The Hunting Heritage Program was developed for the purpose of conserving and maintaining North Carolina’s rich hunting heritage for current and future generations and is based on the premise that “it takes a hunter to make a hunter” and that the Recruitment and Retention of hunters is critical to long-term conservation and management of North Carolina’s wildlife resources.
The Hunting Heritage Program was developed as a result of a workshop about maintained the heritage of hunting, Hunter Retention and Recruitment in North Carolina: Analysis and Implications from the Maintaining the Heritage 2005 Workshop. A few years later in 2007, a Hunting Heritage Program Strategic Plan was implemented providing strategies and action items for addressing hunter recruitment and retention issues in North Carolina. 2012 Hunting Matters! "Hats On" Mentoring Campaign Final Report provides the results of a statewide mentoring campaign conducted to bring awareness to the importance of the individual hunter’s role in maintaining our hunting heritage while gaining better understanding of barriers to hunter recruitment and retention in North Carolina.
“Those of us privileged to take to the field are entrusted by fate and circumstance to hold and nurture the hunter’s legacy.” Theodore Roosevelt
Anyone 16 and older may hunt without hunter education certification when in possession of a Hunting Heritage Apprentice Permit, proper hunting license(s) and any other required permits, so long as accompanied by a licensed adult within sight and hearing distance.