Game lands and special hunt opportunities

Halifax and Northampton Counties are home to five areas that participate in the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Game Lands Program.

The largest is the Roanoke River Wetlands Game Lands and Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge. Tracts that make up these two areas have multiple owners including: The Nature Conservancy, N.C. Dept. of Transportation, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 35,772 total acres also includes tracts in Bertie and Martin counties.

Other game lands include:

• Lower Fishing Creek Game Land covers 1,297 acres in Edgecombe and Halifax Counties.

• Tillery Game Land covers 5,219 acres in Halifax County.

• Brinkleyville Game Land covers 1,819 acres in Halifax County.

• Embro Game Land is comprised of 8,892 acres in Halifax and Warren Counties.

Special-hunt opportunities are offered on the Roanoke River properties for deer, turkey and small game, in season.

• The Upper Roanoke River Area has either-sex deer permit hunts for archery, blackpowder and gun seasons. Applications and information can be found at http://www.ncwildlife.org/ and in the Special Hunts Digest prepared by the Commission.

Applications for archery became available July 1. The cost is $5, there are no age restrictions and hunt dates are Sept. 11-Oct. 8. There are no quotas on the number of permits issued, and they allow either-sex deer hunting on the Boone, Cypress Swamp, Garibaldi, Odom, Pollocks Ferry, Urquhart and Woods Island tracts in the Gamelands.

Blackpowder permit-hunts are also either-sex and run from Oct. 9-15. The cost is also $5, and there are no age restrictions or quotas.  They allow either-sex deer hunting on the Boone, Cypress Swamp, Garibaldi, Odom, Pollocks Ferry, Urquhart and Woods Island tracts.

Permit-only gun hunts are open for any legal weapon, but the deadline for application submission is Sept. 1. There are no age restrictions, but hunt days and the number of hunters allowed are limited. A $5 application fee is required. Hunts are limited to a party of five, but five date-choices are allowed.

Several hunt areas are only accessible by boat from the Roanoke River.

Editor’s Note: This story appears as part of a feature in North Carolina Sportsman’s October issue. To ensure you don’t miss any information-packed issues, click here to have each magazine delivered right to your mail box.