Record #:

7733

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

When completed, the North Carolina Birding Trail will be a network of bird-watching sites across the state linked by highways and marked as a single entity. Over thirty states have similar trails that generate millions of ecotourism dollars and provide funds to protect vanishing bird habitats.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 4, Apr 2006, p36, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Birding sites

Record #:

7753

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The side-by-side barreled shotgun is traditionally associated with wing shooting. This gun has been around since the late 18th-century, and the modern over-and-under barreled gun was developed about a hundred years later. American gun makers now sell more over-and-under guns, and Wilson compares the two, seeking to answer the question, when accuracy is at issue, which is the better gun?

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 4, Apr 2006, p25-26, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Shotguns

Record #:

7754

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The side-by-side barreled shotgun was the gun of choice for most bird hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While the over-and-under barreled shotgun became more popular in the 20th century, the side-by-side continued to hold a special place among wing shooters. Wilson feels this continued use is caused by a combination of nostalgia, the beauty feel of the gun, and a certain grace this gun possesses that no other gun can match. He discusses the Vintagers, also known as the Order of Edwardian Gunners, which formed in 1994. This group not only appreciates the double-barreled gun, but many members like to dress in clothing of the Edwardian era (1895-1914), when they are in the field.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 4, Apr 2006, p20-24, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Shotguns

Record #:

7964

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is acquiring over 65,000 acres of land from the International Paper Corp. The land consists mostly of bottomland forests, floodplains, and wetlands, making them valuable for water quality protection. Several tracts contain rare and endangered plants and animals. Most of the land lies in the northeastern and southeastern sections of the state.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 7, July 2006, p36, il, map Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Nature conservation

Record #:

8011

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

North Carolina's commercial fishing harvest continues to drop. The 2005 harvest of finfish and shellfish totaled 79 million pounds, valued at $64.9 million. This is the smallest harvest on record and continues the downward trend that began in 1997. The menhaden catch was low, and blue crabs and shrimp, two other commercial mainstays, had decreased landings.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 8, Aug 2006, p36, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fisheries

Record #:

8139

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

Beginning on January 1, 2007, most anglers who fish in coastal and ocean waters of the state must have a new Coastal Recreational Fishing License. Previously, North Carolina was the last state in the Southeast without a recreational saltwater license. Saltwater fishing is big business in the state with over a million people fishing each year. The new license will aid the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries in collecting crucial data to help the agency better manage fish stocks.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 10, Oct 2006, p20-27, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fisheries--Laws and legislation; Fish and game licenses; Saltwater fishing

Record #:

8234

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

Commercial fishermen in the state face an increasingly difficult life. They deal with intense state and federal regulations, while facing stiff competition from foreign imports. Fish houses are disappearing, leaving fewer places to sell catches. Boats slips are losing out to developments. A new factor is the tension that exists between commercial fisherman and recreational anglers. Wilson discusses reasons for this tension and what can be done about it.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 11, Nov 2006, p4-11, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fishing; Fisheries

Record #:

8341

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

For over fifty years, wildlife photographers Jack Dermid and Gene Hester have traveled across North Carolina in search of photographic opportunities. Dermid has a reputation for extraordinary patience in getting exactly the right shot, and Hester travels widely each year in search of waterfowl and deer. Wilson discusses the careers of these two well-known photographers.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 12, Dec 2006, p10-15, il, por Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Photographers; Wildlife photography

Record #:

8342

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) likely will designate North Carolina's first Marine Protected Area (MPA) when it meets in March 2007 to adopt amendment 14 to the Snapper Grouper Fisheries Management Plan. The MPA, one of eight covering waters from North Carolina to the Florida Keys, is being established to protect species of the snapper grouper complex from directed fishing pressures in federal waters. The snapper grouper complex is comprised of seventy-three species, including deep-water, slow-growing species, such as snowy grouper, misty grouper, speckled hind, Warsaw grouper, golden tilefish, and blueline tilefish.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 70 Issue 12, Dec 2006, p36, il, map Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Fishery management; Groupers; Fishes--Conservation

Record #:

7008

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The National Audubon Society's first “The State of Birds” report indicates some disturbing trends for birds across the country, including several species in North Carolina. The report concentrates on 654 birds species in five major types of habitats. In North Carolina several species have declined sine 1966. These include the painted bunting, which has lost half its population; the Eastern meadowlark, down 66 percent; and Henslow's sparrow, down 90 percent.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 1, Jan 2005, p34, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Bird populations--Estimates

Record #:

7122

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

In 1965, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission surveys indicated a quail harvest by hunters of almost three million birds. By 2002, the number had dropped to around two hundred thousand. The primary cause of the decline is that the birds no longer have the habitat they require. Increasing population demands more land for businesses and homes. Farmers became more efficient with their land and planted crops that didn't benefit quail as corn, wheat, and soybeans had. Fires, which once benefited quail habitats, are now more controlled in the forests. Wilson discuss this decline and what, if anything, can be done to restore the quail population.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 3, Mar 2005, p4-10, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Bird populations; Quails

Record #:

7198

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

In Brevard, white squirrels make up about 25 percent of the total squirrel population. The animals have been protected by law within the city limits since 1986. The squirrels are not albinos; they have a gray patch on their heads, a gray dorsal stripe, and dark eyes. The squirrels exist in a number of towns east of the Mississippi. Brevard celebrates an annual White Squirrel Festival, and the local White Squirrel Shoppe sells white squirrel products, including mugs, candles, and ornaments.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 5, May 2005, p35, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Squirrels--Brevard; Festivals--Brevard

Record #:

7222

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The number of wild turkeys harvested during the winter hunting season of 2005 declined from the 2004 season. There were 151 turkeys harvested in 2005, compared with 181 in 2004. Stokes County ranked first with twenty-three birds, and Person and Surry Counties reported the fewest birds with seven each. Harvest numbers reflect the participation of hunters in each county rather than the turkey populations. Overall, North Carolina's wild turkey population exceeds 130,000.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 6, June 2005, p35, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Wild turkeys; Hunters and hunting

Record #:

7353

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

North Carolina generally has the largest wintering East Coast population of tundra swans. Only five states have hunting seasons for the eastern population, and North Carolina usually has the largest harvest. The first tundra swan hunting season in the state took place in 1984-1985 and 867 birds were killed. The 2004-2005 season produced the second-lowest harvest on record with 1,745 birds taken. Wilson discusses this decline in the harvest.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 8, Aug 2005, p36, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Hunting; Hunters; Tundra swan

Record #:

7491

Author(s):

Wilson, Jim

Abstract:

The periauger was flat-bottomed, dugout workboat in the state's waterways during the 18th- and early 19th-centuries that disappeared in the first half of the 19th-century. Improved roadways, the opening of more railroad lines, and the steamboat contributed to its demise. Archaeologists have yet to find the remains of a vessel of this type in the state. In 2004, a group of marine historians successfully planned, built, and sailed a reproduction of periauger. Wilson discusses the project.

Source:

Wildlife in North Carolina (NoCar SK 431 W54x), Vol. 69 Issue 11, Nov 2005, p20-25, il Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Shipbuilding--History; Work boats--History