Father’s Day Gifts that Give Back to Wildlife

[NCangler]

RALEIGH, N.C. (June 6) – Forget cologne, socks or that old-standby, the tie. This Father’s Day, start a new tradition by purchasing your favorite outdoorsman a gift that will collect memories, not dust.

The Lifetime Sportsman License, offered by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, is a terrific buy-it-once, buy-it-for-a-lifetime gift for hunters and anglers who yearn to get into the woods or on the water. It gives the holder a lifetime of fishing and hunting privileges in North Carolina, even if the licensee moves out of state.

The license ranges from $15-675, depending on the age of the licensee and the type of license purchased. New for this year is the lifetime unified sportsman license, which gives the holder freshwater and saltwater fishing privileges.

“Buy it once, and you buy a lifetime of fishing and hunting trips with your dad,” said Theresa Castro, direct sales manager of the agency’s N.C. Wild Store. “The great thing about a lifetime license is its versatility—each and every outing will be a different experience.”

Best of all, like other products from the Commission’s N.C. Wild Store, a purchase of any lifetime license helps fund wildlife conservation efforts that affect everyone. Revenue from the sales of lifetime licenses is deposited into the Wildlife Endowment Fund, from which only the interest is used to pay for programs and projects that benefit fish, wildlife, habitats and people.
Since 1981, the Wildlife Commission has spent more than $32 million in interest on programs and projects that include the acquisition of 30,000-plus acres of game lands across the state and improvements in six state fish hatcheries that annually raise more than 7.8 million fish for stocking into North Carolina’s public, inland waters.

For the more budget-conscious shopper, the Commission offers a variety of wildlife-related products under $50, from books to clothing to calendars, with proceeds from every product going to support a correlating wildlife project or program.

“For instance, money from the sales of the just-arrived “Frog and Toads of North Carolina Field Guide and CD” will go to support Wildlife Diversity and conservation education projects and programs, such as the Calling Amphibian Survey Program (CASP) and Becoming an Outdoors-WomanÒ,” Castro said. “Likewise, the waterfowl stamp and print sales go directly into the Commission’s waterfowl fund, which supports waterfowl conservation projects in the state.”

The variety of wildlife-related products offered is as diverse as the programs and projects the Commission supports, and new items are added on a continuous basis, Castro said.

The latest product, the 88-page frog and toad field guide with CD, costs $15 and features audio calls and 120 full-color photographs that beautifully illustrate the 30 frog and toad species native to North Carolina. Other new products include:

Baseball-style caps featuring five new designs (whitetail buck, Labrador retriever, mallard duck, largemouth bass and brook trout) tone-on-tone embroidered on 100 percent brushed chino and an embossed leather back patch. Caps are $20 each.
Camouflage bag made from 1000 denier Cordura fabric that is versatile, rugged and ready for outdoor use. The bag costs $49.95.
Wildlife puzzles that measure 24 x 18 inches finished and are suitable for framing. Three different wildlife-themed puzzles cost $19.99 each.

In addition to new products, the WILD Store offers perennial favorites, such as the award-winning magazine, Wildlife in North Carolina ($12 for one year; $30 for three years; $150 for lifetime subscription), and the “N.C. Trout Fishing Maps” book ($12), which features color-coded maps that give anglers a guide to fishing regulations on North Carolina’s trout streams.

For the aspiring ornithologist on your list, “Birding North Carolina,” provides detailed profiles of 44 birding sites in North Carolina. The 209-page guide ($16.96) includes birding-specific information, such as habitats present at each site, which birds are present at what times of year and best times to bird the sites, as well as maps and travel tips.

To purchase products or for additional information, visit the Commission’s Web site, www.ncwildlife.org, and click on the N.C. WILD Store link, or call toll-free, (866) 945-3746.