RALEIGH, N.C. (Nov. 10, 2005) — Severe drought conditions in North Carolina’s Piedmont region are drying up waterfowl hunting opportunities on Jordan and Falls Lake game lands.

In particular, the drought is affecting waterfowl hunters who won permits in drawings for special hunt opportunities scheduled for Nov. 12 – Dec. 3, 2005 and Dec. 17 – Jan. 28, 2006.

Affected waterfowl impoundments in the Piedmont include four permit hunts within the Falls Lake Game Land [see map here (pdf)]: Depot, Beaver Dam, Bluff and three impoundments that make up “Flat River.” The drought did not spare nearby “green tree” impoundments — Little River, Patterson Road and Brickhouse Road — which are not included in the drawings for permit hunts, as well as Knapp of Reeds.

“If we don’t get much rain soon, it’s pretty much going to be a busted season,” said Mark Dover, a wildlife management technician supervisor with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. “Right now, the rivers that we normally pump out of to fill impoundments are pretty dry. You can almost walk across them.”

Affected waterfowl impoundments within the Jordan Lake Game Land [see map here (pdf)] include green tree impoundments numbers 1 through 7.

Dover said that impoundments 1, 3 and 4 had enough water to be hunted at this time. Despite the low-water conditions, waterfowl hunters may find places to hunt if they scout areas in advance.

“This is the first year since 1999 that we have been unable to pump much water into the impoundments. In other dry years we could pump and get the impoundments at least half full,” Dover said. “I hope hunters who won permits realize this is beyond our control. We’ve got the water boards and logs in place to fill the impoundments, but there’s not enough water to back up into them.”

For more information about waterfowl hunting in Piedmont impoundments, call the Commission’s Butner Depot at (919) 620-0089.

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