NCBA sends letter to governor detailing
The N.C. Bowhunters Association sent a letter to Gov. Beverly Perdue on March 25, charging the leadership of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission — chairman Wes Seegars, vice chairman Steve Windham and commissioner David Hoyle Jr., chairman of the Big Game Committee — with threatening retaliation against the group for its role in opposition to some controversial proposals to change hunting regulations.
The letter alleges “irresponsible conduct by men who have sworn oaths of public service, but who have threatened us with retaliation for our lawful objection to certain rules proposals.”
The letter said Seegars, Windham and Hoyle “cited their political connections to suggest we must follow their wishes and have also cited their political connections to state that our protests will be ignored by the governor. Further, Commissioner Steve Windham indicated to us, on Aug. 26, 2008, that one of his proposals was retaliatory because we did not support his Sunday-hunting proposal.”
The NCBA’s Ramon Bell, Tommy Kimball and Mickey Strader said after a March 4 Raleigh meeting at which the Commissioners voted on changes in hunting, fishing and trapping regulations for the 2009-2010 season, Seegars blamed them — in a private meeting — for problems the agency had in getting several proposals accepted by sportsmen.
Kimball alleged Hoyle said: “‘Governor Perdue is a personal friend of my family,’ and (Hoyle’s) daddy was a North Carolina senator, and Gov. Jim Hunt had spent many nights at their home.”
Bell also said the Commission leadership apparently was planning to change its stance with regard to the state’s Open Meetings Law in order to bar NCBA representatives from future Commission committee and sub-committee meetings.
Bell said when he requested a schedule of committee and sub-committee meetings for 2009 that NCBA representatives might like to attend, he received a letter from Betsy Foard — formerly the secretary to the WRC’s executive director but more recently its “ethics liaison” — stating the only meetings required to be open to the public are scheduled monthly meetings of the WRC in Raleigh and other meetings in other locations that include all commissioners.
The NCBA opposed several proposed regulation changes that affected bowhunters during the last regulation cycle, and Bell said his group may be denied attendance at WRC meetings because of that opposition.
Seegars defended the WRC’s stance regarding the Open Meetings Law.
“Committee meetings have never been open to the public,” he said, “but we have invited individuals and groups in the past. If we have a topic that concerns a conservation partner, like the bowhunters or turkey federation, we certainly will ask them to attend.”
Bell said his group had never been “invited” to WRC committee meetings in the past and “never had asked permission” of anyone to attend them.
“We mainly went just to listen although the commissioners often addressed us and even asked our opinions about things,” Bell said. “Now I hear, even if we know about a meeting, (the Commission) may bar us from attending.”
