Three New Members Join Wildlife Commission

[NCangler]

RALEIGH, N.C. (Oct. 18) - The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has added three new members to its governing board.

Cameron M. Harris of Charlotte, Durwood S. Laughinghouse of Raleigh and Edward W. Wood of Wilmington took their oaths of office during the October meeting of the Wildlife Commission. The 19-member Commission establishes policies and regulations for the agency to enact and enforce - from hunting, fishing and trapping rules to the management of wildlife and inland fish species and their habitats.

The three new wildlife commissioners were appointed to two-year terms by Speaker of the House Jim Black. The governor and the president pro tempore of the State Senate also appoint wildlife commissioners.

Harris, who works in insurance sales, describes himself as a lifelong hunter who owns "parts of 35 bird dogs" and has long held a desire "to leave hunting better than I had it." He and his wife, Dee-Dee, have two children and one grandchild.

Laughinghouse, a resident vice president of Norfolk Southern Corp., has a long history of service on civic and professional boards. A hunter and a farmer, he has taken special interest as a wildlife commissioner in bringing youths and young adults back into the hunting fold. He and his wife, Connie, have two children.

Wood, a real estate developer, is an "avid sportsman" who cites "lack of habitat for wildlife" as one of the major problems facing the Commission and the species it manages. He and his wife, Mary, have two children.

Swearing in the new commissioners was Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.