The N.C. Division of Coastal Management is closing the Currituck Banks Reserve to the public from April 23 to April 27, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services program conducts an aerial wildlife damage management operation for feral swine on lands north of Corolla.
Feral swine, an invasive and destructive species, will be removed and their damage will be surveyed. All activities will be conducted in close collaboration with Reserve personnel, local law enforcement and other participating landowners.
Feral swine pollute and degrade water quality, reduce forest regeneration, and kill or displace many kinds of native wildlife. They compete with native wildlife for resources, specifically food, habitat and water. Feral swine also prey directly on the nests, eggs, and young of native ground nesting birds and reptiles.
This operation is outside the regular feral swine hunting season. The public feral swine hunting season runs annually from the beginning of September through the end of March. Hunters must hold a valid N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission hunting license, as well as a permit from the N.C. Coastal Reserve. For more information, go to http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/crp/currituck-banks#hunting.
For questions about the USDA’s aerial operation, please contact Gail Keirn, USDA public affairs specialist, at 970-266-6007. For questions related to the Currituck Banks Reserve, please contact Kate Jones, Currituck Banks Reserve site manager, at 252-261-8891.
The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve Program protects natural areas for education, research and compatible traditional uses. Since its creation in 1989, the program has preserved more than 42,000 acres of unique coastal environments at 10 sites along the coast.
Wildlife Services is a program in the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The mission of Wildlife Services program is to provide federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist. Wildlife Services works collaboratively with numerous federal, state, local and private partners to reduce damage caused by invasive feral swine.