News Release

Cape Lookout National Seashore Duck Blind Permits Available for the 2018-2019 Hunting Season

Date: August 22, 2018
Contact: Jill Jaworski, 252-838-8900

HARKERS ISLAND, NC – Superintendent Jeffrey West announces that permits for temporary duck blinds will be available at the Harkers Island Visitor Center beginning Monday, September 10, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., and thereafter Monday through Friday, except holidays.

For the 2018-2019 Season, the park will continue to utilize a lottery system to determine the initial order for registration. All hunters who are present at the Harkers Island Visitor Center at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, September 10 will draw a numbered ticket. This ticket will determine the order for registering a duck blind permit. All hunters who arrive after 8:00 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 a $50.00 administrative permit fee which includes 1 blind, and a $25.00 fee for the second blind ($75.00 total for 2 blinds). The fees are used to administer and monitor the duck blind program. If you are interested in obtaining a Duck Blind Permit, you must bring your current North Carolina State hunting license with a signed federal duck stamp, a picture identification (driver’s license), and be prepared to identify your blind location on a computerized topographic map.

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 10, 2018 until March 31, 2019. Blinds must be removed by the permittee no later than March 31, 2019. 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 penalties, 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 and may have to be passed on to the hunters in future years.

Commercial hunting (or fishing) guides must obtain a permit to conduct commercial activities in a national park. Guides should contact park Business Manager Katherine Cushinberry about permits at [phone].