Wake County, NC – A landmark North Carolina court ruling has provided one of the most significant validations to date of the power that constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish protections can provide for America’s sportsmen and women.
On August 17, the Wake County Superior Court ruled in favor of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA NC) and 86 individual citizens in a lawsuit challenging the State’s management of coastal fisheries. The Court found that the State failed to meet its legal obligations to protect coastal fisheries and, in doing so, violated North Carolinians’ constitutional right to fish and harvest fish.
That right is protected by Article I, Section 38 of the North Carolina Constitution — the Right to Hunt, Fish, and Harvest Wildlife amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2018.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) played an active role in advancing the amendment, working alongside members of the North Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and partners to support its passage. CSF also provided financial support for the litigation that ultimately put those protections to the test.
“This ruling demonstrates exactly why constitutional protections for hunting and fishing matter,” said Brent Miller, Vice President, Policy, of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “These amendments are more than statements about our outdoor heritage — they provide meaningful, lasting protections for sportsmen and women. CSF was proud to help advance North Carolina’s Right to Hunt and Fish amendment and support this case, and today we have tangible evidence of the difference these protections can make.”
Across the country, CSF has worked for decades to advance and defend constitutional protections for hunting, fishing, and the responsible harvest of wildlife. The North Carolina decision provides a powerful example of why that work matters — and what these protections can mean when the rights of sportsmen and women are challenged.