Hunters, trappers and anglers must have written permission from a landowner or leaseholder before hunting or fishing on privately-owned posted property according to a new law. Previously oral permission was sufficient.
The Landowner Protection Act also provides two ways for landowners to post their lands to allow only hunters, trappers and anglers with written permission to legally enter their property. Landowners can now post their land by using vertical purple paint marks on posts or trees. Landowners with a less colorful bent may continue to place signs or posters.
The Landowner Protection Act specifically relates only to hunting, fishing, or trapping on posted lands. It clarifies the existing G.S. 14-159.6 requirement for written consent to hunt, fish, or trap on posted lands by specifying that written permission, dated within the past 12 months and signed by the landowner, leaseholder, or agent of that land, be carried and displayed upon request of any law enforcement officer.
If a hunting club has leased the land, a hunter or angler must carry a copy of their hunting club membership and a copy of the landowner permission granted to that hunting club.
The Landowner Protection Act does not change general trespass laws nor have any effect on lands that are not posted. It does not repeal any local acts currently in effect that require written permission to hunt, fish, or trap.
Sample Landowner Permission Form
The Landowner Protection Act goes into effect Oct. 1, 2011. Violation of this act is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Images: NORTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMMISSION
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