after the initial lottery participants have registered and selected their blinds.

There is no charge for the permit this year.  If you are interested in obtaining a Duck Blind Permit, you must bring your CURRENT NORTH CAROLINA STATE HUNTING LICENSE with a FEDERAL DUCK STAMP, a PICTURE IDENTIFICATION (DRIVER’S LICENSE), and be prepared to identify your blind location on a topographic map.

Superintendent Wilson noted that the use of the lottery system for the first day of registration has been working well and will be continued this year.  “The duck blind permit program is an effort by the park to work with hunters to develop a mutually workable program,” said Wilson, “we invite the public to make suggestions and to comment on the program.”

Hunting is authorized within Cape Lookout National Seashore, subject to State of North Carolina hunting regulations, as well as Federal law.  The Duck Blind Permit allows hunters to place and leave temporary duck blinds in the park from September 8, 2009 until March 31, 2010.  Blinds must be removed by the permittee no later than March 31, 2010.  Construction of permanent duck blinds is illegal.  Hunters are advised that failure to obtain a permit or failure to remove blinds at the end of the permit period may result in prosecution (fines), a bill for the cost of removing the blind, and/or exclusion from the program in future years.  Illegal duck blinds found in the park will be removed without notice and the cost of removing illegal and abandoned blinds significantly adds to the cost of the program, costs that must be recovered as a fee.

Commercial hunting (or fishing) guides are expected to obtain a permit to conduct commercial activities in a national park.  Guides should contact park Concessions Manager Richard Huffman about permits at [phone], extension 3019.